U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended that no changes be made to Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. It comes as the agency reviews more than two dozen monuments throughout the country. KNAU’s Ryan Heinsius reports.
Zinke says Grand Canyon-Parashant has some of the most pristine geological formations in North America. He also says it shows the earth’s natural history and contains archaeological relics and fossils.
The million-acre monument was designated in 2000 by President Bill Clinton, and is co-managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.
President Trump ordered the Interior Department review earlier this year, and according to Zinke, Grand Canyon-Parashant will now be taken off the list. Three other Arizona national monuments including Vermillion Cliffs, however, could still be reassessed, along with Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalate in southern Utah.
