President Joe Biden today will announce his declaration of a nearly 1-million-acre national monument near Grand Canyon National Park. The designation will make permanent a 2012 ban on new uranium mining claims in the area.
Biden is set to announce the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument today at Red Butte near the South Rim, one of the Havasupai Tribe’s most sacred sites. U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited Havasupai in the spring to discuss the proposal. She spoke with reporters Monday ahead of Biden’s announcement.
"It will help protect lands that many tribes refer to as their eternal home, a place of healing and a source of spiritual sustenance. It will help ensure that Indigenous peoples can continue to use these areas for religious ceremonies," said Haaland.
The 13-member Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition has led the most recent monument push. They worry uranium mining will contaminate the area’s groundwater and ecosystem and endanger sacred sites. The mining industry, however, says modern methods are safe and won’t negatively impact the environment.
The monument lands span the Grand Canyon’s North and South rims and will be co-managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management along with a tribal commission.
