Arizona’s governor and attorney general say the state legislature doesn’t have the legal standing to undo the designation of a national monument near the Grand Canyon. President Joe Biden made the declaration last August.
In a federal court filing, Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes say claims that the establishment of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument harm the state are “speculative and conjectural.”
State Republicans have described Biden's designation as an “illegal land grab.” A lawsuit brought by Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma alleges the monument will cut off access to mining activities and make it harder to manage adjacent state land. Mohave County, Colorado City and Fredonia have also signed on.
But attorneys for Hobbs and Mayes, both Democrats, say the lawmakers don’t have the authority to take legal action based on their opinion of what hurts the state. Plus, neither the governor nor the State Land Department think the monument is bad for Arizona. Ultimately, they want the entire case thrown out.
The designation preserves nearly a million acres of land surrounding the Grand Canyon and bans new uranium mining claims in an area that holds spiritual and cultural significance to more than a dozen tribes.
