Arizona could soon have a new national monument.
Democratic Congressman Raúl Grijalva introduced legislation this week to designate nearly 400,000 acres of land near Gila Bend in southern Arizona for what would become Great Bend of the Gila National Monument.
In a statement, Grijalva’s office says the monument would help preserve remaining open space from development in the West Valley. And it would help protect habitat and wildlife migration corridors, as well as support the regions tourism economy.
The legislation saw support from several other members of Congress including Democrats Jared Huffman of California, Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, Dina Titus of Nevada and Joe Neguse of Colorado.
The Congressman’s office also says the bill forms a tribal commission to prioritize co-stewardship of the land.
The river valley and desert have served as a home to Indigenous communities for thousands of years.
The bill is supported by numerous tribes, including the Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community, the Tohono O’odham Nation and the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe.
Tribes and conservation groups have been pushing for protections for parts of the Gila River Valley for decades.
And the legislation’s introduction was applauded by local conservation groups.
Just last year, President Joe Biden brought the number of national monuments in Arizona to 19, when he designated nearly 1 million acres around the Grand Canyon as the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.