Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Biden honors Tribes, boosts conservation legacy with new monument
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Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Photo: @grandcanyonnps ([link removed])
President Joe Biden signed a proclamation ([link removed]) to designate nearly 1 million acres of public land as Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The monument was proposed by a large group of Tribes called the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition, some of whom were in attendance at the signing event in Arizona yesterday.
Baaj nwaavjo means “where Indigenous peoples roam” in the Havasupai language, and i’tah kukveni means “our ancestral footprints” in Hopi. ([link removed]) For Carletta Tilousi, a member of the Havasupai Tribe, the monument designation means that her ancestors “are finally going to be feeling rested. ([link removed]) ” During his speech ([link removed]) , President Biden said the establishment of the monument will help tell the "full American story" of the people who have called the region home for millennia. ([link removed])
The monument will help protect the region surrounding the Grand Canyon ([link removed]) from new uranium mining, a current and ongoing threat to Grand Canyon National Park, the Colorado River, and the Tribal communities that call the Grand Canyon region home. According to the proclamation ([link removed]) , the 917,618-acre national monument includes lands currently managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, and the agencies will share "co-stewardship of the monument" with Tribal nations.
This is the fifth national monument ([link removed]) President Biden has designated since taking office, a pace that puts him on track to surpass previous presidents' use of the Antiquities Act: President Barack Obama established a total ([link removed]) of 29 national monuments in his presidency but only four by the end of his first term, and President Bill Clinton created 19 and expanded three others, but all but one of the designations were made during his last year in office.
While the establishment of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument is noteworthy progress toward reaching the administration's goal of protecting 30 percent of America's lands and waters by 2030 ([link removed]) , the clock is ticking as Biden nears the end of his first term. “There are certainly more landscapes deserving of protection using the Antiquities Act, and President Biden will have opportunities to extend his conservation legacy over the next year,” said ([link removed]) Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities. “At the same time, we cannot and should not attempt to reach 30×30 just on federal lands. Protecting 30 percent of America’s lands and waters will require a concerted and coordinated effort across national,
state, local, Tribal, and private lands.”
** Quick hits
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Biden honors Tribes, boosts conservation legacy with new Grand Canyon National Monument
Presidential Proclamation ([link removed]) | White House Fact Sheet ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | Forbes ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) [what to know] | E&E News ([link removed]) | BBC ([link removed]) | CBS News
([link removed]) | The Guardian ([link removed]) | PBS NewsHour ([link removed]) | Arizona Republic ([link removed]) | Axios ([link removed]) | Bloomberg ([link removed]) | Grist
([link removed]) | Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | AZ Mirror ([link removed])
Colorado community fights against oil and gas drilling near their homes
Denver 7 News ([link removed])
Indigenous-led efforts to save Oak Flat from a massive copper mine
Native News Online ([link removed])
People are starting a lot of fires in the Pacific Northwest
High Country News ([link removed])
Boat tours to Rainbow Bridge National Monument are back thanks to a fuller Lake Powell
KUER ([link removed])
Native American or Indigenous? Journalism group rethinks inclusivity of its name
Associated Press ([link removed])
Watchdog urges BLM to boost tracking of idle oil and gas wells
E&E News ([link removed])
Opinion: As the planet bakes, Big Oil's support for clean energy falls short of what's needed
New York Times ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” By designating the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, President Biden has honored Tribes and safeguarded critical drinking water supplies for Tribal communities as well as the entire Colorado River Basin.”
—Jennifer Rokala, Executive Director of the Center for Western Priorities ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@potus ([link removed])
Today marks a historic step in preserving the majesty of the Grand Canyon.
First among American landmarks.
Sacred to Tribal Nations.
Revered by every American.
It speaks to the soul of our nation.
And reminds us who we are.
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