Dear NRDC Activist,

The Trump administration’s Bureau of Land Management is trying to open up an additional 200,000+ acres of public lands for oil and gas leasing near the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

This follows the administration’s proposal last month to lease 79,000 acres in the same region — a proposal that prompted over 33,000 supporters like you to speak out. And this is yet another push by the administration to open public lands for corporate polluter profits.

The Trump administration is accepting public comments on this reckless plan until July 29. We need your help again: Tell the administration not to open up public lands in the Grand Canyon region for oil and gas drilling.

The proximity of this proposed industrialization is alarming: Some parcels are located less than one mile from the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument and a mere 12 miles from Grand Canyon National Park. The potential consequences of this proposed sale in the Southwest are far reaching, impacting air quality, destroying wildlife habitat, and exacerbating the climate crisis.

Make no mistake: This latest hasty, short-sighted plan to give corporate polluters free rein over biologically diverse landscapes would have devastating and lasting consequences on our public lands and waters. If finalized, fossil fuel companies would be allowed to drill near our most cherished monuments and parks despite the area’s extraordinary conservation, recreation, and cultural values.

This disregard for our protected heritage is not an isolated event. Just last week, President Trump illegally dismantled protections for nearly 3 million acres of Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments — NRDC is gearing up to challenge the administration in court to protect our national monuments.

Show the Trump administration that we will not let our iconic lands around the Grand Canyon go without a fight. Don’t wait: Send a message of opposition now.

The Grand Canyon region is more than just a resource for extraction; it is a promise to future generations that America’s wildest places will remain protected. These wildlands are our natural savings account for biodiversity and natural landscapes, not a piggy bank for corporate interests. Once these world-renowned areas are lost to oil and gas development, they are gone forever.

NRDC is considering all of our options to fight back against threats to national monuments and parks and their surrounding lands, including going to court if necessary. We have been defending our public lands and waters for decades. We will keep fighting, but we need to keep up the massive public outcry for all our public lands.

Public comments are crucial to build the best case possible against the administration’s destructive plan — they create a public record showing wide support for protection of public lands and waters, and they can give NRDC legal standing to challenge federal agencies if they disregard your input. The Trump administration is trying to shorten comment periods and stifle public input. We won’t let them.

The administration is only accepting public comments for a short time. Make your voice heard by the deadline in 5 days and defend public lands for future generations.

Sincerely,

Paulina Torres
Staff Attorney, Nature, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)