Biden Designates New National Monument Near Grand Canyon, With Permanent Ban on New Uranium Mining Claims

President Joe Biden’s 2022 initiative America the Beautiful has a goal of conserving and restoring 30 percent of lands and waters in the United States by 2030.

A new contribution to that goal was announced by The White House today with the establishment of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona, a press release from The White House said.

The newly designated monument’s name is a reflection of the importance of the Grand Canyon area to many Tribal Nations. “Baaj nwaavjo” means “where Indigenous peoples roam” in the language of the Havasupai American Indian tribe, who have called the Grand Canyon home for at least 800 years. “I’tah kukveni” means “our ancestral footprints” in the Hopi language.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to honoring and respecting Tribal sovereignty, protecting Tribal homelands, and incorporating Indigenous Knowledge and robust Tribal consultation into planning and decision-making. Today’s designation supports Tribally led conservation efforts and helps address injustices of the past, including when Tribes were forcibly removed from lands that later became Grand Canyon National Park,” the press release said.

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni is the fifth national monument established by the Biden-Harris administration. Almost one million public lands acres that surround Grand Canyon National Park will be conserved by the new monument.

“It will help protect lands that many tribes referred to as their eternal home, a place of healing and a source of spiritual sustenance,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who is the first Native American Cabinet secretary, as NPR reported. “It will help ensure that indigenous peoples can continue to use these areas for religious ceremonies, hunting and gathering of plants, medicines and other materials, including some found nowhere else on earth. It will protect objects of historic and scientific importance for the benefit of tribes, the public and for future generations.”

The new monument will protect thousands of sites that are sacred to many Tribal Nations. The proclamation for the establishment of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni will be signed by President Biden at Wii’i Gdwiisa — also known as Red Butte — a site sacred to the Havasupai people located above the southern part of the monument.

“The area includes many natural wonders, from sweeping plateaus and deep canyons to meandering creeks and streams that ultimately flow into the mighty Colorado River, providing water to millions of people across the Southwest. The unique interplay of geology and hydrology support some of the most biodiverse habitats in the region ranging from sagebrush to savanna, providing refuge for iconic wildlife including bighorn sheep, mule deer, bison, peregrine falcons, bald eagles, owls, and songbirds. The new monument contains over 3,000 known cultural and historic sites, including 12 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places,” the press release said.

The new monument is made up of 917,618 acres managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, and is located to the northeast, northwest and south of Grand Canyon National Park. In the south, it is bordered by the Navajo Nation and the Havasupai Indian Reservation. The northeastern portion reaches from Marble Canyon to the border of the Kaibab Plateau.

New uranium mining claims will be permanently banned inside the monument, but existing claims will be honored, reported NPR.

A 20-year ban on new uranium mining claims in the area of the new monument was established in 2012, The New York Times reported.

Environmental groups and Native American Tribes have been lobbying for the area surrounding the Grand Canyon to be permanently protected from uranium mining, arguing that it would damage important cultural areas as well as the Colorado River watershed.

Livestock grazing authorized by existing permits will be allowed, as well as fishing and hunting access, according to the press release.

“Today’s designation preserves this vital landscape for outdoor recreation, including camping, hiking, biking, and other recreational activities, consistent with applicable law. Hunting and fishing will continue to be allowed throughout the monument, including in the Kanab Creek area,” the press release said.

The proclamation instructs the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior to engage with Tribal Nations through co-stewardship agreements, consultations, contracts, technical and financial assistance and other means in order to make sure that the monument’s management is a collaboration and “reflects the Indigenous Knowledge and special expertise Tribes have amassed over countless generations,” the press release said.

It also establishes the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon Commission, the purpose of which is to encourage co-stewardship.

“Today’s designation recognizes and is a step toward addressing the history of dispossession and exclusion of Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples in the area, including that occurring when the federal government established the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve in 1893, Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908, and Grand Canyon National Park in 1919,” the press release said.