Dawn on the S rim of the Grand Canyon. Murray Foubister / Flickr
The Havasupai Tribe and a coalition of conservation groups praised the decision Tuesday by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the Department of the Interior's 20-year ban on new uranium mining claims across 1 million acres of public lands adjacent to the Grand Canyon.
The court ruled that the ban, adopted in 2012, complies with the Constitution and federal environmental laws, and that the protected area was not too large, as plaintiff mining companies had argued. The ban protects the aquifers and streams that feed the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon from toxic uranium-mining waste pollution and water depletion.
<p style="">The Havasupai Tribe, <a href="https://www.grandcanyontrust.org" target="_blank">Grand Canyon Trust</a>, <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a>, <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> and <a href="https://www.npca.org" target="_blank">National Parks Conservation Association</a> intervened in the case in 2013. The groups and the Department of Justice won a 2014 decision by U.S. District Court in Arizona, which upheld Interior's 2012 uranium mining withdrawal. Mining companies appealed the decision to the 9th Circuit.</p><p>Unfortunately the court also rejected a challenge to the Canyon Mine, a uranium mine located on the Kaibab National Forest six miles south of Grand Canyon National Park. The court's decision allows Energy Fuels Inc. to mine without initiating or completing formal tribal consultations and without updating an obsolete federal environmental review dating to 1986.</p><p style="">"The Havasupai people have been here since time immemorial. This place is who we are," said Don Watahomigie, the Havasupai tribal chairman. "The Creator made us protectors of the Grand Canyon. The Havasupai Tribe is gratified to know that the court has recognized the validity of the mineral withdrawal and what we have always known—that this place, these waters and our people deserve protection. The lives of our children and the purity of our waters are not to be gambled with and are not for sale."</p><p style="">"This is a great day for the Grand Canyon, for the Havasupai people who rely on its sacred waters, for the people who love this wonder of the natural world, and for the wildlife that call it home," said Ted Zukoski of <a href="http://earthjustice.org" target="_blank">Earthjustice</a>. </p><p style="">In January 2012 then-Interior Sec. Ken Salazar issued the 20-year ban that prohibits new mining claims and mine development on existing claims without valid permits. The mining industry claimed that the Interior Department's exhaustive, 700-page evaluation of environmental impacts was inadequate. Interior's study of the mining ban showed that without a withdrawal in place, 26 new uranium mines and 700 uranium exploration projects could be developed, resulting in more than 1,300 acres of surface disturbance and the consumption of 970 acre feet of water. </p><p style="">Under the 20-year ban, existing mine operations are projected to have about one-tenth of the surface impacts and one-third the water usage. According to Interior's study, new uranium mining could have major impacts on springs, wells and aquifers, including increased levels of uranium beyond the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drinking-water">drinking water</a> standards and severely depleted groundwater, endangering public health and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a>, and compromising the values of the tribes who consider the springs sacred.</p><p style="">"This decision rewards years of cooperation toward protecting the water, air, and people that mining near the Grand Canyon puts at risk," said Grand Canyon Trust's Roger Clark. "History has shown us how uranium mining can go wrong on the Colorado Plateau, we're glad for more time to make sure the same legacy isn't also bestowed upon the Grand Canyon." </p><p style="">Uranium pollution already plagues the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas. Proposals for new mining have prompted protests, litigation and legislation to make the ban permanent. Dozens of new mines threaten to industrialize iconic and sacred natural areas, destroy wildlife habitat and pollute and deplete aquifers. Scientists, tribal and local governments, and businesses have all voiced support for the protections enacted by Interior.</p><p style="">"Sierra Club applauds this decision to uphold the limits on mining on public lands adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park and to protect the park and the greater Grand Canyon region from the hazards of uranium mining, which poses a threat to the people, lands, water and wildlife of the region," said Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club's Grand Canyon chapter director. "We are disappointed that the court did not uphold the challenge to Canyon Mine, however, and we will continue to do all we can to ensure permanent protection of these lands."</p><p style="">One of the great symbols of the American West, the Grand Canyon was first protected as a <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-monuments">national monument</a> by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. The canyon is surrounded by millions of additional acres of public lands that include wilderness areas, two national monuments, lands designated to protect <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a> and cultural resources, and old-growth ponderosa pine forests. The canyon area is also home to indigenous people, including the Havasupai, Kaibab Band of Paiutes, Hualapai and Navajo tribes, and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. In 2016 the greater Grand Canyon region attracted more than 6 million tourists and recreationists, and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/econ-benefit-2016.htm" target="_blank">Grand Canyon tourism</a> contributed $904 million to local economies and supported nearly 9,800 jobs. </p><p style="">"This victory is wonderful news for a region already riddled by decades of uranium industry pollution and plunder," said Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity. "This decision is critical to protecting the Grand Canyon's precious aquifers, biodiverse springs and surrounding public lands for future generations."</p><p style="">"After an extensive review process and substantial public participation, the Department of the Interior's decision to protect one of the world's most enduring landscapes and the sustained health of indigenous communities that live within the watershed of the Grand Canyon was a strong and appropriate one," said Kevin Dahl of the National Parks Conservation Association. "The court's action in upholding this ban is commendable." </p><p style="">The uranium mining companies have 45 days to seek a rehearing by the three-judge panel or by the 9th Circuit sitting en banc. The companies also have 90 days from this decision, or from a denial of rehearing (whichever is later) to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for review of the 9th Circuit Court decision. Such petitions are granted in only a tiny fraction of cases.</p>
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'A Terrible Violation of America's Public Lands and Heritage': Lawsuit Targets Trump's Slashing of Protections at Grand Staircase-Escalante
05 December 2017
Popular
Hoodoos at sunrise in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Bob Wick / BLM / Flickr
Hours after President Donald Trump issued a proclamation taking an axe to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah on Monday, conservation organizations filed a lawsuit attacking the order as an abuse of the president's power.
Earthjustice is representing eight organizations in a suit charging that the president violated the 1906 Antiquities Act by stripping monument protections from this national treasure: The Wilderness Society, the Grand Canyon Trust, the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians and Western Watersheds Project. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and Natural Resources Defense Council are co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit and represented by in-house counsel.
<p style="">"If the Trump administration thinks Grand Staircase-Escalante can be sold out without a fight, they're in for a huge surprise," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife.</p><p style="">The Grand Staircase-Escalante contains dinosaur fossils found nowhere else in the world. Since its designation, 21 new dinosaur species have been unearthed by scientists in the monument, leading some to call these lands a "Dinosaur Shangri-la," and a "geologic wonderland." Grand Staircase holds one of the richest collections of fossils from the Late Cretaceous Period, which gives scientists and the public alike an unparalleled window into the dinosaurs that lived in these lands 10 million years ago. In mid-October, scientists <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2017/10/15/nearly-complete-tyrannosaur-fossil-airlifted-from-utahs-grand-staircase/" target="_blank">airlifted</a> one of the most complete tyrannosaur skeletons ever found out of Grand Staircase. These fossils are largely found in the Kaiparowits Plateau, where the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> industry has long <a href="http://files.geology.utah.gov/online/c/c-93/gsekcoal.htm" target="_blank">coveted access</a> for coal mining that would wreak havoc on this dinosaur treasure trove that belongs to the American people.</p><p style="">"President Trump has perpetrated a terrible violation of America's public lands and heritage by going after this dinosaur treasure trove," said Heidi McIntosh, managing attorney in Earthjustice's Rocky Mountains office. "While past presidents have used the Antiquities Act to protect unique lands and cultural sites in America, Trump is instead mangling the law, opening this national monument to coal mining instead of protecting its scientific, historic and wild heritage. We will not let this stand. We will use the power of the law to stop Trump's illegal actions."</p><p style="">Trump's executive order to revoke and replace Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument came on the heels of a review conducted by Interior Sec. <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke">Ryan Zinke</a>. More than <a href="http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2017/senators-join-public-lands-groups-to-call-on-trump-administration-to-listen-to-overwhelming-public-support-for" target="_blank">2.7 million Americans</a> voiced their support for national monuments across the country, and public participation in the comment period was overwhelmingly in favor of keeping these public lands and waters protected just as they are.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="f672c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="LUP2661576663086"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="937690108354093058" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">'Theft Of Our Heritage': Thousands Protest Trump's Cuts to Utah's National Monuments https://t.co/vaqdtDaAu0 @NRDC… https://t.co/4eviDwn8hp</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/937690108354093058">1512397717.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p style="">"Despite the call for public comments, Trump never cared that we, the public, wanted him to keep his hands off our monuments," said Chris Krupp, public earth guardian at WildEarth Guardians. "He's not concerned with those of us that camp, hike, fish and hunt. He'd rather give another handout to oil, gas and coal companies."</p><p style="">"The Trump administration's effort to sell out our public lands is deeply unpopular and goes against American values," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. "We will work to ensure our lands and waters remain open to the public and protected for future generations to explore and enjoy."</p><p style="">President Bill Clinton protected the lands of Grand Staircase <a href="http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=51948" target="_blank">as a national monument</a> on Sept. 18, 1996 using the Antiquities Act, a century-old law that has been used by 16 presidents since Theodore Roosevelt to protect some of our nation's most cherished landscapes and cultural heritage. Congress enacted the law in 1906, granting presidents the authority to create national monuments on federal lands to protect significant natural, cultural, historic or scientific features. The Antiquities Act does not, however, grant presidents the authority to diminish or rescind the monument designations of their predecessors.</p><p style="">"President Trump is attempting an unauthorized remodel of the Grand Staircase, knocking out not only geologic steps but cornerstones of the evolution of species, human history, and our cultural heritage as well," said Tim Peterson, Utah Wildlands program director with the Grand Canyon Trust.</p><p style="">"Grand Staircase is a cradle of biodiversity and losing even an acre would be a crime," said Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity. "Scientists have identified nearly four dozen new species of butterflies here. We must protect this monument's wildlife, stunning landscapes and cultural treasures for future generations. Trump and the fossil-fuel industry have picked the wrong battle."</p><p style="">After President Clinton designated Grand Staircase, an intricate land swap between the state and federal government was completed. Congress passed legislation modifying the monument's boundaries in 1998 and then approved a land swap in which the state of Utah received 145,000 acres of mineral-rich federal lands and $50 million from the federal treasury. That $50 million has since gone to support Utah's public schools, and the swap would be <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060053899" target="_blank">incredibly difficult to unravel</a>. The Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration established the Land Exchange Distribution Account to dole out the proceeds from these state-federal trades. At least <a href="https://trustlands.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/SITLA-stewardship-0615.pdf" target="_blank">27 Utah counties</a> have since received a total of $441 million.</p><p style="">Grand Staircase-Escalante has proven a <a href="https://headwaterseconomics.org/wp-content/uploads/Escalante.pdf" target="_blank">tourism and economic boon</a> for Southern Utah since its designation. Between 2001 and 2015, the population in the two counties bordering Grand Staircase grew by 13 percent, jobs increased 24 percent and real personal income grew 32 percent. Travel and tourism boomed in the region, offering 1,630 jobs around Grand Staircase. In the big picture, recreation from adventure-seekers, hikers, amateur geologists and families simply getting outdoors now funnels more than <a href="http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5553785&itype=CMSID" target="_blank">$12 billion</a> into Utah's economy.</p><p style="">"I'm a resident of Kanab, and there are a lot of local businesses that are completely dependent on tourism related to Grand Staircase-Escalante," said Laura Welp of Western Watersheds Project, and a former Bureau of Land Management botanist at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. "The entire 'staircase' of spectacular geological layers, with its world-class fossil resources, deserves to be protected intact from the threat of coal mining and other types of commercial exploitation."</p><p style="">"Americans from across the nation should be outraged by President Trump's unlawful attempt to eviscerate the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, one of our country's wildest and most scientifically significant federal public landscapes," said Stephen Bloch, legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance<strong>,</strong> Utah's largest conservation organization. "No one will look back on this decision in 15, 25 or 50 years and say Trump did the right thing by protecting less of this magnificent place. And by promoting this illegal act, Utah's parochial congressional delegation and local politicians have firmly come down on the wrong side of history."</p>
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national monuments
grand staircase-escalante
utah
earthjustice
wilderness society
grand canyon trust
sierra club
defenders of wildlife
great old broads for wildnerness
center for biological diversity
wildearth guardians
western watersheds project
southern utah wildnerness alliance
nrdc
coal
ryan zinke
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Fate of National Monuments Remains Shrouded in Secrecy: Earthjustice Sues Federal Agencies for Withholding Information From Public
03 November 2017
Popular
Stars illuminate the landscape of Bears Ears National Monument. Earthjustice / Mark Toso
For months, the Interior Department, Bureau of Land Management and the White House Council on Environmental Quality have repeatedly failed to answer the public's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for information related to the Trump administration's ongoing review of national monuments—protected federal lands and waters that belong to the American people.
The review of the country's national monuments has been marked by a lack of transparency—Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke has yet to disclose how he incorporated input from Native American tribes and the 2.8 million Americans who urged protections for national monuments in the public comment period into his leaked draft recommendations to shrink monuments and gut their protections. On Thursday, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit on behalf of six organizations whose requests for information on national monuments have been met with radio silence.
<p style="">"The Trump administration continues its onslaught against America's national monuments, hoping to cover up its misdeeds by blocking public access to information crucial to the protection of these iconic places," said Yvonne Yuting Chi, an attorney in Earthjustice's Rocky Mountains office. "National monuments preserve America's historical heritage, stunning wilderness, geologic wonders, and priceless cultural sites—and they're meant to be protected for future generations under the Antiquities Act. But the Trump administration wants to pretend that the laws of the land have changed. The American people have the right to know the fate of these magnificent places that belong to all of us, and we are taking these agencies to court to get answers."</p><p style="">"It's important that the public knows who had the White House and Interior Department's ear to push the president to dismantle <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bears-ears">Bears Ears</a> and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments," said Stephen Bloch, legal director for the Salt Lake City-based <a href="https://suwa.org/" target="_blank">Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance</a>. "We also expect this lawsuit will shed light on the information and factors the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Interior Department considered as part of Secretary Zinke's 'monuments review' and that led him to recommend eviscerating Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, a decision that would place irreplaceable cultural and public natural resources at risk of damage and destruction."</p>
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</p><div id="f79d8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="LH1QSD1576662404"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="925799938646331393" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Trump to Shrink Utah National Monuments to Allow Drilling, Mining https://t.co/xEHGV1AXZm @EcoWatch</div> — DeSmogBlog (@DeSmogBlog)<a href="https://twitter.com/DeSmogBlog/statuses/925799938646331393">1509562880.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p style="">Earthjustice is representing the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>, <a href="http://wilderness.org/" target="_blank">The Wilderness Society</a>, <a href="https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/" target="_blank">Grand Canyon Trust</a>, <a href="http://sierraclub.org" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a>, and <a href="http://www.greatoldbroads.org/" target="_blank">Great Old Broads for Wilderness</a> in this lawsuit to compel the agencies to respond to seven FOIA requests, most of which have been overdue for months. The <a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=n5ev07v3cJt0VZHKGHPmh-2FA8YRzh1iYwLSo1Lz8Ubytl6LzK3Z0ZQlsfMkqOSreu3xP8Sq1oJgDmy-2Bg3mTIMH6fZ-2BZM-2BY-2BWEZRmEuFcTfBmagX3-2BwmtYfuWoFHM2GAxv2YaBndEWfNakC2DxmVwIAKC4W2I3T6wZVUCTvQbDF-2FC7uLZfpMGxCsCRQ12A-2BMBwVBMbIXI-2FROVDiwmBKxYI-2Bxyc-2Fa9nFJCASoe-2FykoDphPvCMr7SznQomx0XeeApcto_x-2B8b7bjSgm7PP2pr2-2BBei8tMe7aWJwPQx2ba2DAiMBtwlTMpFE1kltRKbCxHSMYJt7KR3xj1j4LwJRRAhW-2Bvq9LOFZmIXAxA0Tho728a43bYhpC1rL2QR3t4g-2FcgTSpYlCYd9gFNsqE975krcAobQTl-2F-2BNuKoIPM-2FBZztU-2FGnEHW5K" target="_blank">complaint</a> alleges that the agencies have failed to meet their response deadlines under the FOIA and have repeatedly rejected or ignored these organizations' inquiries on their requests' status.</p><p style="">"If Interior Secretary Zinke's 'first step' before telling the president to ravage the Bears Ears National Monument was, as he claims, to 'gather the facts,'" said Aaron Paul, a staff attorney with the Grand Canyon Trust, "why are our months-old requests for those already-gathered facts still unanswered when federal law gives the secretary 20 days to respond? It's a shame that we have to turn to the courts to force the secretary to deliver the transparency that the Freedom of Information Act secures for the American public."</p><p style="">"The public deserves to know what Secretary Zinke is recommending for the future of our public lands," said Dan Ritzman, lands, water and wildlife director for Sierra Club's Our Wild America campaign. "The Trump administration's secrecy suggests Zinke is aware that stripping protections from our public lands and monuments is as unpopular as raising fees for the public to enjoy them."</p><p style="">Since 1967, the <a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=n5ev07v3cJt0VZHKGHPmh-2FA8YRzh1iYwLSo1Lz8Ubytl6LzK3Z0ZQlsfMkqOSreu3xP8Sq1oJgDmy-2Bg3mTIMH6fZ-2BZM-2BY-2BWEZRmEuFcTfBmagX3-2BwmtYfuWoFHM2GAxv2YaBndEWfNakC2DxmVwIAKC4W2I3T6wZVUCTvQbDF-2FC7uLZfpMGxCsCRQ12A-2BMBwVBMbIXI-2FROVDiwmBKxYI-2B-2F-2Bucq0uLCZ9r6Q9RkD3C0wAPAFUjAS8xHjvj-2BJzaYA0_x-2B8b7bjSgm7PP2pr2-2BBei8tMe7aWJwPQx2ba2DAiMBtwlTMpFE1kltRKbCxHSMYJt7KR3xj1j4LwJRRAhW-2Bvq9LOFZmIXAxA0Tho728a43bYhpC1rL2QR3t4g-2FcgTSpYlCYd9gFNsqE975krcAobQTl-2F-2BNuKoIPM-2FBZztU-2FGnEHT" target="_blank">FOIA</a> has provided the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. It is a law that keeps the American people in the know about their government. When a member of the public lodges a request with a federal agency under the FOIA, the agency must promptly disclose any information requested unless the information falls under one of the nine exemptions protecting interests such as personal privacy, national security and law enforcement.</p><p style="">"We are dismayed that it takes litigating FOIA requests to learn the fate of public lands that belong to all Americans," said Caroline Munger, Board Chair for Great Old Broads for Wilderness. "This cloak and dagger approach by the current administration on revealing the fate of these national monuments shows a disdain for the law and the legacy of our protected wild lands. Monument proponents like Broads, tribal nations, and others have committed to a long legal battle, if necessary, to protect the Antiquities Act and monuments created under it." </p>
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Trump Administration Moves to End Ban on New Uranium Mining Near Grand Canyon
02 November 2017
Popular
Sunrise from Cape Royal, North Rim, Grand Canyon. Dan Miller / Flickr
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service released a recommendation Wednesday to lift former President Obama's uranium mining ban in the watershed of the Grand Canyon.
The move was made in response to President Trump's sweeping "energy independence" executive order in March to ease regulatory burdens on energy development.
<p style="">
“This appalling recommendation threatens to destroy one of the world's most breathtakingly beautiful regions to give free handouts to the mining industry,"
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/grand-canyon-11-01-2017.php" target="_blank">said</a> Allison Melton, an attorney with the <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>. “The Trump administration's willingness to sacrifice our natural treasures to polluters knows no bounds. But this reckless, shortsighted proposal won't be allowed to stand."
</p><p style="">
Amber Reimondo, Energy Program Director with the
<a href="https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/" target="_blank">Grand Canyon Trust</a>, had similar sentiments.
</p><p style="">
"The Forest Service should be advocating for a permanent mining ban, not for advancing private mining interests that threaten one of the natural wonders of the world," Reimondo said. "The Grand Canyon and the people and communities that depend on it cannot be left to bear the risks of unfettered uranium mining, which is what will happen if the moratorium is removed."
</p><p style="">
The 20-year ban was issued in 2012 by former Interior Sec. Ken Salazar. It prohibits new claims for mining in the region, which includes more than one million acres of public land adjacent to the Grand Canyon. The ban, however, does not restrict existing mines, four of which continue within just a few miles of the rim of the Colorado River.
</p><p style="">
Reimondo
<a href="https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/blog/forest-service-takes-first-step-reopen-grand-canyon-new-uranium-mining" target="_blank">noted</a> in a blog post that it is currently unclear what part of the ban the Forest Service intends to revise.
</p><p style="">
"It could mean shrinking the duration of the ban, set to expire in 2032, or reducing the acreage included in the ban, or both," she wrote.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xMzI2NTg3Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjgxMjA2OX0.Qs8n1JAtaEhc_kXHoi33UpC6YnqhdyHH4Ud8vAcIBKk/img.jpg?width=980" id="eeb23" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b939984d9f6ee2d1fd8372d8774e7687" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small placeholder="add photo credit..." class="image-media media-photo-credit">Grand Canyon Trust</small>
</p><p style="">
<span></span><a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/358311-trump-admin-to-reconsider-grand-canyon-uranium-mining-ban" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reported that the federal government does not get any royalties from uranium mining since it is regulated as hard-rock mining, but Republicans, industry groups and some local leaders <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/do-the-koch-brothers-want-to-mine-the-grand-canyon-for-uranium-1891119890.html">have pushed for mining</a> to spur local economic activity.
</p><p style="">
"Uranium mining would have brought in nearly $29 billion to our local economy over a 42-year period," the board of supervisors of Arizona's Mohave County wrote in June to Interior Sec.
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke">Ryan Zinke</a>, whose Bureau of Land Management agency owns some of the land. "This ban took away much needed growth and jobs from our area."
</p><p style="">
However, the Center for Biological Diversity
<a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/grand-canyon-11-01-2017.php" target="_blank">warned</a> that past uranium mining in the region has polluted soils, washes, aquifers and drinking water. Abandoned uranium mines, including more than 500 on the Navajo Nation, still await clean up.
</p><p style="">
“This is a dangerous industry that is motivated by profit and greed with a long history of significantly damaging lands and waters. They are now seeking new mines when this industry has yet to clean up the hundreds of existing mines all over the landscape that continue to damage our home. We should learn from the past, not ignore it," said Havasupai Tribal Chairman Don E. Watahomigie.
</p><p style="">
“The Kaibab National Forest south of Grand Canyon National Park comprises crucial wildlife habitat for mule deer, cougars, elk and pronghorn," said Kim Crumbo of
<a href="https://wildlandsnetwork.org/" target="_blank">Wildlands Network</a>. “Considered sacred by Native Americans, the forest's ponderosa pine, woodlands and wild creatures are vulnerable to the industrial impacts of mining and increased truck traffic should the mineral withdrawal be revoked."
</p><p style="">
Polls show that
<a href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-voters-overwhelmingly-support-grand-canyon-national-monument-new-poll-finds-8071711" target="_blank">80 percent of Arizonans</a> as well as a number of environmental organizations and native tribes support permanent protection of Arizona's iconic landmark.
</p><p style="">
<span></span>“One million acres of public lands around Grand Canyon were protected from destructive uranium mining due to significant public support and recognition of what is at risk—Grand Canyon's watershed, its wildlife, and so much more," said Sandy Bahr, director of <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/arizona" target="_blank">Sierra Club's Grand Canyon</a> chapter. “Now, the Trump administration wants to stomp all over the public and the public's lands by rescinding these important protections. Doing so will put at risk Grand Canyon's waters and wildlife, as well as the economy of northern Arizona, for the short-term profits of foreign mining companies. We must keep these protections in place."
</p>
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