Alex Brandon / AP
President Joe Biden talks with Ed Keable, superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park in Grand Canyon Village, Ariz., Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, as he views the South Rim of the canyon at Yaki Point.
Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023 | 2 a.m.
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President Joe Biden delivered big this week, not just for Americans, but for America — the people, the places, the resources and the environment.
In just one day, Biden took meaningful action to protect access to clean drinking water, promote a more sustainable environment, preserve cultural history, recognize Indigenous rights, restore our beloved national parks, and support a thriving economy.
On Tuesday, Biden joined with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and tribal leaders from across the Southwest to announce the creation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, a nearly million-acre national monument just outside of Grand Canyon National Park.
It’s a major victory for Native American tribes, outdoor enthusiasts and environmentalists who have spent decades fighting to protect land and waterways that are considered culturally significant and essential to life in the desert Southwest from destruction and pollution caused by mining and development.
The greater Grand Canyon region is the ancestral homeland of several Native American tribes. “Baaj Nwaavjo” means “where tribes roam,” for the Havasupai people, while “I’tah Kukveni” translates to “our footprints” for the Hopi tribe.
It’s also home to numerous canyons, creeks, streams and underground aquifers that provide drinking water for millions of Americans living in the desert Southwest.
There is no reliable map of this complex water system, and native communities, conservation groups, local governments and outdoor enthusiasts such as hunters and anglers have spent decades arguing that mining in and around the canyon for radioactive elements like uranium poses a cataclysmic risk to the region’s water supply.
A 2010 study by the U.S. Geological Survey found 15 springs and five wells near uranium mines in Grand Canyon watersheds that have hazardous levels of dissolved uranium.
A temporary 20-year moratorium on new mining claims in the region has been in place since 2012, but the region’s rich uranium deposits made it a prime target for developing new mining operations. In 2017, President Barack Obama abandoned plans to declare the area a national monument after Arizona’s then-Republican leadership sharply criticized the proposal as anti-mining and anti-business.
Once Biden took office, he sought a middle ground.
While the national monument designation prohibits new mining claims and limits development, Biden carefully carved all privately owned land out of the monument area and provided special legacy status that honors valid existing mining claims, meaning that current mining operations will be unaffected by the designation. He also actively solicited input and support from everyone from tribal leaders to mining industry executives to sporting associations and outdoor enthusiasts.
Haaland, the first Native American to lead the Interior Department, described the new 1,562-square-mile monument as being about more than simply protecting public land, it was about listening to Native people and Native concerns.
She told reporters on a Zoom call Monday that “We are in a new era, one in which we honor tribally led conservation, advance co-stewardship and care about the well-being of Native American people.”
Even the governance of the new monument promotes collaboration. Biden established a special commission of tribal leaders from more than a dozen tribes, working together with environmental, government and industry experts from the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest service to co-manage the new monument.
Biden’s innovative approach to protecting environmental and cultural treasures while promoting ecotourism and even protecting legacy mining is a testament to his steadfast commitment to protecting the environment and respecting sacred and historic sites without sacrificing U.S. economic interests.
Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni is the fifth monument created by Biden since taking office in 2021. Earlier this year, he designated the Ave Kwa Ame national monument here in Southern Nevada. Other new monuments include dramatic mountainous regions of Colorado and a military test site in Texas that has become a haven for wildlife. Biden also restored massive tracts of land to three monuments created by the Obama administration but later slashed to unrecognizable proportions by disgraced former President Donald Trump.
In a statement about Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni, Biden pledged to “protect and conserve at least 30% of our nation’s land and waters by 2030,” and that wasn’t even his first major environmental policy announcement of the day.
Earlier Tuesday, Biden announced that his administration will allocate $44 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to support climate resilience projects in national parks in 39 states.
The Inflation Reduction Act is already the largest investment in clean and sustainable energy in the history of the United States, but by funding projects in national parks, Biden is ensuring that the impact of the legislation goes far beyond America’s aging energy infrastructure. He is unabashedly declaring that investing in America’s infrastructure must include investing in federal lands and the natural resources — including clean water — located within their boundaries.
“From providing critical care to cultural resources at risk in Alaska, to mitigating climate change impacts on coral reefs, these projects will support ongoing efforts to restore habitats, address climate change impacts and bolster park resources for years to come,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams in a statement. “Many of these projects support restoration and resilience efforts in national parks located in small and rural communities, bringing much-needed investments and jobs that support the American economy while protecting and preserving our nation’s most cherished places.”
Each of these actions point to a president who is committed to promoting good public policy, protecting the nation’s natural resources and landscapes, and preserving its cultures and histories, all while being respectful of private property rights and U.S. economic interests.
Biden deserves credit for taking bold and innovative action to protect the environment, build strong and successful partnerships with tribal nations and promote American economic interests. His nuanced approach respects the role of mining in our nation’s economy without sacrificing our natural resources or indigenous roots.
