President Joe Biden recently designated a new Arizona national monument in the Grand Canyon, granting 1 million acres of land to Tribal nations, furthering his pledge on climate resilience and conservation. The White House announced the monument reiterating the Biden administration's plan to conserve and restore 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, according to an Aug. 8 release.
"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," Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in an Aug. 8 NPR report. "It will protect objects of historic and scientific importance for the benefit of tribes, the public and for future generations."
Biden established a fifth new national monument as part of his climate agenda, the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona. This name, derived from the Havasupai and Hopi languages, signifies "where Indigenous peoples roam" and "our ancestral footprints," respectively, the release reported.
The Biden administration also made a $44 million commitment to bolster climate resilience throughout the National Parks system across the U.S., according to the White House release.
According to NPR, the new monument bans uranium mining in the area. Statewide polls showed support for protecting the Tribal land, although some locals have concerns about property rights and mining claims.
American Stewards for Liberty reported Biden's move to create the national monument in Arizona "locks up the lowest-cost and lowest impact source of uranium mining in the United States." Uranium serves as a source of clean nuclear energy, contributing to 20% of the electricity generated in the U.S. and supplying 50% of electricity that is free from carbon emissions.
American Stewards of Liberty said Congress may be able to stop the Biden administration from going forward with this plan, and in doing so, halt Biden's 30x30 initiative.
According to American Stewards of Liberty, Biden is reportedly violating the Antiquities Act of 1906 which requires monuments to be “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.”
Two of Biden's previous national monument designations were challenged by Utah, after an open invitation to discuss the Antiquities Act by Chief Justice John Roberts, but recently both cases were tossed out by U.S. District Judge David Nuffer. Governor Cox of Utah promised to continue fighting the issue to bring it to the Supreme Court, American Stewards for Liberty reported.
Biden's designations predominantly restrict access to significant mineral reserves and natural resources essential for the nation's growth and well-being. This deliberate approach undermines vital sources of clean energy, job creation, and economic progress, according to American Stewards of Liberty.
One of Biden's early executive orders, 14008, not only pledges to designate 30% of U.S. lands and waters as off-limits by 2030 but also prohibits oil, gas and mineral extraction in New Mexico, halts nickel and cobalt mining in Minnesota and forbids new oil and gas leases on federally-owned lands, American Stewards of Liberty said.
Biden's monument designation for the Grand Canyon drew criticism from Chairman of the Western Caucus Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., who condemned it, saying it "continues a pattern of shutting down resource development on public lands, exacerbating supply chain issues and increasing reliance on foreign nations for important minerals and fuels,” according to the American Stewards of Liberty report.
While lacking credible scientific basis, the drive to set aside 30% of U.S. lands and waters lacks Constitutional or Congressional authorization, American Stewards for Liberty reported. Citizens require space for living and work, minerals for production and rely on domestically-developed oil and gas to sustain society.
