The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service are set to hold a meeting on a proposed national monument near the Grand Canyon.
Among other things, the proposed 1.1 million-acre Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument would make permanent a 20-year moratorium on mining already in place for the area.
The name is made of Havasupai and Hopi phrases meaning, respectively, “where our ancestors roamed” and “our footsteps,” said Stuart L.T. Chavez, a former tribal council member for the Havasupai. The Havasupai is one of about a dozen tribes in a coalition pushing for the designation.
“It's not going to just be the Havasupai alone,” he said. “This is a protection for the environment for everyone to be conscientious about and understand that it's for their protection and the future generations’ protection.”
Chavez and others are especially concerned about uranium mining.
The proposal has faced some pushback, with a Mohave County supervisor recently saying it would have negative economic impacts.
The BLM and Forest Service are meeting in Flagstaff Tuesday afternoon, and several high-ranking officials – including BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning – will be on hand. The meeting will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. at the DoubleTree on Route 66.
Those who are unable to attend can email comments on the proposal to OIEA@ios.doi.gov or mail them to the BLM’s Arizona State Office in Phoenix within a week of the meeting.
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