For more than 100 years, presidents have sought to protect some of our most spectacular public lands by proclaiming them as national monuments. Nine presidents have used the Antiquities Act to protect a diversity of Arizona landscapes. President Theodore Roosevelt was the first, designating Petrified Forest and Grand Canyon long before Congress made them national parks.
Now, the Trump administration wants to “review” (i.e., reverse designation of) some of our recent monuments — Grand Canyon–Parashant, Vermilion Cliffs, Sonoran Desert and Ironwood Forest. I have been to each of these monuments and can verify that they are all spectacular and necessary. The president’s review is certainly not because these areas are not worthy of protection.
It isn’t because they harm our economy, either. In fact, research demonstrates positive growth in local communities surrounding national monuments — from personal income to rates of employment. Areas near Vermilion Cliffs and Grand Canyon–Parashant national monuments experienced job growth of 24 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively, after designation.
Clearly, the president has spent little time out West. I am quite certain he has not been to our monuments, so I would like to tell him a bit about these four monuments and about the people who have advocated for and worked to protect them.
Ironwood Forest National Monument near Tucson has a dense population of ironwood trees, but is also home to a small endangered cactus, the Nichol’s turk’s head cactus, found in only one other location in Arizona. More than a decade ago, an observant visitor noted invasive grasses in the area the cacti inhabited, grasses that pose a fire risk and could result in wiping out the cactus population. Volunteers kicked into action and have spent time removing invasive plants, revegetating and grading to help restore and care for this monument.
Sonoran Desert National Monument southwest of Phoenix features a diversity of Sonoran Desert habitats and human cultural history. The monument includes mountain ranges, lowland desert and important habitat and movement corridors for desert tortoise, bighorn sheep and other animals. Volunteers have invested considerable time in protecting this monument, too. They rehabilitate areas damaged by irresponsible off-road vehicle activity and unfettered, irresponsible target shooting. Recently, volunteers marked a wilderness boundary, so visitors can easily understand how to abide by wilderness protections.
Our northern monuments — Vermilion Cliffs and Grand Canyon–Parashant — provide amazing vistas and dark skies and are home to sensitive wildlife. Vermilion Cliffs is the site of many California condor releases. These large scavengers need big spaces, which Vermilion Cliffs and surrounding lands provide. Next door is Grand Canyon–Parashant, encompassing a large chunk of the Shivwits Plateau and providing habitat for at least 20 species of bats. Without its monument status, this area would be open to uranium mining.
These monument designations help keep these lands from being privatized and developed, which in turn keeps them available for recreational activities. In my visits to Arizona’s monuments, I have yet to hear anyone say they thought an area should have less protection or was too big.
President Trump should visit our monuments. Maybe he does not appreciate these places because he has never seen them. As an Arizonan, I can assure him that we have and we do.
