Trust for Public Land Applauds Biden Administration’s Proclamation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument

Washington, D.C. – Trust for Public Land [TPL] applauds President Biden’s decision to protect the Grand Canyon and honor the surrounding tribal nations, by proclaiming the creation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. 

A statement from Katie Murtha, Vice President of Federal Relations at Trust for Public Land, on President Biden designating Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon in Arizona as a National Monument, providing permanent protections via the Antiquities Act: 

“Trust for Public Land applauds President Biden and his Administration for designating the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. The Grand Canyon region encompasses an ecologically rich landscape that is deeply significant to more than a dozen Indigenous tribes, nations and tribal associations, with the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument permanently protecting 1.1 million acres in the Colorado River Basin and the countless natural, cultural, and historical resources found within it.  

The Grand Canyon is the heart of the Colorado River Basin, providing clean water, wildlife habitat, and unmatched outdoor recreation opportunities. The Arizona National Scenic Trail, a national treasure and international destination, passes through the Monument as it runs the entire length of Arizona from north to south. The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument will strengthen outdoor recreation opportunities, like hunting, fishing, hiking and camping, and secure greater economic benefits for local communities. Importantly, the new National Monument protects the health of the river basin and the extraordinary cultural and ecological resources of the landscape by prohibiting mining projects.  

This exciting and historic designation is in keeping with President Biden’s exceptional record on conservation, and like Camp Hale-Continental Divide, Castner Range, and Avi Kwa Ame National Monuments, it advances a new model of conservation where tribes and Indigenous peoples are explicitly included as essential partners and co-stewards. 

Our national monuments and other public lands serve as fulcrums of history, family ancestry and heritage. We applaud today’s decision by the Biden Administration as they continue to fulfill their commitment to protect, conserve, and restore our country’s iconic outdoor spaces and historical sites for the benefit of future generations.”

In Trust for Public Land’s fifty years of work, TPL has contributed to the protection of more than 6,800 acres of national monuments, visited by millions of people annually, as they connect to nature, experience cultural treasures, and enjoy the outdoors. These monuments have included projects at Bandelier, California Coastal, Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers Boyhood Home, Fort Sumter, Pipestone, Rio Grande del Norte, and Stonewall, demonstrating the depth and breadth of places the Antiquities Act protects and the American stories our national monuments tell. 

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About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,364 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $93 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.4 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.