Biden establishes new national monument near Grand Canyon to permanently protect land and honor tribes while restricting future mining

President Biden has designated nearly 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon in Arizona as a new national monument called Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni.
The monument aims to conserve ancestral tribal lands, protect cultural sites, and permanently ban new uranium mining claims in the area.
Tribal nations had advocated for greater protections and consider the area sacred, while mining interests argued it would hurt domestic uranium supply.
The designation makes permanent a 20-year moratorium on new mining claims and will be managed collaboratively with tribes.
Existing mining operations and rights are unaffected, but new claims cannot be staked under the monument status.