The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) claimed in a legal filing the Arizona State Legislature is powerless to prevent the designation of nearly 1 million acres around the Grand Canyon as a national monument.
Federal prosecutor Michael Sawyer claimed to U.S. District Court Judge Stephen McNamee that a lawsuit launched by Arizona lawmakers, led by Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert), does not have standing because only the U.S. Congress could override President Joe Biden’s decision to create the monument, according to a report by Capitol Media Services.
The lawmakers claim Biden’s monument is illegal, in part due to its size, which they noted in their lawsuit is approximately 1,462 square miles.
They argue the 1906 Preservation of American Antiquities Act not created “to allow the Biden administration to declare every inch of federal land a federal forest, cut off from all but those it selects,” the report explained.
On behalf of the Biden administration, Sawyer cited a series of allegedly similar proclamations by early 20th century leaders including Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft, who were the first presidents to dedicate national parks and monuments.
Despite Sawyer’s claim, the National Park Service website explains Roosevelt’s first use of the law was to protect the Devils Tower in Crook County Wyoming. In sharp contrast to Biden’s proclamation, Roosevelt’s proclamation only included 1,152 acres.
The largest area named a national monument by Roosevelt was the Grand Canyon, which totaled only 818,560 acres, meaning Biden’s new monument nearly doubles the size of federal land around the natural wonder.
Called the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument by the Biden administration, a White House fact sheet explains, “The monument spans 917,618 acres of public lands managed by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service.”
When the monument was announced in 2023, the Biden administration said its proclamation represents the president’s commitment “to honoring and respecting Tribal sovereignty, protecting Tribal homelands, and incorporating Indigenous Knowledge and robust Tribal consultation into planning and decision-making” and addressing “injustices of the past.”
The Biden administration is facing other legal challenges as well, including one lawsuit that claims the Biden administration’s monument could lead to environmental damage, potentially subjecting Arizona rancher Chris Heaton to criminal liability.
“Mr. Heaton maintains several springs and regularly removes tamarack trees to prevent the roots from siphoning the water supply. Removing the trees could trigger criminal penalties under the Antiquities Act and subject Mr. Heaton to criminal prosecution,” the lawsuit claims.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Joe Biden” by Joe Biden. Background Photo “Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni” by Bureau of Land Management.
