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Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after successfully leading an effort to block Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and extremist environmental groups’ proposed 1.7 million acre land grab in Northwest Arizona commonly referred to as the Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument proposal:
“As Barack Obama’s presidency ended earlier today, Arizonans can celebrate knowing that they successfully blocked a massive federal land grab which threatened to stifle economic development and kill jobs in our rural communities. In the face of environmental extremists teaming up with a president hell-bent on abusing the Antiquities Act, Arizonans united in one voice to oppose more of our land being unilaterally locked-up by the federal government. I was honored to lead the charge against this misguided land grab for our communities. But this was a team effort and this massive victory is a result of the tireless work by local stakeholders and grassroots groups who united with my office to send a clear message of opposition all the way to the Oval Office.”
“While we were successful in our efforts to block this monument designation in Arizona, there is still much work to be done during the Trump Administration to rein in the outdated Antiquities Act. Local communities deserve to have their voices heard before a president can lock up millions of acres of land with one stroke of a pen. I continue to call on President Trump to repeal the land grabs executed by former President Obama where significant local opposition was present including Bears Ears, Utah and Clark County, Nevada.”
Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson stated, “Clearly, successfully blocking this effort by the federal government is a huge success story for Arizona and vitally important for Mohave County. My first meeting with Congressman Gosar was in 2010 at a meeting fighting this overreach and he never gave up. Future economic development can now proceed as we move to both preserve the natural beauty of the nearly 2 million acres and create new jobs and opportunities as well. This is a massive victory.”
Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Glenn Hamer stated, “We are extremely pleased that the Obama administration has come to an end without designating a huge swath of northern Arizona as a national monument. Doing so would have been a monumental mistake. But this was a close call. We look forward to working with the new Congress to reform the Antiquities Act to ensure that even the potential of a similar land grab can’t occur again.”
Chairman of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission Kurt Davis stated, “We are thankful that the preservation of the multi-use doctrine has been protected and that the effective conservation of wildlife can continue on these lands.”
Arizona water law expert and attorney Bob Lynch stated, “What most people don't know is that defeating this proposal, especially the Executive action, dodges troubling unresolved water rights issues that could threaten water conservation at Lake Mead. Thank you, Congressman Gosar!”
Background:
Congressman Gosar spearheaded the successful effort opposing the proposed 1.7 million acre land grab in Northwest Arizona under the Antiquities Act. He also defeated Rep. Grijalva’s bill in the 114th Congress, H.R. 3882, that also aimed to accomplish this misguided designation through legislation. A comprehensive webpage detailing Congressman Gosar’s work on this matter can be found HERE.
The president’s ability to set aside land for monuments and national parks comes from the outdated Antiquities Act of 1906, which was originally intended to protect prehistoric Indian ruins and artifacts on federal lands in the West. More than one hundred years later, the original intent of this law, which included language to limit these designations to “the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects,” has been significantly abused. President Obama exceeded the intent of the Antiquities Act more than any other president in the history of this country. During his presidency, Obama designated or expanded 34 national monuments. These unilateral declarations locked-up more than 553,550,000 acres of land and water.
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National monument designations under the Antiquities Act typically have significant consequences that negatively affect grazing rights, water rights, wildfire prevention and other land management activities. These declarations also result in some of the most restrictive land-use regulations possible and also greatly impact hunting, fishing, OHV and other recreational activities.
Unilateral designations that circumvent Congress typically result in devastating consequences for rural America and our future economic prosperity. For every new acre claimed for the federal government, there is an acre of private land lost. Such actions exacerbate challenges for local communities to fund things like education and infrastructure as lands that are added to the federal rolls can no longer be taxed. Arizona already has 18 national monuments, more than any other state. Only 18.2% of Arizona land is private land and the federal government already controls more than 30 million acres of land in our state and more than 635 million acres throughout the country.
Since 2010, extremist environmental groups have been pushing a radical proposal that explicitly seeks to lock-up 1.7 million acres in the Grand Canyon Watershed. Shamefully, some proponents of the monument have been lying to the American people by stating this was an idea that was initiated by tribal governments. This proposal was put forth by the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Wilderness Society. The real intentions of these shortsighted self-interest groups are clear as they boldly state in their literature that this land grab is needed in order to prevent hunting and fishing, mining, timber harvesting, OHV use, energy development and grazing on this massive swath of land.
Three Democrats from Arizona’s delegation sent a letter to the President requesting he appease these special-interest groups by locking-up nearly 2 million acres in northern Arizona. Arizona's southern liberal Congressman, Raúl Grijalva, subsequently introduced a bill that also aims to accomplish this misguided land grab.
In November of 2015, Congressman Gosar introduced H.R. 3946, the Protecting Local Communities from Executive Overreach Act, legislation which sought to update the 1906 Antiquities Act in order to protect property rights, water rights and jobs from presidential overreach. More information HERE.
Congressman Gosar has also passed an amendment and submitted an appropriation’s rider to prevent further abuse of the Antiquities Act. In February of 2015, Congressman Gosar led his initial effort that was supported by 24 members of Congress to oppose declaration of the Grand Canyon Watershed under the Antiquities Act.
A scientific poll conducted by Coleman Dahm and Associates found that 71.6% of Arizonans are opposed to the proposed Administrative designation of 1.7 million acres in Northern Arizona as a National Monument. While some special-interest groups have commissioned push polls attempting to show support for this misguided proposal, this scientific poll makes clear that Arizonans recognize that future management of this area should be driven by a collaborative processes that includes local stakeholders and that Arizonans overwhelmingly oppose this land grab.
On Monday April 11, 2016, Congressman Gosar held a Public Listening Session in Kingman, Arizona titled, “Government Land Grabs: Exposing The Truth.” During the event, the Congressman heard from concerned citizens for more than three hours on the need to reform the Antiquities Act and the negative impacts that would result should President Obama appease special-interest groups and unilaterally lock up 1.7 million acres in the Grand Canyon Watershed. Learn more HERE.
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