Advocates for the creation of a new national monument covering areas around Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park say they are hopeful after President Barack Obama created two new monuments this week in Utah and Nevada. But Arizona's governor is threatening legal action if Obama acts.
Sandy Bahr of the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter says Obama's action in the nearby states is encouraging. Environmental groups and Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva have been championing a proposed 1.7 million-acre monument in the area of towering cliffs and canyons, grasslands, forest and desert that is popular with hunters and hikers.
It also includes 1 million acres rich in uranium ore where new mining claims are banned through 2032.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake oppose a monument.