Washington, D.C. – Raúl M. Grijalva, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, was joined by tribal leaders from across Northern Arizona on Monday for a press conference in Flagstaff to introduce the Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act, a bill establishing a new national monument that reflects the long history and deep cultural roots of the region’s Native American tribes.

The event featured speakers from the Havasupai, Hualapai, Navajo and Hopi communities supportive of the national monument. The bill represents the next step in the tribal-led effort to protect the Grand Canyon watershed and surrounding area.

Grijalva’s bill permanently protects the Grand Canyon from new uranium mining claims; protects tribal sacred cultural sites; promotes a more collaborative regional approach between tribal nations and federal land managers; protects commercial and recreational hunting; preserves grazing and water rights; and conserves the Grand Canyon watershed.

Grijalva has led the effort to protect the Grand Canyon from new uranium mining claims for years and was instrumental in then-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s 20-year withdrawal announcement in 2012.

The text of Rep. Grijalva’s bill is available here.

The map of Rep. Grijalva’s proposed Greater Grand Canyon National Monument is available here.