Red Butte in Coconino County, Wednesday, Aug. 30. Known as "Wii'i Gdwiisa," in Havasupai, the sacred grounds are protected under President Joe Biden's Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni- Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen is asking United States Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to rescind Arizona’s newest national monument.
The Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument protects nearly one million acres of public lands from future uranium mining claims. Former President Joe Biden designated the land back in 2023 after all 22 federally recognized tribes in Arizona united to push for federal protections. According to the designation, the national monument safeguards over three thousand known cultural sites including Red Butte, which is believed to be the birthplace of some of Arizona’s tribal nations like the Havasupai.
But Petersen calls it a “land grab” that will “hurt” America’s economy and national security.
“Importing virtually all of our uranium forces America to be dependent on foreign powers,” Petersen wrote. “Reversing the Obama/Biden land grab would protect America’s national security by producing uranium here.”
Right now, the United States gets most of its uranium from Canada and Kazakhstan–a former Soviet Union state. Petersen contends that uranium from the Grand Canyon region would lower the demand for foreign supplies that could be impacted by foreign interference.
“Even though America is thankfully phasing out Russian uranium imports, Russia has ‘the military means to deny U.S. and U.S.-aligned countries access to Kazakh and Uzbek uranium exported through Russian ports, principally on the Baltic Sea,’ which could cause ‘critical fuel shortages’ in the United States,” Petersen said.
This is not Petersen’s first attempt to roll back on Biden’s designation. At the end of January, a federal judge dismissed his lawsuit due to a lack of authority.
“Litigating on the state's behalf is the prerogative of the executive branch, not the Legislature,” the judge wrote.
Petersen plans to appeal.
The Senate president’s request comes days after President Donald Trump called for the review of all regulations on public lands for mining, which would impact national monuments. Trump wants to “unleash” American energy by ramping up domestic supplies. On his first day in office, Trump placed an executive order “to encourage energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters…to meet the needs of our citizens and solidify the United States as a global energy leader long into the future.”
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