Place: Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (Arizona)
Threat: National Monument Management, ORV Damage,
Underfunding
 Covering more than 1 million acres of remote wilderness, the Grand Canyon-Parashant
National Monument is a popular destination for hikers, campers, fossil hunters, and
wildlife watchers.
Part of the greater Grand Canyon ecosystem, it also offers similarly
grand and breathtaking views as its neighbor, Grand Canyon National Park. Threatened
and endangered species such as the Mexican spotted owl, the California condor, and the
desert tortoise live in the deep canyons and red desert rock of the monument. The area
contains mountains, deep canyons, and a portion of the Shivwits Plateau. The monument
encompasses an important part of the Colorado River watershed and provides habitat for
bighorn sheep, raptors and migratory birds, among many other birds, mammals, and
reptiles. The area is also rich in archaeological and historical sites.
Grand Canyon-Parashant was designated a National
Monument in 2000. This new monument, one of five created
in Arizona in 2000 and 2001, is jointly managed by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Park
Service (NPS) as a part of the National Landscape
Conservation System (NLCS). The NLCS was created by
former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to "conserve, protect,
and restore...these nationally significant landscapes...for the benefit of current and future
generations."
The BLM and NPS are currently working to create a management plan for Grand
Canyon-Parashant, outlining how the monument and its values will be protected. Until
this plan is completed, the monument is subject to the BLM’s interim management
policies, which can be changed without any public oversight or input.
“Under the Bush Administration, the Department of Interior (DOI) has seriously
hampered the protection of these outstanding new Monuments,” says Julie Sherman with
the Sierra Club in Arizona.
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton’s new interim management policy opens the
Monuments to off-road vehicle (ORV) travel on user-created tracks. ORV abuses are
causing serious damage to wildlife habitat, vegetation, archaeological sites and soils in
Grand Canyon-Parashant. Because desert soils are often fragile and form slowly, ORV
abuse in the monument is especially damaging. Weakened grazing policies further
compromise already overgrazed pronghorn and desert tortoise habitat in these
monuments as well. Under new DOI logging rules, the old growth ponderosa stands in
Grand Canyon-Parashant, habitat for goshawks and kaibab squirrel, can be logged
without regard to providing for viable populations of these rare species. The Bush
administration ban on Wilderness protection also affects Grand Canyon Parashant and the
rest of Arizona’s new Monuments. More than 950,000 acres of potential Wilderness in
Grand Canyon-Parashant and Vermilion Cliffs National Monuments are now deprived of
protection under this settlement.
Additionally, these Monuments suffer from the chronic under-funding now burdening the
entire NLCS system. Due to the Administration’s budget cuts, the BLM lacks the
funding to hire sufficient staff to manage Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.
The Monument needs law enforcement officers and rangers to prevent looting and
damage to archaeological sites and geologic features, and illegal cross-country off road
vehicle travel. They are also unable to afford necessary measures to protect endangered
species including the desert tortoise. More research is needed as well, to determine the
status of other rare species and habitats.
The Sierra Club and many state and national conservation groups are working together,
along with scientists and archaeologists, to create a management proposal designed to
protect these Monuments and their natural and cultural resources while providing
reasonable access and recreation opportunities. BLM will be releasing draft management
plans for Grand Canyon-Parashant this fall. They will be asking for public participation
and comments on the best way to manage these national treasures.
Polling conducted in 2001 showed 75 percent of Arizonans supported the five new
monuments, and more than 89 percent of the comments received by BLM thus far asked
for increased protection of Grand Canyon-Parashant and Vermilion Cliffs’ landscapes
and resources. Despite this overwhelming support, public participation is still needed to
ensure the BLM chooses a management strategy which will adequately protect the
Monuments’ wildlands, rare species, and cultural values. The administration, which has
proven itself unfriendly to these Monuments and their purpose, ultimately has control
over final plan decisions.
“There is a better way. It is critically important that the Bush administration clearly hears
the public demand for our nation’s treasures be adequately protected for current and
future generations,” says Sherman.
Sierra Club Contact:
Julie Sherman, Arizona: (928) 213-1176
Additional Info:
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