Celebrating a century at Grand Canyon National Park
Iconic landscape faces ongoing threats from uranium mining in the next 100 years
This week is the centennial anniversary of Grand Canyon National Park. It marks a century of protection for one of the country’s most iconic landscapes, and a shining example of how national parks can ensure our natural heritage is passed down to future generations. While we celebrate the past 100 years, we must also consider the current and future threats to the Grand Canyon to ensure its continued conservation.
The Grand Canyon has long been a defining feature in the American southwest. It is a part of the spiritual and cultural traditions of tribes who have inhabited the region for thousands of years, and remains home to many, including the Havasupai Tribe.
Throughout the past century, Grand Canyon National Park has faced its share of opposition. Although it was finally protected in 1919, the decades leading up to its protection saw intense opposition to conservation, with allegations that it would threaten mining, cattle, and railroad development. However, the past century has proven that the fears of economic loss due to protection of this area were unwarranted. Today, the park brings in over 6 million visitors annually, making it a cornerstone of the Arizona economy.
While the National Park Service manages and protects over one million acres of the Grand Canyon, there are still many threats that it faces today. From the $330 million maintenance backlog to mining threats in the surrounding area, the park’s future is not guaranteed. Anti-conservation policies and proposals threaten the critical, long-term, and sustainable economic and intrinsic benefits of the West’s protected public lands.
In 2012, then-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a 20-year moratorium on new mining claims covering one million acres of national public lands surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. This moratorium was motivated by a need for more research on the “hydrological and biological unknowns” of uranium mining in this region. While legal challenges to the moratorium have consistently failed — culminating with the Supreme Court refusing to hear industry appeals in 2018 — new mining could commence upon its expiration in 2032.
The looming threat of uranium mining around the canyon resurfaced recently when President Trump issued an executive order on critical minerals in December 2017. This executive order emphasized the importance of certain minerals for economic and national security, and requested an updated list of “critical minerals” from then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Although the U.S. Geological Survey had just released an updated critical minerals list one day prior to the executive order — with uranium not included — Zinke provided the president with a new list that did include uranium. As a result, the U.S. Forest Service developed a list of recommended actions pursuant to the executive order, including reconsidering the Grand Canyon mining ban.
Increased uranium mining would not only threaten an irreplaceable landscape and tribal water supplies, it would jeopardize a robust local economy that has grown around Grand Canyon National Park. Today, outdoor recreation and tourism contribute $938 million to the Arizona economy, with Grand Canyon National Park directly associated with $648 million of that total. The national park supports 9,423 jobs throughout the state, including 382 at the Grand Canyon itself.
Now more than ever, it is critical to stand by our national parks and public lands. In just over two years, the Trump administration has attacked our national monuments, attempted to reduce funding for national parks, dramatically increased opportunities for drilling, and suppressed critical science. One common thread ties these policies together — prioritizing corporate profits over the conservation of our public lands.
Reflecting on the past century of Grand Canyon National Park, the positive impact that conservation can have on our landscapes and communities is clear. We must now prioritize the environmental and cultural health of what may be America’s most iconic landscape to ensure that it thrives for centuries to come.
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