Arizona Bill Wipes Out Grand Canyon Monument, Requires Congress for Future Land Protection

If you’re busy and haven’t been tracking federal land policy, here’s the quick-and-dirty on the Northern Arizona Protection Act: It completely cancels a major land protection measure and permanently changes who gets to decide what happens to a huge chunk of public land near the Grand Canyon.

This bill immediately voids Presidential Proclamation 10606, which President Biden issued in August 2023 to create the Baaj Nwaavjo Itah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. That monument designation, which covered roughly 917,610 acres, is now legally nonexistent, meaning the federal protections put in place for that area are wiped clean.

The Monument’s Ghost: What Happens to the Land?

The most significant part of this bill isn't just reversing the recent monument—it’s the permanent restriction on future protections. The bill states that for the specific area covered by the now-void monument map, no future president can use the 1906 Antiquities Act to designate a new national monument or expand an existing one. This is a massive shift in how that land can be protected.

Think of the Antiquities Act as the President’s emergency conservation tool; it allows the executive branch to quickly protect important historic or natural areas. This bill takes that tool away entirely for this specific area. Going forward, the only way to establish a national monument in this region is if Congress explicitly authorizes it through new legislation (SEC. 2). This means future protection is now tied up in the legislative process, which, as we know, can take years, if it happens at all.

Who This Affects and Why It Matters

For regular folks, this bill might seem like bureaucratic back-and-forth, but it has real-world implications for land use. Before the monument designation, this land was managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service. The monument designation prioritized conservation, cultural preservation (especially for Tribal Nations who supported the monument for ancestral reasons), and recreational access.

By voiding the monument, the land reverts to its previous status, potentially opening the door to activities like mining or resource extraction that the monument status would have restricted or prohibited. If you’re a hiker, camper, or work in the tourism industry, the long-term character of this landscape is now less secure and more vulnerable to development, depending on future federal decisions.

For Tribal Nations, this is a direct blow, as the monument was created in part to protect sacred sites and cultural landscapes important to several tribes. The bill effectively undoes a major federal recognition of those cultural ties.

The Bigger Picture: Shifting the Power Balance

This bill is a clear attempt to shift power over public lands from the executive branch (the President) to the legislative branch (Congress). While proponents might argue this ensures decisions have broader democratic support, the practical effect is that it makes permanent protection significantly harder to achieve. Requiring a full Act of Congress for future monument status introduces a high bar—a bar that can be easily blocked by political gridlock—leaving the land vulnerable in the interim. This is a big deal if you value having protected public lands, as it removes one of the most effective and timely mechanisms for ensuring their preservation.