Opinion by Senator Sylvia Allen
Two new national monuments are being proposed for Arizona: The Grand Canyon Watershed – 1.7 million acres, and The Sedona Verde Valley Red Rock – 180,000 acres including the town of Sedona.
Arizona has the third highest total designated wilderness acreage in the United States at 4.5 million acres.
Arizona has another 5.8 million acres affected by special land use designations including 18 national monuments (more monuments than other states.)
Why would we want to give up more of our land in Arizona and increase the oversite, regulation, and restrictions on the people and businesses of this state?
Why would we give more control of our water to the Federal Government?
Why would we support locking up thousands of acres of state trust land within the proposed monument boundaries?
Why would we impact private property and support the Red Rock Monument boundaries around Sedona? What a can of worms this will create!
The small minority who support these ideas are politicians who think it will give them leverage in their election with big green money donations and citizens who think it will bring some higher level of protection for the environment they love.
We already have numerous laws and regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, Forest Service Management Plan, and many others, to ensure the protection of these areas. We don’t need another layer of regulations spread across this state. Plus, the Federal Government has some of the worst-managed lands in the country.
Local control gives local protection to our citizens and businesses. Try dealing with someone 2000 miles away!
Raising tourism dollars is not a good reason either. How can you increase tourism to a place that is already saturated with visitors?
What can you do?
- Write to the Arizona Congressional Delegation and President Obama and say NO to both monuments.
- Lobby your local government if you live in the Verde Valley or near the Grand Canyon. Let them know you do not support the monuments.
- Write letters to your local paper, post it on Facebook and forward this email to your list.
- You can also sign the Petition shown here:
Click here to Sign Now