This isn’t “the” Grand Canyon, it’s just downstream of it, and the monument is commonly called Parashant. Sec of Int Zinke who serves at the pleasure of the president has been conducting a review of all Monuments that have been designated since the days of Clinton the guy. The review is to see if they want to fight to make the monuments smaller or maybe it’s just to piss people off or who knows why they do anything in this admin. This one was made in the last days of Bill Clinton’s Presidency.
“Today I’m announcing that Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument’s review process has concluded and I am recommending no changes be made to the monument,” said Secretary Zinke. “The land has some of the most pristine and undeformed geological formations in North America, which show the scientific history of our earth while containing thousands of years of human relics and fossils.”
www.doi.gov/…
At some million acres this monument isn’t exactly small. West of the Grand Canyon, east of Lake Mead, this monument is a big green blob on google maps, the Colorado River roughly follows the southern border of the monument. The part I liked hearing the most is that there are no paved roads into the Monument and no visitor services, sounds like my kind of place, even if it’s a little far south of my regular stomping grounds.
Mostly the Monument is BLM, which means one can do pretty much the same as if it weren’t a monument, four Wilderness areas which is the highest level of protection, and small portions are National Park and run by the Park Service that are adjacent to Lake Mead Recreation Area.
I’ve no insider knowledge just a hunch, but I’m betting this is all part of a softening prior to announcing some sort of attempted re drawing of boundaries of Bears Ears/Escalante. I’d wish every monument to be as ignored as Parashant.
A million acres is like if you made a square box roughly 40 miles to a side. Enough dirt to get lost in.
Parashant
Wildlife
In reading I came across Restoration Projects, I guess the area was logged and grazed. Probably not a great thing to do in someplace so hot.