[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 15, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 55331-55344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17628]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 156 / Tuesday, August 15, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 55331]]
Proclamation 10606 of August 8, 2023
Establishment of the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni--
Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National
Monument
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Since time immemorial, many Tribes of the Southwest
have lived and prayed among the canyons and plateaus of
a landscape unlike any other in the world. The region
is described in numerous languages. Many of the
Indigenous names for the area reflect the deep
interconnection between the land and its Tribal
Nations. For example, the Havasupai call it baaj
nwaavjo, or ``where Indigenous peoples roam.'' To the
Hopi, it is i'tah kukveni, or ``our ancestral
footprints.'' In English, we call the canyon that lies
at the center of this region ``the Grand Canyon.''
In addition to its profound historical, cultural, and
religious significance, the Grand Canyon region is
known around the world for containing some of the
greatest natural wonders on the planet. The area
supports remarkable geology and a diversity of wildlife
and plants that flourish in its vast and well-connected
ecosystem.
The Grand Canyon region has played a central role in
America's conservation history. In 1893, 2 years after
the establishment of the National Forest System, the
area was designated as the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve.
In 1908, 2 years after the Congress passed the
Antiquities Act, President Theodore Roosevelt used his
authority under the Act to protect some of the deepest
canyons along the Colorado River as a national
monument. In 1919, 3 years after the establishment of
the National Park Service, the Congress created Grand
Canyon National Park. Today, millions of people from
around the world come to the Grand Canyon region each
year to visit, learn in, and explore the national park
and the plateaus and canyons that surround it. The
conservation and stewardship of the broader Grand
Canyon region have helped safeguard the integrity of
vital natural resources important to the Nation's
health and well-being, including clean drinking water
that flows through the region's springs and streams and
into the Colorado River, before eventually reaching the
taps of millions of homes across the Southwest.
The history of the lands and resources in the Grand
Canyon region also tells a painful story about the
forced removal and dispossession of Tribal Nations and
Indigenous peoples. The Federal Government used the
establishment of Grand Canyon National Park to justify
denying Indigenous peoples access to their homelands,
preventing them from engaging in traditional cultural
and religious practices within the boundaries of the
park. Despite these barriers, Tribal Nations and
Indigenous peoples persevered and continued to conduct
their long-standing practices on sacred homelands just
outside the boundaries of the national park, among the
vast landscapes of plateaus, canyons, and tributaries
of the Colorado River.
The lands outside of the national park contain myriad
sensitive and distinctive resources that contribute to
the Grand Canyon region's renown. In many of these
lands outside of the national park, however, the
Federal Government permitted or encouraged intensive
resource exploration and extraction to meet the needs
of the nuclear age. For decades, the Tribal Nations and
Indigenous peoples of the Grand Canyon region have
worked to protect the health and wellness of their
people and the lands, waters,
[[Page 55332]]
and cultural resources of the region from the effects
of this development, including by cleaning up the
abandoned mines and related pollution that has been
left behind.
Much of the health and vitality of the Grand Canyon
region today is attributable to the tireless work of
Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples, the lands' first
and steadfast stewards. In the tradition of their
ancestors, who fought to defend the sovereignty of
their nations and to regain access to places and sites
essential to their cultural and traditional practices,
Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples have remained
resolute in their commitment to protect the landscapes
of the region, which are integral to their identity and
indispensable to the health and well-being of millions
of people living in the Southwest.
Efforts to address the legacy of dispossession and
exclusion of Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples in
the Grand Canyon region and to conserve the region's
cultural and natural resources beyond the boundaries of
Grand Canyon National Park span several decades. In
1975, the Congress took a first step toward addressing
these earlier injustices when it restored lands along
the Grand Canyon's rim to the Havasupai Tribe and
established cultural use lands as part of an expansion
of Grand Canyon National Park. More recently,
legislation has been introduced in multiple Congresses
to permanently conserve the lands to the south,
northeast, and northwest of Grand Canyon National Park
for the benefit of Tribes, the public, and future
generations. In addition, in 2012, the Secretary of the
Interior withdrew many of these lands from the location
of new mining claims for a 20-year period.
Conserving lands that stretch beyond Grand Canyon
National Park through an abiding partnership between
the United States and the region's Tribal Nations will
ensure that current and future generations can learn
from and experience the compelling and abundant
historic and scientific objects found there, and will
also serve as an important next step in understanding
and addressing past injustices.
The natural and cultural objects of the lands have
historic and scientific value that is unique, rich, and
well-documented. The sweeping plateaus to the south,
northeast, and northwest of Grand Canyon National Park
constitute three distinct areas, each of which is an
integral part of the broader Grand Canyon ecosystem.
The northwestern area, which is administered by both
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) within the
Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service
(Forest Service) within the Department of Agriculture,
begins at the western edge of the Kanab watershed and
northern boundary of Grand Canyon National Park and
stretches north to the Shinarump Cliffs and Moonshine
Ridge. The northeastern area primarily includes parts
of House Rock Valley, which are administered by the BLM
and the Forest Service, and extends west from Marble
Canyon along the Colorado River to the edge of the
Kaibab Plateau. The southern area includes a portion of
the Coconino Plateau to the south of Grand Canyon
National Park that is managed by the Forest Service,
and extends from the border of the Havasupai Indian
Reservation in the west to the Navajo Nation in the
east.
While the greater Grand Canyon region is indisputably a
cultural resource in its entirety, the landscapes in
these three discrete areas are themselves historically
and scientifically significant. They give context to
the individual geologic features and other resources
found there, contain numerous archaeological sites, and
provide havens for sensitive and endangered species--
including the California condor, desert bighorn sheep,
and endemic plant and animal species--all of which
constitute objects of independent historic or
scientific interest. The landscapes are also integrally
connected to the Indigenous Knowledge amassed by the
Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples in the area over
countless generations. Some of the objects in these
areas are sacred to Tribal Nations; are sensitive,
rare, or vulnerable to vandalism and theft; or are
unsafe to visit. Therefore, revealing their specific
names or locations could pose a danger to the objects
or to the public.
[[Page 55333]]
These areas lie within the homelands of numerous Tribal
Nations--including the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe,
Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las
Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute
Indian Tribe of Utah, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern
Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni,
and the Colorado River Indian Tribes--who describe the
lands here as a cultural landscape to which their
ancestors belong. The surrounding plateaus, canyons,
and tributaries of the Colorado River are central and
sacred components of the origin and history of multiple
Tribal Nations, weaving together overlapping spiritual,
cultural, and territorial systems. Many Tribes note
that their ancestors are buried here and refer to these
areas as their eternal home, a place of healing, and a
source of spiritual sustenance. Like their ancestors,
Indigenous peoples continue to use these areas for
religious ceremonies; hunting; and gathering of plants,
medicines, and other materials, including some found
nowhere else on Earth.
The areas to the south, northeast, and northwest of
Grand Canyon National Park contain over 3,000 known
cultural and historic sites, including 12 properties
listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and
likely a great many more in areas not yet surveyed. All
three areas contain locations that are sacred or
significant to the Apache, Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai,
Navajo, Southern Paiute, Yavapai, and Zuni Peoples,
whose ancestors lived, hunted, farmed, and gathered
here, some moving among camps in different places to
take advantage of the best seasonal times and locations
to hunt or harvest resources. More than 50 species of
plants that grow in these areas, including catsclaw,
willow, soapweed, and pi[ntilde]on, have been
identified as important to Tribal Nations. Historic
shared use by different Tribes of the plateaus in the
three areas, including for farming, hunting, and
resource gathering on the Coconino Plateau, helped
build strong, intergenerational relationships among the
Tribal Nations that call this region home.
For hundreds of years, Tribal Nations and Indigenous
peoples used trails across portions of all three
distinct landscapes to access sacred or important sites
in surrounding areas such as the Grand Canyon, Mount
Trumbull, and the Hopi salt mine. For example, routes
throughout the southern area connect the Grand Canyon
with the Paiute, Hopi, and Navajo homelands.
Historically significant pathways in all three areas
can still be seen on the landscape, and in many cases,
they continue to be actively used.
In the northwestern area, within the larger Kanab Creek
drainage and particularly along Kanab Creek, there is
evidence of ancient villages and habitations, including
cliff houses, storage sites, granaries, pictographs,
and pottery. The Kanab Plateau contains dwelling sites,
including one known to have been occupied nearly 1,000
years ago, evidencing agricultural use and hunting by
early inhabitants. The Kaibab Band of Paiute farmed in
the area, which served as an important trade and
transportation route, resource procurement and hunting
area, and refuge during Euro-American encroachment into
traditional territories. The pictographs and
petroglyphs found in the Kanab Creek drainage present a
spectacular collection of rock art. One pictograph and
petroglyph site in Kanab Creek Canyon has been used for
over 2,000 years, including for Ghost Dance ceremonies
in the 19th century. Also in the northwest, the BLM
manages the Moonshine Spring and its associated
historic cultural sites as the Moonshine Ridge Area of
Critical Environmental Concern. Nearby Antelope Spring,
Shinarump Cliffs, and Yellowstone Spring house
historically important cultural sites, and the
northwestern portion of the area is a historically
significant resource and hunting area for the Southern
Paiute.
In House Rock Valley in the northeastern area, many
remnants of homes, storage buildings, pottery, and
tools illustrate the area's rich and extensive human
history. The area has long been historically important
to Tribal Nations for hunting and resource gathering,
including to the Kaibab Band of Paiute for hunting deer
and pronghorn and gathering pi[ntilde]on nuts, and to
the San Juan Paiute for seasonal seed collection.
[[Page 55334]]
In the southern area, visible for miles in all
directions, rises Red Butte, a towering landmark that
is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of
Historic Places as a traditional cultural property.
Called Wii'i Gdwiisa by the Havasupai and Ts[eacute]
zhin Ii'ahi by the Navajo, it is defined by an eroded
rock and basalt cap from ancient lava and is sacred to
the Havasupai, Hualapai, Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni
Peoples. Red Butte and the surrounding area are central
to Tribal creation stories, and dense concentration of
flaked stone tools and pottery provide evidence of
thousands of years of human habitation there.
Additionally, more recent Navajo and Havasupai
encampments in the area date to the early to middle
1900s. South of Red Butte, Gray Mountain, called
Dzi[lstrok]beeh by the Navajo, is mentioned in Navajo
ceremonial songs, stories, and rituals, and has long
served as a refuge for the Navajo people.
There are many other physical remnants of human
habitation in the southern area, including lithic sites
containing stone tools that may be more than 10,000
years old and more recent sites containing finely
decorated pottery sherds that are between 800 and 1,100
years old. Across the southern area, there is evidence
of tool production using local materials and the
historic use of fire for land management. Rock
paintings, cave shelters, shrines, pit houses, masonry
structures, and sites for religious ceremonies can be
found throughout.
The southern area also provides important opportunities
for research about ancient occupation, including a
long-term archaeological study area in the upper basin
of the Coconino Plateau where research has been
conducted for decades. This study area has led to
research on the sourcing of materials for pottery, the
conditions that influenced where people lived and
congregated, the history and use of anthropogenic fire,
methods for recording archaeological sites, methods for
protecting cultural resources, and human modification
of bedrock, among other topics. Additionally, research
has occurred in the area on the relationship between
historic climate change and human occupation, including
how climate changes affected construction techniques by
the Indigenous peoples in the region, the viability of
farming, the use of fire, and available resources.
A defining feature of the three areas is their unique
sedimentary and tectonic history, which has resulted in
high scientific interest and made the groundwater
dynamics of the region among the best studied in the
United States. Subsequent studies of the areas'
hydrology may prove important to understanding the
formation of the Grand Canyon and the dynamics of
groundwater and aquifers in the arid Colorado Plateau.
Groundwater moving through this complex and distinctive
system eventually flows into the meandering and
majestic Colorado River, across hundreds of miles of
arid and desert lands. The areas' unique hydrology has
supported Indigenous peoples and other forms of life
since time immemorial and continues to play an
essential role in providing drinking water and
supporting agricultural production and other services
for millions of people across the Southwest.
The three areas' extensive fractures and faults direct
the flow of water, resulting in the formation of seeps
and springs that serve as small oases in the otherwise
hot, dry landscape, and support some of the most
biodiverse habitats in the Colorado Plateau. The
hydrologic features of these landscapes are unique and
highly interconnected, with groundwater moving through
the Redwall-Muav aquifer in the south and through
fractures and linked cave passages. The Havasupai and
Hualapai Tribes, as well as the town of Tusayan,
Arizona, and other towns in the region, rely on the
southern area's groundwater. Ultimately, the areas'
groundwater flows to the surrounding tributaries, into
the Colorado River, and through the Grand Canyon,
serving as one of many features tying this landscape
together. Much of the water in the areas to the
northeast, northwest, and south of the Grand Canyon,
from creeks to streams, only runs seasonally based on
melting snowpack and monsoon rains.
[[Page 55335]]
The geology and hydrologic system of the Grand Canyon
and these three landscapes are deeply intertwined.
Located within the Colorado Plateau and adjacent to the
Grand Canyon, the areas' remarkable geology is
characterized by exposed sedimentary rock and high,
sometimes deeply incised, plateaus. The Mississippian-
aged Redwall Limestone, known for the stunning red
cliffs of the Grand Canyon itself, is present
throughout the three landscapes and is the most
abundant component of the Redwall-Muav aquifer. This
aquifer overlaps with the southern portion of the Grand
Canyon landscape, underneath the Coconino Plateau.
Dissolution of the Redwall and associated Muav
limestones has resulted in the formation of hundreds of
karst features such as caves, caverns, and channels.
In the northeastern area, the Glen Canyon Group--a
geologic formation composed of Navajo Sandstone, the
Kayenta Formation, and the Moenave Formation--
represents a continuation of the strikingly beautiful
and significant geology found at the adjacent Vermilion
Cliffs National Monument. The Kaibab Formation, another
geologic formation that is prevalent throughout all
three areas, forms most of the rim rock of the Grand
Canyon and is responsible for additional significant
cave and karst formations in these three regions as
well as in Wupahtki National Monument and Grand Canyon
National Park itself.
The Toroweap Fault crosses the northwestern area and is
one of the most active faults in Arizona. Due to the
relative prevalence of seismic activity, scientists
have studied the area to better understand tectonism
and faulting, the geologic history of the Colorado
Plateau, and the hydrologic history of the Colorado
River. Similarly, the Kanab Plateau, also in the
northwestern area, has been important for studies of
faulting and tectonism, stratigraphy and sediment
deposition, and hydrology.
In the northeastern area, scientists have studied the
House Rock Valley, known in the Southern Paiute
language as Aesak, meaning ``basket shaped,'' to
understand patterns of deposition and erosion.
Stratigraphy--the study of rock layers--in this area
has been important for developing a broader
understanding of how the Grand Canyon formed.
In the southern area, the Coconino Plateau provides
important opportunities to enhance understanding of
tectonic uplift, canyon incision, and hydrological
dynamics of regional aquifers. Over time, studies of
the landscape's geology have also helped improve
understanding of the geologic history of the Grand
Canyon and Colorado Plateau as a whole. These studies
have produced new theories regarding when and how the
geologic structures in the area formed or eroded. Sites
in this landscape have also been instrumental to long-
term scientific studies of air pollution, airborne
particulates, and visibility, as well as to studies on
the use of satellite imagery to map geological
formations. Paleontological resources are also found
throughout the area, with fossils documented in written
scientific literature for nearly 150 years. The Kanab
Creek area in particular is known for brachiopod
fossils that date back to the Carboniferous period.
The areas to the northeast, northwest, and south of the
Grand Canyon are home to an abundant diversity of plant
and animal species of scientific interest. Spanning a
vast and unique range of geological and ecological
systems, the areas showcase ecological transitions,
ranging from the Mojave Desert and riparian habitats at
low elevations; to Great Basin grassland, Great Basin
woodland, and Great Basin desert scrubland at
intermediate elevations; to Rocky Mountain subalpine
conifer forests, subalpine grasslands, and montane
conifer forests at higher elevations. Ponderosa pine
stands, some with old growth characteristics, can also
be found at higher elevations.
Riparian vegetation in the area is rare and precious in
this largely arid region. The northwest area houses
parts of Kanab Creek, a stream with largely
intermittent flow that is home to native riparian plant
species. The occasional perennial pools help to support
the Kaibab National Forest's only cottonwood-willow
riparian forest, an important habitat type in Arizona
and the broader Southwest. Kanab Creek provides a
habitat for federally
[[Page 55336]]
listed bird species, including potentially the
threatened western yellow-billed cuckoo and endangered
southwestern willow flycatcher, both of which have been
sighted nearby. The creek also provides a habitat for
sensitive amphibian species, including potentially the
northern leopard frog.
In the grasslands found throughout the northwestern and
southern areas, dominant vegetation species include
native grasses, shrubs such as sagebrush and saltbush,
and nearby juniper woodlands and savannas. The southern
area is home to endemic and sensitive plant species,
such as the Arizona leatherflower, Arizona phlox,
Tusayan rabbitbrush, and Morton wild buckwheat.
Grassland mammals, such as the pronghorn, and birds and
raptors, such as the ferruginous hawk and the western
burrowing owl, can also be found there.
Within the Great Basin desert-scrub habitat of the
northwestern and northeastern areas, shrub species such
as sagebrush and rabbitbrush grow alongside native
grasses, wildflowers and other forbs, and occasionally
cacti. This habitat type is home to unique mammal
species including the Townsend's ground squirrel, the
northern grasshopper mouse, and the more broadly
distributed mule deer and bighorn sheep. Birds and
reptiles characteristic of this community include the
sage thrasher, sage sparrow, desert horned lizard, and
Great Basin and Plateau tiger whiptails. The
northeastern area also includes a portion of an
important fall raptor migration route. The endangered
Brady pincushion cactus and candidate species Paradine
plains cactus, along with the sensitive Marble Canyon
milkvetch and Paria Plateau fishhook cactus, can all be
found in the northeastern area. The Siler pincushion
cactus can be found in the far reaches of the
northwestern area, particularly in the Moonshine Ridge
and Johnson Springs Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern.
Pi[ntilde]on and juniper woodlands are present at
intermediate elevations and are particularly prevalent
in the northwestern and southern areas. The
pi[ntilde]on and juniper trees are accompanied by a
sparse understory of native grasses and shrubs. This
community is home to birds such as the pinyon jay and
juniper titmouse. Along with characteristic reptiles
and small mammals, this ecosystem also provides
important winter range for elk and mule deer.
Petran montane conifer forests are found at the highest
elevations, primarily in the southern area. Ponderosa
pine dominates these forests, but Douglas fir, white
fir, Gambel oak, and other tree and brush species can
also be found there. Several mammal species are
dependent on ponderosa pine, including the Abert's
squirrel. Bird species representative of this area
include the northern goshawk, Merriam's turkey, and a
variety of raptors and neotropical migratory songbirds.
Elk and mountain lions are also found there.
The landscape is also home to other significant species
of scientific interest. The endemic Grand Canyon
ringlet butterfly and Tusayan rabbitbrush are present
in the southern area, as may be the endangered and
endemic Sentry milkvetch. The endangered Fickeisen
plains cactus can be found in all three areas. The
endemic Kaibab monkey grasshopper occasionally can be
found along the eastern edge of the Kaibab uplift in
the northeastern area. The endemic Grand Canyon rose,
which has been identified as at risk by the BLM (termed
BLM-sensitive), can be found in the northwestern area,
the northeastern area, and potentially also the
southern area.
The area provides an important habitat for many notable
mammal species, including desert bighorn sheep, which
frequent canyons in the area. Kanab Creek's Hack Canyon
is one of two canyons where sheep were extirpated and
reintroduced in the 1980s, and the population there is
studied for its contributions to genetic diversity of
the species and to enhance understanding of predation
by mountain lions. Pronghorn, elk, bison, and mountain
lions can be found on and around the area's plateaus,
in addition to mule deer, which travel through the
northwestern and northeastern areas as part of an
important migratory corridor. The sensitive Allen's
lappet-browed
[[Page 55337]]
bat, along with five other sensitive bat species, can
be found in the northeastern and northwestern areas,
and possibly the southern area as well, and the endemic
and sensitive House Rock Valley chisel-toothed kangaroo
rat can be found in the northeastern area. The House
Rock Wildlife Area, part of which falls within the
northeastern area, contains a herd of bison that is an
important contributor to the genetic diversity of bison
populations across the United States. House Rock also
provides a habitat for pronghorn and a winter range for
mule deer.
Cliffs and rock outcrops throughout the landscapes are
home to unique birds including peregrine falcons, bald
eagles, golden eagles, and a reintroduced population of
endangered California condors. The threatened Mexican
spotted owl nests in the northwestern area. Over time,
the area has been scientifically important for
ecological studies of climate change, ecosystem
ecology, vegetation communities, historical fire
regimes, and bat ecology. The area also contains all or
portions of five separate habitat linkages identified
as important to wildlife habitat connectivity and
threatened by development by the Arizona Wildlife
Linkages Workgroup, a working group of public and
private organizations and agencies in Arizona.
In addition to sustaining Indigenous peoples,
vegetation, and wildlife since time immemorial, the
northeastern, northwestern, and southern areas also
have supported more recent Euro-American settlers. For
example, visitors to the northwestern part of this area
can trace the route taken by the 1776 Dominguez-
Escalante expedition in search of a northern route
between Santa Fe and Monterrey. Mormon settlers in the
late 19th century developed the Honeymoon Trail in the
northeastern area to travel between their homes in
Arizona and the temple in St. George, Utah, following
trails used by Tribal Nations to access sites such as
Deer and House Rock Springs.
These settlers, along with early miners, loggers, and
ranchers, left behind scattered remnants of their
presence throughout the areas. Hull Cabin, built in
1889 by sheep ranchers within the southern area and
near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, is listed on
the National Register of Historic Places. The cabin is
currently maintained for visitors and memorializes the
area's early ranching and early Forest Service
administrative use of the area. The Emerald/Anita mine
and associated Camp Anita, which briefly operated at
the end of the 19th century, evidences Arizona's copper
mining history, while the Apex Logging Camp contains
evidence of the timber industry between 1928 and 1936
and is the focus of ongoing research by an
archaeological field school. Located at the top of the
steepest grade on the Grand Canyon Railroad line, the
town of Apex was once the headquarters camp of the
Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company and provided wood
that was used to build the railroad, timber the mines,
and construct the resorts along the South Rim of the
Grand Canyon. Remnants of these structures, such as the
foundation of a one-room school house constructed from
two converted box cars, building platforms, domestic
trash scatters, and railroad beds can still be seen
today and help tell the story of Apex and its outlying
camps, which between 1928 and 1936 provided a home for
lumberjacks and locomotive crews.
The southern area also includes three other noteworthy
historic sites: The decommissioned Red Butte Airfield,
which is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places, operated in the 1920s to bring visitors,
including celebrities like Amelia Earhart, Charles
Lindbergh, and Will Rogers, to view the wonders of the
Grand Canyon. The Grandview Lookout Tower and its two-
room cabin, located near the South Rim of the Grand
Canyon, were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps
in 1936 to aid the Forest Service and the National Park
Service in detecting wildland fires. And the Tusayan
Ranger Station, which is also listed on the National
Register of Historic Places, comprises six historic
buildings constructed between 1939 and 1942, including
a house, a barn, and a corral.
Protecting the areas to the northeast, northwest, and
south of the Grand Canyon will preserve an important
spiritual, cultural, prehistoric, and historic
[[Page 55338]]
legacy; maintain a diverse array of natural and
scientific resources; and help ensure that the
prehistoric, historic, and scientific value of the
areas endures for the benefit of all Americans. As
described above, the areas contain numerous objects of
historic and scientific interest, and they provide
exceptional outdoor recreational opportunities,
including hiking, hunting, fishing, biking, horseback
riding, backpacking, scenic driving, and wildlife-
viewing, all of which are important to the travel- and
tourism-based economy of the region.
WHEREAS, section 320301 of title 54, United States Code
(the ``Antiquities Act''), authorizes the President, in
his discretion, to declare by public proclamation
historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric
structures, and other objects of historic or scientific
interest that are situated upon the lands owned or
controlled by the Federal Government to be national
monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of
land, the limits of which shall be confined to the
smallest area compatible with the proper care and
management of the objects to be protected; and
WHEREAS, the landscapes of the areas to the northeast,
northwest, and south of the Grand Canyon have been
profoundly sacred to Tribal Nations and Indigenous
peoples of the Southwest since time immemorial; and
WHEREAS, I find that the unique historic and scientific
characteristics of the landscapes, and the collection
of objects and resources therein, make the landscapes
more than the mere sum of their parts, and thus the
entire landscapes within the boundaries of each area
reserved by this proclamation are themselves objects of
historic and scientific interest in need of protection
under section 320301 of title 54, United States Code;
and
WHEREAS, I find that all the objects identified above
are objects of historic or scientific interest in need
of protection under section 320301 of title 54, United
States Code, regardless of whether they are expressly
identified as objects of historic or scientific
interest in the text of this proclamation; and
WHEREAS, I find that there are threats to the objects
identified above, and, in the absence of a reservation
under the Antiquities Act, these objects are not
adequately protected by the current withdrawal,
administrative designations, or otherwise applicable
law because current protections do not require
executive departments and agencies (agencies) to ensure
the proper care and management of the objects and some
objects fall outside of the boundaries of the current
withdrawal; thus a national monument reserving the
lands identified herein is necessary to protect the
objects of historic and scientific interest identified
above for current and future generations; and
WHEREAS, I find that the boundaries of the monument
reserved by this proclamation represent the smallest
area compatible with the proper care and management of
the objects of scientific or historic interest
identified above, as required by the Antiquities Act,
including the landscapes within the boundaries of the
three areas reserved and, independently, the collection
of objects within those landscapes; and
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to ensure the
preservation, restoration, and protection of the
objects of scientific and historic interest identified
above, including the entire landscapes within the
boundaries reserved by this proclamation;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by the authority vested
in me by section 320301 of title 54, United States
Code, hereby proclaim the objects identified above that
are situated upon lands and interests in lands owned or
controlled by the Federal Government to be the Baaj
Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni--Ancestral Footprints of the
Grand Canyon National Monument (monument) and, for the
purpose of protecting those objects, reserve as part
thereof all lands and interests in lands that are owned
or controlled by the Federal Government within the
boundaries described on the accompanying map, which is
attached
[[Page 55339]]
hereto and forms a part of this proclamation. These
reserved Federal lands and interests in lands encompass
approximately 917,618 acres. As a result of the
distribution of the objects across the Baaj Nwaavjo
I'tah Kukveni--Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon
areas, and additionally and independently, because the
landscapes within each of the three monument areas are
objects of scientific and historic interest in need of
protection, the boundaries described on the
accompanying map are confined to the smallest area
compatible with the proper care and management of the
objects of historic or scientific interest identified
above.
All Federal lands and interests in lands within the
boundaries of the monument are hereby appropriated and
withdrawn from all forms of entry, location, selection,
sale, or other disposition under the public land laws
or laws applicable to the Forest Service, other than by
exchange that furthers the protective purposes of the
monument; from location, entry, and patent under the
mining laws; and from disposition under all laws
relating to mineral and geothermal leasing.
This proclamation is subject to valid existing rights.
If the Federal Government subsequently acquires any
lands or interests in lands not currently owned or
controlled by the Federal Government within the
boundaries described on the accompanying map, such
lands and interests in lands shall be reserved as a
part of the monument, and objects of the type
identified above that are situated upon those lands and
interests in lands shall be part of the monument, upon
acquisition of ownership or control by the Federal
Government.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to
alter the valid existing water rights of any party,
including the United States, or to alter or affect
agreements governing the management and administration
of the Colorado River, including any existing
interstate water compact.
The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture (Secretaries) shall manage the monument
through the BLM and Forest Service, respectively, in
accordance with the terms, conditions, and management
direction provided by this proclamation. The Forest
Service shall manage the portion of the monument within
the boundaries of the National Forest System and the
BLM shall manage the remainder of the monument. The
lands administered by the Forest Service shall be
managed as part of the Kaibab National Forest. The
lands administered by the BLM shall be managed as a
unit of the National Landscape Conservation System.
For purposes of protecting and restoring the objects
identified above, the Secretaries shall jointly prepare
a management plan for the monument and shall promulgate
such rules and regulations for the management of the
monument as they deem appropriate for those purposes.
The Secretaries, through the BLM and Forest Service,
shall consult with other Federal land management
agencies or agency components in the local area,
including the National Park Service, in developing the
management plan. In promulgating any management rules
and regulations governing National Forest System lands
within the monument and developing the management plan,
the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Forest
Service, shall consult with the Secretary of the
Interior, through the BLM.
The Secretaries shall provide for maximum public
involvement in the development of the management plan,
as well as consultation with federally recognized
Tribal Nations and conferral with State and local
governments. In preparing the management plan, the
Secretaries shall take into account, to the maximum
extent practicable, maintaining the undeveloped
character of the lands within the monument; minimizing
impacts from surface-disturbing activities; providing
appropriate access for livestock grazing, recreation,
hunting, fishing, dispersed camping, wildlife
management, and scientific research; and emphasizing
the retention of natural quiet, dark night skies and
scenic attributes of the landscape. In the development
and implementation of the management plan, the
Secretaries shall maximize opportunities, pursuant to
applicable legal authorities, for shared resources,
operational
[[Page 55340]]
efficiency, and cooperation, and shall, to the maximum
extent practicable, carefully incorporate the
Indigenous Knowledge or special expertise offered by
Tribal Nations and work with Tribal Nations to
appropriately protect that knowledge.
The Secretaries shall explore opportunities for Tribal
Nations to participate in co-stewardship of the
monument; explore entering into cooperative agreements
or, pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act, 25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.,
contracts with Tribes or Tribal organizations to
perform administrative or management functions within
the monument; and explore providing technical and
financial assistance to improve the capacity of Tribal
Nations to develop, enter into, and carry out
activities under such cooperative agreements or
contracts. The Secretaries shall further explore
opportunities for funding agreements with Tribal
Nations relating to the management and protection of
traditional cultural properties and other culturally
significant programming associated with the monument.
The Secretaries shall consider appropriate mechanisms
to provide for temporary closures to the general public
of specific portions of the monument to protect the
privacy of cultural, religious, and gathering
activities of members of Tribal Nations.
The Secretaries, through the BLM and Forest Service,
shall establish an advisory committee under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. 1001 et seq., to
provide information and advice regarding the
development of the management plan and, as appropriate,
management of the monument. The advisory committee
shall consist of a fair and balanced representation of
interested stakeholders, including the Arizona Game and
Fish Department; other State agencies and local
governments; Tribal Nations; recreational users;
conservation organizations; wildlife, hunting, and
fishing organizations; the scientific community; the
ranching community; business owners; and the general
public in the region.
In recognition of the importance of collaboration with
Tribal Nations to the proper care and management of the
objects identified above, and to ensure that management
of the monument reflects tribal expertise and
Indigenous Knowledge, a Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni--
Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon Commission
(Commission) is hereby established to provide guidance
and recommendations on the development and
implementation of the management plan and on the
management of the monument. The Commission shall
consist of one elected officer each from any Tribal
Nation with ancestral ties to the area that has entered
a cooperative agreement or similar arrangement with the
Secretaries, through the BLM or Forest Service, in
which the Tribal Nation and the Secretaries agree to
co-stewardship of the monument through shared
responsibilities or administration; has expressed, by
Tribal resolution, an intention to join the Commission;
and has designated an elected officer as the respective
Tribe's representative. The Commission may adopt such
procedures as it deems necessary to govern its
activities, so that it may effectively partner with
agencies by making continuing contributions to inform
decisions regarding the management of the monument. The
Secretaries shall explore opportunities to provide
support to the Commission to enable participation in
the planning and management of the monument.
The Secretaries shall meaningfully engage the
Commission, or, should the Commission no longer exist,
the relevant Tribal Nations through some other entity
composed of one elected Tribal government officer from
each of the Tribes represented on the Commission
(comparable entity), in the development of the
management plan and to inform the subsequent management
of the monument. To that end, the Secretaries shall, in
developing, revising, or amending the management plan,
carefully and fully consider integrating the Indigenous
Knowledge and special expertise of the members of the
Commission or comparable entity. The management plan
for the monument shall also set forth parameters for
continued meaningful engagement with
[[Page 55341]]
the Commission or comparable entity in the
implementation of the management plan.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to alter,
modify, abrogate, enlarge, or diminish the rights or
jurisdiction of any Tribal Nation. The Secretaries
shall, to the maximum extent permitted by law and in
consultation with Tribal Nations, ensure the protection
of sacred sites and cultural properties and sites in
the monument and shall provide access to Tribal members
for traditional cultural, spiritual, and customary
uses, consistent with the American Indian Religious
Freedom Act (42 U.S.C. 1996), the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.), Executive
Order 13007 of May 24, 1996 (Indian Sacred Sites), and
the November 10, 2021, Memorandum of Understanding
Regarding Interagency Coordination and Collaboration
for the Protection of Indigenous Sacred Sites. Such
uses shall include, but are not limited to, the
collection of medicines, berries, plants and other
vegetation for cradle boards and other purposes, and
firewood for ceremonial practices and personal
noncommercial use, so long as each use is carried out
in a manner consistent with the proper care and
management of the objects identified above.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to
preclude the renewal or assignment of, or interfere
with the operation, maintenance, replacement,
modification, upgrade, or access to, existing or
previously approved flood control, utility, pipeline,
and telecommunications sites or facilities; roads or
highway corridors; seismic monitoring facilities;
wildlife management structures; or water
infrastructure, including wildlife water developments
or water district facilities, within the boundaries of
existing or previously approved authorizations within
the monument. Existing or previously approved flood
control, utility, pipeline, telecommunications, and
seismic monitoring facilities; roads or highway
corridors; wildlife management structures; and water
infrastructure, including wildlife water developments
or water district facilities, may be expanded, and new
facilities of such kind may be constructed, to the
extent consistent with the proper care and management
of the objects identified above and subject to the
Secretaries' authorities, other applicable law, and the
provisions of this proclamation related to roads and
trails.
For purposes of protecting and restoring the objects
identified above, the Secretaries shall prepare a
transportation plan that designates the roads and
trails on which motorized and non-motorized mechanized
vehicle use, including mountain biking, will be
allowed. The transportation plan shall include
management decisions, including road closures and
travel restrictions consistent with applicable law,
necessary to protect the objects identified in this
proclamation. Except for emergency purposes, authorized
administrative purposes, wildlife management conducted
by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and the
retrieval of legally harvested elk and bison, which are
otherwise consistent with applicable law, motorized
vehicle use in the monument may be permitted only on
roads and trails documented as existing in BLM and
Forest Service route inventories that exist as of the
date of this proclamation. Any additional roads or
trails designated for motorized vehicle use must be
designated only for public safety needs or the
protection of the objects identified above.
The Secretaries shall explore mechanisms, consistent
with applicable law, to enable the protection of
Indigenous Knowledge or other information relating to
the nature and specific location of cultural resources
within the monument and, to the extent practicable,
shall explain any limitations on the ability to protect
such information from disclosure before it is shared
with agencies.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to
prohibit grazing pursuant to existing leases or permits
within the monument, or the renewal or assignment of
such leases or permits, which the BLM and Forest
Service shall continue to manage pursuant to their
respective laws, regulations, and policies.
[[Page 55342]]
Nothing in this proclamation shall affect the BLM's or
Forest Service's ability to authorize access to and
remediation or monitoring of contaminated lands within
the monument, including for remediation of mine, mill,
or tailing sites, or for the restoration of natural
resources.
Nothing in this proclamation shall preclude low-level
overflights of military aircraft, flight testing or
evaluation, the designation of new units of special use
airspace, the use or establishment of military flight
training routes, or low-level overflights and landings
for wildlife management conducted by the Arizona Game
and Fish Department over the lands reserved by this
proclamation. Nothing in this proclamation shall
preclude air or ground access to existing or new
electronic tracking communications sites associated
with special use airspace and military training routes.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge
or diminish the jurisdiction or authority of the State
of Arizona with respect to fish and wildlife
management, including hunting and fishing, on the lands
reserved by this proclamation, or to affect the State's
access to the monument for wildlife management,
including access prior to and during the development of
the management and transportation plans provided for
above. The Secretaries shall seek to develop and
implement science-based habitat and ecological
restoration projects within the monument and shall seek
to collaborate with the State of Arizona on wildlife
management within the monument, including through the
development of new, or the continuation of existing,
memoranda of understanding with the Arizona Game and
Fish Department.
The Secretaries may carry out vegetative management
treatments within the monument to the extent consistent
with the proper care and management of the objects
identified above, with a focus on addressing ecological
restoration; wildlife connectivity; or the risk of
wildfire, insect infestation, invasive species, or
disease that would endanger the objects identified in
this proclamation or imperil public safety. Nothing in
this proclamation shall be construed to alter the
authority of any party with respect to the use of
prescribed fire within the monument.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to
alter the authority or responsibility of any party with
respect to emergency response activities within the
monument, including wildland fire response.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke
any existing withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation;
however, the monument shall be the dominant
reservation.
Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not
to appropriate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature
of the monument and not to locate or settle upon any of
the lands thereof.
If any provision of this proclamation, including its
application to a particular parcel of land, is held to
be invalid, the remainder of this proclamation and its
application to other parcels of land shall not be
affected thereby.
[[Page 55343]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.
(Presidential Sig.)
Billing code 3395-F3-P
[[Page 55344]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TD15AU23.007
[FR Doc. 2023-17628
Filed 8-14-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 4310-10-C