Proposed national monument draws mixed reaction

A proposal to designate a vast, sparsely populated area surrounding the Grand Canyon as a national monument is getting mixed reactions. About 100 people gathered in Flagstaff to weigh in on the proposed Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who hosted the meeting, has said she is hopeful President Barack Obama will designate the 1.7-million-acre area as a national monument before he leaves office. The meeting Thursday was closed to the media, and Kirkpatrick declined through spokesman D.B. Mitchell to provide immediate comment. He cited the office’s policy of excluding reporters from meetings for stakeholders. Some people who showed up at the meeting said they were invited, while others said they heard about it indirectly. According to them, Kirkpatrick heard from environmental groups that want to protect the region’s water, large-diameter trees and wildlife corridors. She also heard from the Arizona Game and Fish Commission and sportsmen’s groups that oppose the effort to sidestep Congress and questioned the expense of running a national monument. Elsewhere, conservationists are looking to Obama to protect areas including the Dolores River in western Colorado, Utah’s Cedar Mesa region and land surrounding Canyonlands National Park, and the Berryessa Snow Mountain region in northern California...more

I found this interesting:

Supporters of the monument designation say it would help preserve archaeological sites, seeps and springs, promote the voluntary retirement of grazing permits and ensure that a major wildlife corridor isn’t harmed in the future.

How does a monument designation promote the voluntary retirement of grazing permits?  The most recent designations by Obama allow grazing to continue as long as its "consistent" with the purposes of the designation or the protection of the objects.  What the enviros are saying could only occur if there is language in the proclamation concerning buyouts of the permits.