US rejects bid to expand national monument in Ariz.

The boundaries of Walnut Canyon National Monument are unlikely to expand anytime soon. But residents are still hopeful that Congress will intervene and set aside a large chunk of Flagstaff’s southern back yard for protection from development. The final Walnut Canyon study, more than a decade in the making, was released last week and presented on Monday at a joint meeting of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors and the Flagstaff City Council. The two bodies decided to push for the federal government to expand the 3,600-acre national monument in 2002, but it took years to find funding for an official study. The resulting report says that the 30,000 acres — 47 square miles — examined for an expanded monument do not meet the National Park Service’s high standards...more

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