AZ Congressmen Ask Feds To Eliminate Four National Monuments

Three of Arizona’s congressmen are urging the Trump administration to eliminate some of the state’s national monuments. That comes as the federal government finishes gathering public input on whether a handful of these designations across the country should stay in place. About two million acres of federally protected land in Arizona could be in question as Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke reviews four monuments: Ironwood Forest northwest of Tucson, the Sonoran Desert southwest of Phoenix, the Vermillion Cliffs near the Grand Canyon's north rim and Grand Canyon-Parashant, which encompasses more than 1 million acres west of the canyon. Republican Congressmen Andy Biggs, Trent Franks and Paul Gosar want all of that land freed up. In a recent letter to Zinke with other Western Caucus house members, they say the monuments limit energy exploration and ranching, result in poor land management and go against the wishes of locals, among other reasons...more