Monument plan draws cheers, jeers

Michelle Rushlo

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2000 | 10:31 a.m.

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. - President Clinton's decision to create a new Arizona national monument rivaling Grand Canyon National Park in size is drawing the praise of environmental groups but evoking the ire of some local officials and others.

Clinton today approved two new national monuments in Arizona, a third in California and the expansion of a fourth California monument.

One, in a remote area of Arizona cut off from the rest of the state by steep canyons, features dramatic cliffs, canyons cut by streams that feed the Colorado River and ancient petroglyphs. The 1-million-acre Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument is roughly the same size as Grand Canyon National Park itself.

The Arizona monument has been less controversial. The 71,000-acre Agua Fria National Monument, north of Phoenix, contains hundreds of archaeological remains.

"This is probably the last piece of the Grand Canyon protection puzzle," said Martos Hoffman of the Southwest Forest Alliance, which has been pushing the creation of the Parashant monument. "It's deserving of protection."

But members of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association criticized Clinton's actions today, call it a misuse of executive power.

"This isn't about protecting land, it's about vying for political PR points with an uninformed suburban public," said association President Jed Flake.

He said the land is already protected by the Bureau of Land Management and that hundreds of ranch families depend on it.

"They're hurting people, not protecting anything from anyone," added rancher Orville Bundy, who has land within the monument boundaries. "I guess I feel like a Phoenix homeowner who just found out their home was designated as parkland. We're extremely scared."

Most of the land inside the monument boundaries is controlled by the BLM, but Hoffman said the creation of the monument will help ensure that land is protected from mining and unregulated off-road vehicle use.

About 22,000 acres inside the boundary is owned by the state and could be sold by the Land Department; 18,000 is privately held.

Laurent Gaudreau, a 73-year-old outdoor gear salesman at the Canyon's South Rim, agreed with Hoffman.

"Once land is gone, it is gone forever," Gaudreau said.

However, Arizona state officials and members of its congressional delegation opposed creating the monument by presidential declaration, accusing Clinton of running roughshod over local interests.

"We think it is totally disrespectful of the local community," said Mohave County Supervisor Carol Anderson, whose district covers the monument area.

Francie Noyes, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jane Hull, called it "a political ploy with Clinton attempting to burnish his own legacy and boost Vice President (Al) Gore's presidential campaign.

"They're using Arizona for their own political gain," Noyes said.

The mayor of Fredonia, Ariz., a tiny community about 50 miles from the monument boundary, said local folks resent federal mandates and are worried about the effects on the ranching and timber industries.

"They'll declare this monument. They'll go home, and we'll be left to take care of it," Mayor Joy Jordan said before Clinton's declaration.

The 1,300-resident community heavily relies on public lands for its existence, she said.