Washington, D.C.  — Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-09), issued the following statement after introducing two bills nullifying previously declared national monuments that lock up federal lands:

“The reckless declaration of vast national monuments has locked up thousands of acres of land, placing them off limits to responsible mining, energy development and other multiple-use purposes that help fuel our economy and support American energy independence.

I am pleased to reintroduce H.R. 5392, the Northern Arizona Protection Act, legislation that would nullify the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, declared on August 8, 2023, by Joe Biden, for the stated purpose of preventing uranium mining.

I also introduced H.R. 5393, the Southern Arizona Protection Act, nullifying the Ironwood Forest National Monument, declared on June 9, 2000, by Bill Clinton, solely to lock up domestic copper and gold mining.

The Antiquities Act was never intended to be a tool for radical environmentalists and their political cronies in Washington, D.C. to block access to America’s abundant and much-needed resources.  Thankfully, the Trump Administration is reconsidering both of these National Monuments as executive abuses under the Antiquities Act.

By nullifying these national monuments, my bills reassert Congress’s role and return to a balanced approach where conservation and economic development work in concert.  Federal lands belong to the American people, not unelected bureaucrats or woke presidents who abuse executive authority to shut them off from productive use,” stated Congressman Gosar.