The following is a letter from RMEF President & CEO M. David Allen regarding the Grand Canyon Watershed, followed by a letter from the Arizona Game and Fish commission.
Arizona RMEF Members,
It is imperative that we as hunters and conservationists raise our voices
when issues arise that trigger vital conservation concerns. One of those
issues is happening right now within the borders of your home state.
The Obama administration is considering a presidential designation to
create a 1.7 million-acre Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument. Such a
move could have a detrimental impact on wildlife, wildlife management,
hunter access, water rights and other associated issues, and all without
any public input or Congressional oversight whatsoever.
Please read over the letter below from the Arizona Game and Fish Commission
regarding a federal initiative and take action.
Sincerely,
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M. David Allen
RMEF President & CEO
PROPOSED GRAND CANYON WATERSHED NATIONAL MONUMENT:
RED FLAGS AND POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission opposes the unilateral Presidential
designation of a new 1.7 million acre National Monument in the Grand Canyon
Watershed (Monument). This designation, which would incorporate lands
currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest
Service (USFS) in a multiple-use framework, would have potential adverse
impacts to wildlife and resource management, traditional land uses, and
associated economic activity. Several environmental organizations, along
with three of Arizona’s nine U.S. Representatives, are advocating for this
unilateral executive designation. Several key points illustrate why this is
wrong for Arizona:
Creating another national monument, without input from Arizona
stakeholders, denies a voice to those most affected. No designation of a
national monument should take place without public discussion and approval
of Arizona residents, stakeholders, and Congress. Such an important
decision deserves a transparent process with a robust discussion of the
consequences that such a designation brings.
The proposed monument would add to a funding shortfall the federal
government is already struggling to overcome. The current estimated
shortfall in deferred maintenance at existing national parks and monuments
is $11.5 billion; Grand Canyon National Park is 5th on that list with
backlogged projects totaling $330 million. Adding an additional 1.7 million
acres to that system is fiscally irresponsible.
Forested areas within the proposed monument are at risk of catastrophic
wildfire and in need of restoration. The proposed monument includes some of
the most extensive tracts of old-growth ponderosa pine forest in the
Southwest. Decades of fire suppression and hands-off management have
created conditions ripe for unnaturally large and intense wildfires that
can devastate old growth forests, wildlife habitat, and watershed function.
One such event (the 2006 Warm Fire) has already occurred within the area.
Under the current multiple-use framework, restoration efforts that include
mechanical thinning and prescribed burns have been delayed by
administrative appeals and controversial litigation. Placing the area under
a more restrictive designation will make essential restoration projects
even more litigious and difficult to implement.
Current management of areas within the proposed monument is sustainable and
has public and partner support. Multiple-use management of BLM and USFS
lands within the proposed monument is driven by resource management plans
incorporating extensive public involvement, the best available science and
expertise provided by the state wildlife agency. Designating a new monument
via unilateral executive authority undermines extensive prior
collaboration, agency planning, and public support for existing management
of this area.
Extensive tracts of public land near or within the proposed monument are
already protected by special designations. These include the Grand Canyon
Game Preserve (600,000 acres), 8 National Parks/Monuments (4.9 million
acres) and 9 Wilderness Areas (400,000 acres). Additional special
designations like the proposed monument will adversely impact sustainably-
managed working landscapes that are central to the social and economic
fabric of Arizona.
Designation will add new layers of bureaucratic process and delay needed
management actions. Once designated, the responsible federal bureaucracy
will need to develop a new resource management plan for the Monument, a
process that has taken an average of 10 years for other recently designated
Arizona monuments. Until the plan is completed and has withstood potential
administrative and legal challenges, many management actions will be placed
on hold, compromising wildlife habitats, wildlife populations and forest
health.
Designation will impede proactive and effective management of wildlife
populations and habitats within the monument. Wildlife management
activities will require more complex planning by agencies that are already
understaffed, and will face challenges from special interest groups
philosophically opposed to active management to benefit wildlife and other
resources. Wildlife translocations, maintenance/development of water
sources, and habitat restoration projects may be delayed or prohibited,
impeding the state’s ability to meet its trust responsibilities and
diminishing Arizona’s wildlife management authorities. Designation also
allows federal monument managers to make management of wildlife resources a
secondary concern to maintaining “solitude, “naturalness,” and other
characteristics associated with national parks and wilderness areas.
The proposed monument includes some of the most socially and economically
important hunting areas in the United States, including the iconic Kaibab
deer herd range, portions of the Arizona Strip that produce trophy mule
deer and areas south of the Grand Canyon known for trophy bull elk. Over
time, an inability to properly manage these populations and their habitats
may result in decreased wildlife populations, reduced hunter opportunities,
and loss of revenues that directly support conservation and Arizona
communities.
Monument designation sets the stage for future, more restrictive land use
allocations and designations, further impeding public access, hunting, and
management flexibility. Areas within the proposed monument determined to
have “wilderness characteristics” would face activity restrictions
similar to wilderness designation. USFS and BLM lands within the proposed
monument could be transferred to the National Park Service, in which case
that agency’s narrower mission and even greater restrictions on management
and recreational activities may be applied, including the prohibition of
hunting. Further, national monuments in Arizona have historically been
converted to national parks.
Conclusion: Unless consensus can be reached among Arizona stakeholders,
dedicated funding is allocated to overcome existing and future maintenance
shortfalls, traditional land uses are protected, and proactive wildlife and
forest management actions can go forward unimpeded, the Arizona Game and
Fish Commission remains opposed to unilateral Presidential designation of
the proposed Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument.
Please contact the various government representatives below to let them
know of your concern:
Representative Ann Kirkpatrick
https://kirkpatrick.house.gov/contact/email-me
<http://newsletter.rmef.org/CT00159108MzMzMjc1.HTML?D=2015-05-27>
201 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Representative Raul Grijalva
https://grijalva.house.gov/email-raul
<http://newsletter.rmef.org/CT00159109MzMzMjc1.HTML?D=2015-05-27>
1511 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Representative Ruben Gallego
https://rubengallego.house.gov/contact/email
<http://newsletter.rmef.org/CT00159110MzMzMjc1.HTML?D=2015-05-27>
1218 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
President Barack Obama
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
<http://newsletter.rmef.org/CT00159111MzMzMjc1.HTML?D=2015-05-27>
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500
The Honorable Sally Jewell
feedback@ios.doi.gov
<http://newsletter.rmef.org/CT00159112MzMzMjc1.HTML?D=2015-05-27>
Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C St., N.W. Washington, DC 20240
The Honorable Tom Vilsack
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=CONTACT_US&navtype=MA
<http://newsletter.rmef.org/CT00159113MzMzMjc1.HTML?D=2015-05-27>
Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W. Washington, DC 20250