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When Congress endowed presidents with the power to create national monuments, they set in motion one of the most momentous efforts to ensure stunning landscape, cultural resources, and sacred spaces endure. Nearly every U.S. president, from Theodore Roosevelt forward, has used the Antiquities Act to do just that.

Although Congress conveyed this unilateral power on presidents, these designations are the most effective when driven by the people who caretake and cherish these places.

Nowhere is this truer in recent memory than the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni � Ancestral Footprints of Grand Canyon National Monument, which the previous administration created in August 2023.

This important landscape, which sits on 917,000 acres to the north and south of the Grand Canyon, contains thousands of natural, archaeological, and cultural sites and objects � and is sacred to numerous Indigenous communities and cultures. Critically, the monument’s size and scope reflects input over decades from Indigenous communities with the support of outdoor and sporting groups, businesses, elected officials, and local leaders who came together to secure the Grand Canyon region’s permanent protections from new uranium mining.

In other words, the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni � Ancestral Footprints of Grand Canyon National Monument embodies exactly how the Antiquities Act should be used.

It also underscores why Congress should not pass the Ending Presidential Overreach on Public Lands Act, which guts the Antiquities Act and upends the vital role it has played in safeguarding cultural, historic, and natural places.

Americans are proud of their national monuments and flock to them as recreational and educational resources. The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni is no exception. Recent polls indicate that 80% of Arizonan voters approve of the monument and thousands signed the petition for its creation.�

The designation not only protects invaluable cultural and archaeological artifacts, but also safeguards the Grand Canyon National Park from an indefinite expansion of uranium mining in surrounding lands. As one of the most visited national parks in the country, drawing approximately 5.9 million visitors annually, this park serves as a significant economic driver for Coconino County and surrounding communities. According to a report from the National Park Service (NPS), visitors to the Grand Canyon spent over $750 million in local communities in 2022, supporting nearly 10,000 jobs and generating $1 billion in economic output.

This year will mark The Antiquities Act’s 119th anniversary. The Antiquities Act grants the president the power to designate important sites and natural areas as monuments for the American people, protecting them from the degradations of private interests and ensuring access for future generations. The designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni, driven by Tribes and supported by countless Americans and Coconino County, demonstrates our nation’s commitment to protecting iconic and irreplaceable places. As part of the larger Grand Canyon landscape, it is simply too special to be left open to uranium mining.

While Congress holds the authority to modify or even reverse designations, it has often chosen instead to elevate national monuments to national parks—further affirming their value. The Antiquities Act remains an essential tool for shielding treasured sites from imminent threats.