HECHO Praises Secretary Haaland’s Visit to the Grand Canyon

Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO) commends Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland for coming to Arizona to visit the Grand Canyon, where she met the Grand Canyon Tribal coalition that proposed the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument, and organizations that support this designation. 

“HECHO is proud to support the Tribal Nations leading this effort to designate the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument, which will safeguard this irreplaceable landscape and vital natural resources for future generations. We praise Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland for meeting with the Tribes and listening to their voices, perspectives, and deep knowledge of this sacred land,” says Camilla Simon, Executive Director, Hispanics Enjoying, Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO).  

“We feel grateful and honored to have had the opportunity to meet Secretary Haaland and represent the Hispanic community and Arizonans who deeply care about protecting the Grand Canyon. It is a precious place we are so proud of, a site where many of us come to enjoy the great outdoors and an Arizonan natural icon that provides jobs to many people in the recreational and hospitality industry. It is just too valuable to risk,” says Daniela Zavala, HECHO’s Communications Director.

The Grand Canyon is one of the world’s natural wonders. However, the uranium industry’s effort to mine on public lands near the Grand Canyon National Park threatens this iconic landscape, its watershed, its ecosystem, and the region’s booming tourism industry. Currently, there is a temporary mining ban that expires in 2032.  

For years, Tribes, local communities, and a diverse group of organizations, including HECHO, have advocated for its permanent protection.  

“There are so many reasons why the Grand Canyon watershed must be protected from uranium mining. This is a sacred land with unparalleled cultural, historical, ecological, recreational, and economic value. The Tribes’ proposed designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument provides urgently needed protections, and reflects their wisdom of, deep knowledge of, and continuing connections to their ancestral land,” says Camilla Simon, executive director of Hispanic Enjoying, Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO).  

HECHO supports the Tribes’ Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument proposal and urges President Biden to give this designation through his authority granted by the Antiquities Act.