Grand Canyon-Parashant and Vermilion Cliffs National Monuments Resource Management Plans
Arizona
The Wave at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona
Credit: Bureau of Land Management
One of the most remote and rugged landscapes in the continental United States lies north of Arizona's Grand Canyon. Remarkably, the record of human history within the area dates back over 12,000 years; some of the earliest known rock art sites in the Southwest are located here. The Dominguez-Escalante Expedition also traversed the plateaus and canyons of Northern Arizona in 1776 during their failed effort to reach Monterey from Santa Fe. A century or so later, Mormon settlers, ranchers and miners began arriving and attempted to eke out an existence from the scarce resources of the desert. Their cabins, corrals and mining structures dot the landscape, preserved in place by the arid climate and remoteness of the area.
Out of this landscape and in recognition of the area's historic importance and scenic beauty, President Clinton created two new national monuments in 2000: Grand Canyon-Parashant and Vermilion Cliffs. The national monuments include 1,307,000 acres of federal land, which are overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service. Unlike most of the areas under the jurisdiction of BLM, which are managed chiefly for energy development, recreation, grazing and other "multiple uses," the national monuments exist primarily to protect "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest."
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Arizona
Credit: Bureau of Land Management
In 2009, the National Trust for Historic Preservation joined several conservation organizations in a lawsuit challenging the BLM and National Park Service's resource management plans for Grand Canyon-Parashant and Vermilion Cliffs. The National Trust believes that by permitting motorized vehicle use on nearly 1,900 miles of roads and primitive routes, even though less than 5 percent of the monuments have been surveyed for cultural resources, the plans fail to adequately protect the monuments' "objects of historic and scientific interest," as required by the Antiquities Act and Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
