VICTORY! Rep. Gosar Successful in Effort to Block 1.7 Million Acre Land Grab in Arizona

Statement

Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after successfully leading an effort to block Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and extremist environmental groups' proposed 1.7 million acre land grab in Northwest Arizona commonly referred to as the Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument proposal:

"As Barack Obama's presidency ended earlier today, Arizonans can celebrate knowing that they successfully blocked a massive federal land grab which threatened to stifle economic development and kill jobs in our rural communities. In the face of environmental extremists teaming up with a president hell-bent on abusing the Antiquities Act, Arizonans united in one voice to oppose more of our land being unilaterally locked-up by the federal government. I was honored to lead the charge against this misguided land grab for our communities. But this was a team effort and this massive victory is a result of the tireless work by local stakeholders and grassroots groups who united with my office to send a clear message of opposition all the way to the Oval Office."

"While we were successful in our efforts to block this monument designation in Arizona, there is still much work to be done during the Trump Administration to rein in the outdated Antiquities Act. Local communities deserve to have their voices heard before a president can lock up millions of acres of land with one stroke of a pen. I continue to call on President Trump to repeal the land grabs executed by former President Obama where significant local opposition was present including Bears Ears, Utah and Clark County, Nevada."

Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson stated, "Clearly, successfully blocking this effort by the federal government is a huge success story for Arizona and vitally important for Mohave County. My first meeting with Congressman Gosar was in 2010 at a meeting fighting this overreach and he never gave up. Future economic development can now proceed as we move to both preserve the natural beauty of the nearly 2 million acres and create new jobs and opportunities as well. This is a massive victory."

Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Glenn Hamer stated, "We are extremely pleased that the Obama administration has come to an end without designating a huge swath of northern Arizona as a national monument. Doing so would have been a monumental mistake. But this was a close call. We look forward to working with the new Congress to reform the Antiquities Act to ensure that even the potential of a similar land grab can't occur again."

Chairman of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission Kurt Davis stated, "We are thankful that the preservation of the multi-use doctrine has been protected and that the effective conservation of wildlife can continue on these lands."

Arizona water law expert and attorney Bob Lynch stated, "What most people don't know is that defeating this proposal, especially the Executive action, dodges troubling unresolved water rights issues that could threaten water conservation at Lake Mead. Thank you, Congressman Gosar!"

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