Biden creates new monument to protect ‘God’s Cathedral’ at Grand Canyon National Park

Mr Biden is using a trip to western states to highlight his administration’s environmental and legislative record

President Joe Biden speaks before signing a proclamation designating the Baaj Nwaavjo I'Tah Kukveni National Monument at the Red Butte Airfield Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Tusayan, Ariz. (AP Photo/John Locher) (AP)

President Joe Biden hailed his administration’s efforts to combat the effects of the climate crisis as he signed a proclamation to establish the Baaj Nwaavjo I'Tah Kukveni National Monument near the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Mr Biden, who travelled to Arizona on Monday as part of a multi-day trip to highlight his legislative record ahead of the 2024 election season, said it was “not hyperbole” for him to say there’s “no national treasure” that is “grander” than the Grand Canyon, which he described as one of the “wonders of the world”.

“The first time I saw the Grand Canyon years ago, I was a young senator. I stood there and looked out. A phrase came to mind — it was instinctive — I said this must be ... this is God's cathedral,” he said.

The president said he was “proud” that he could use his authority to protect more than a million acres near the site using the Antiquities Act, a century-old law enacted under Theodore Roosevelt’s administration which allows the president to designate monuments of natural, historical or cultural significance.

Mr Biden also said the monument designation would “right the wrongs of the past and conserve this land of ancestral footprints for all future generations,” though he lamented how the designation of Grand Canyon National Park had the effect of denying Native Americans “full access to their homelands”.

He noted that tribal activists had for decades fought to “protect these lands from mining and development, to clear them of contamination, [and] to preserve their shared legacy for future generations,” and reiterated his commitment to use his authority as president to “prioritise respect for the tribal sovereignty and self-determination” and “honour the solemn promises the United States made to tribal nations to fulfil federal trust and treaty obligations”.

“My administration has worked alongside tribal leaders ... to keep that promise. At a time when some seek to ban books and bury history, we're making it clear that we can't just choose to learn only what we want to know. We should learn everything that's good or bad, the truth about who we are as a nation,” he said. “That's what great nations do”.

“Today's action is going to protect and preserve that history along with these high plateaus and deep canyons, majestic red cliffs over 300 million years old,” he continued, adding later that preserving the lands he designated as a monument on Tuesday is good for Arizona, for the planet, for the US economy and for “the soul of the nation”.

But Mr Biden also said there is “more work ahead” for his administration when it comes to combatting “the existential threat of climate change,” citing the extreme heat that has hit Arizona and other western states in recent days.