Arizona National Monuments currently under review by the Secretary of the Interior

AZGS OFR-04-2017

On 26 April 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to review designations of a number of national monuments established under the Antiquities Act of 1906. Section 2 of that executive order requires the Secretary of the Interior to review all Presidential designations or expansions made under the Antiquities Act since 1 Jan. 1996, “where the designation covers more than 100,000 acres …, or where the Secretary determines that the designation or expansion was made without adequate public outreach and coordination with relevant stakeholders.”

For details on the scope of the review, please see President Trump’s executive order of April 2017. The Secretary of the Interior is to provide the President with an interim report within 45 days, and a final report within 120 days.

In Arizona, the President’s executive order includes four national monuments: 

> Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument – established 11 Jan. 2000 by President W.J. Clinton
> Ironwood Forest National Monument – established 9 June 2000 by President W.J. Clinton
> Sonoran Desert National Monument – established 17 Jan. 2000 by President W.J. Clinton
> Vermilion Cliffs National Monument – established 9 Nov. 2000 by President W.J. Clinton

We compiled foundational information on the scope and nature of the mineral resources for each of the four monuments and published them online at the AZGS Document Repository, ‘Arizona National Monuments Mineral Resources Summaries‘.

Information included in each summary: date established, land management responsibility, footprint (in acres), physiographic elements, basic cultural and mineral resources information, and literature resources.

These one- to two-page summaries are not exhaustive, but they do provide a thumbnail sketch of mineral and other resources, and provide citations for published literature that can be consulted for more details.

For additional information or comments, please feel free to contact Mike Conway at fmconway@email.arizona.edu or 520.621.2352.