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Conservation
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Public Lands Issues
Agua Fria National Monument: Jewel of a River Canyon
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Keep the Colorado River Wild: The Grand
Canyon Chapter was founded during a successful campaign to protect
the Grand Canyon from two dams, one that would have flooded the
eastern park and one that would have backed up to Mooney Falls in
Havasupai Canyon. As a way to thank our founders and activists please
write a letter to protect the wilderness character of the Grand
Canyon National Park.
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A land of stark contrasts, Agua Fria National Monument
is home to a river canyon lined with cottonwoods and willows where deep
pools of clear water mirror desert cliffs covered in cactus and ocotillo.
Above the canyon, pronghorn antelope run through knee-high grasses amid
rolling hills freckled with the ruins. Gila monsters scuttle through dry
washes and snakes lie silently curled under rocks incised with pictures
many centuries old. The Agua Fria is also a land where off-road vehicle
tracks mar archaeological sites and scatter pottery pieces, blurring the
stories of the landís history. Cattle muddy the clear waters, trample
grass and seedlings and crush ancient artifacts. Communities look to the
monument for economic opportunities - land for growth and development,
opportunities for tourism revenue. The Sunset Point rest area, the City
of Phoenix, and ranching operations all claim water from the Agua Fria
River, the soul of the monumentís ecological richness. The Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) is asking for public input on how to manage this
monument and Bradshaw-Harquahala Management Area.
Ask the BLM to:
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Create a transportation system that provides reasonable access while
upholding monument purposes. Close and rehabilitate all vehicle routes
that threaten cultural and historic sites; fragment wildlife habitat;
damage plants, soils, and riparian areas and watersheds.
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Prevent sprawl that threatens our priceless natural and cultural
resources by requesting that the BLM remove the 17,000+ acres of public
lands located near Humboldt, Dewey and Mayer from their disposal list
so that they can never be exchanged for development.
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Support Wilderness designation of sensitive archeological and biological
areas. Remind the BLM of their obligation to do wilderness inventories
on acquired lands within the National Monument.
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Expand Agua Fria NM to include New River Mountains in Tonto National
Forest.
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Manage 18 miles of the Agua Fria River as Wild & Scenic by protecting
and enhancing outstanding resource values.
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Return natural fire cycles to the mesa top areas.
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Evaluate the impacts of grazing in riparian areas and archeological
sites. Grazing accelerates the erosion of streamside areas, compacts
soils, and breaks down walls of archeological sites.
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Protect sensitive black hawk nesting sites and migration corridors
for bald eagles in Agua Fria River
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Protect the in-stream flow of the Agua Fria River to preserve the
riparian habitats & native fish.
For more information:
Contact Julie Sherman at (928) 213-1176 or email julie.sherman@sierraclub.org
Deadline: Nov. 15
Please write:
Agua Fria NM Comments
Phoenix BLM
21605 N. 7th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85027-2099
AZ_AFNM_Bradshaw@blm.gov
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Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Chapter, 202 E.
McDowell Rd, Suite 277, Phoenix, AZ 85004, (602) 253-8633
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