Press Releases

Currently showing results related to Federal Lands

. See all results.

02.07.24

Grijalva Follows Up on Panelist Concerns at Historic and Cultural Preservation Roundtable, Sends Requests to Interior and GAO

Washington, D.C. - Responding to issues and panelist recommendations discussed at House Natural Resources Committee Democrats’ “Strengthening Historic and Cultural Preservation” roundtable this past November, Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today led a letter with five other House Democrats to U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland asking for her to request increased funding for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs). Other signers on the letter include Vic… Continue Reading


10.06.23

Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on New Border Wall Construction and Use of Dangerous Waiver Authority

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) issued the following statement on the Biden administration’s announcement that it will use the Secretary of Homeland Security’s authority to waive all laws and legal requirements to build approximately 17 miles of new border wall. A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report shows that the existing border wall and use of this waiver authority has already caused irreparable damage to nat… Continue Reading


09.06.23

Ranking Member Grijalva Commends Cancellation of Oil and Gas Leases in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision to cancel the seven remaining 2021 oil and gas leases sold under the Trump administration’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) leasing program. The leases were previously suspended due to multiple legal flaws in the Trump administration’s leasing program, including a failure to adequately analyze a reasonable ran… Continue Reading


08.08.23

Ranking Member Grijalva Delivers Remarks at Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument Designation

Red Butte Airfield, Ariz. – This afternoon, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) delivered remarks at President Biden’s designation of nearly 1 million acres as the new Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in the Red Butte Airfield in Arizona. CLICK HERE for Ranking Member Grijalva’s earlier statement on the announcement of the new national monument. Transcript of Ranking… Continue Reading


08.08.23

Ranking Member Grijalva Hails New Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, Thanks Tribes for Tireless Efforts

Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today celebrated news that President Joe Biden will use his authorities under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate public lands in the Grand Canyon region as the new Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The designation is the result of a decades-long effort by the tribes of the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition, with the support of en… Continue Reading


05.24.23

At Subcommittee Hearing, Democrats Counter Extremist GOP Attacks on Commonsense Conservation Rule and Antiquities Act

Washington, D.C. - At today's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing, Ranking Member Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) delivered the following opening statement countering Republican's partisan attacks on the Antiquities Act and the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) new rule to better balance conservation with extraction in land management decisions. WATCH Ranking Member Stansbury's full statement. The transcript is available below. During the hearing, Committee Ranking Member Raúl… Continue Reading


05.20.23

Interior Secretary Haaland Upholds Commitment to Visit Proposed Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument, Meets with Tribal Leaders

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. – Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and staff from Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-Ariz.) office joined U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on a visit to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and the area that the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition has proposed for designation as the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. Secretary Haaland accepted Ranking Membe… Continue Reading


04.19.23

Interior Secretary Haaland Commits to Visiting Tribes’ Proposed Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument Area

Washington, D.C. – At today’s House Natural Resources Committee hearing, U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland accepted an invitation from Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) to visit the area that the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition has proposed for designation as the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. WATCH Secretary Haaland accept Ranking Member Grijalva’s invitation to visit the proposed Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah … Continue Reading


04.11.23

Grijalva, Sen. Sinema Proud to Join Tribes in Calling on President Biden to Designate Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument

Washington, D.C. - During a virtual press conference held earlier today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) joined members of the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition as they launched an effort to call on President Joe Biden to use his authorities under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. Baaj Nwaavjo means "where tribes roam" for the Havasupai Tribe a… Continue Reading


04.05.23

Grijalva Urges Biden Administration to Save Oak Flat From Foreign Mining Company Backed by Chinese Government, Requests Committee Hearing

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to withhold publication of a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on proposed copper mining operations in Arizona's Tonto National Forest. These mining operations threaten to violate religious freedoms by permanently destroying Oak Flat, or Chí'chil Bi?dagoteel, which is sacred to many tribal com… Continue Reading


03.30.23

Ranking Member Grijalva Applauds Action by Biden Administration to Restore and Protect Our Public Lands

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of the Interior's newly proposed Public Lands Rule, which will improve the management of our public lands by building resilience against climate change, conserving important landscapes and habitats, and better protecting wildlife and cultural resources. "With nearly a quarter of our carbon pollution coming from fossil fuel production o… Continue Reading


01.25.23

Ranking Democrat Grijalva Cheers Repeal of Reckless Trump-Era Rule for Tongass National Forest

Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Ranking Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the U.S. Forest Service's repeal of the Trump administration's 2020 Roadless Rule, which exempted the Tongass National Forest from roadless rule protections, exposing the area to major, environmentally devastating logging and construction projects.. This move by the Biden administration will effectively restore roadless protections for more than 9 million acre… Continue Reading


01.06.23

Ranking Democrat Grijalva Blasts Republicans’ Proposed House Rules Changes and Bogus Accounting to Allow Public Land Giveaways

Washington, D.C. - As the House continues to wait for a successful vote on speakership, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on a provision in Republicans' proposed House Rules package that would make it easier for Congress to give away our nation's public lands without getting a fair return for American taxpayers. The proposed rule would ban the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) from accurately accounting for lost re… Continue Reading


06.21.22

Chair Grijalva Celebrates Historic Tribal Co-Management Agreement for Bears Ears National Monument

Washington D.C. - At a ceremony today, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and the five tribes that make up the Bears Ears Commission-the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni-signed an inter-governmental cooperative agreement to formalize their partnership to manage the 1.36 million acres of the Bears Ears National Monument. The five tribes have inhabited the region since ti… Continue Reading


06.21.22

Chair Grijalva Cheers New Biden Administration Actions to Support Federal Wildland Firefighters

Washington D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the Biden administration's announcement of several new actions to support wildland firefighters, including taking additional steps to increase firefighter pay, creating new mental health and wellness services, and streamlining the federal hiring process for firefighters. These new initiatives-supported in part by $600 million in dedicated funding from the Bipartisan Infra… Continue Reading


06.16.22

Chair Grijalva, Sen. Heinrich Introduce Two Bills to Elevate the Role of Tribal Nations, Protect Tribal Cultural Sites in Public Land Management

Washington D.C. – Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) today announced the introduction of two House and Senate companion bills to advance Tribal management of public lands and to improve protection of sacred and cultural sites: The Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act and the Tribal Cultural Areas Protection Act. The full text of the Advancing Tribal Parity on Public Land Act is available here and the section-by-section is available here. A f… Continue Reading


01.26.22

Grijalva Commends Biden Administration, DOI, for Protecting Boundary Waters, Superior National Forest

Washington, D.C. - Today, Chair Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement following the decision from the Biden administration to cancel two mineral leases adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. "I applaud the Biden administration for thoughtfully reviewing the shady legal underpinnings of these two leases and coming to today's decision. These potential mines threatened the health and safety of the American people, as well as one of our most cherished natural pla… Continue Reading


12.10.21

Chair Grijalva Hails Passage of Bipartisan Package of Bills for Indian Country, Including Long-Awaited STOP Act

Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) issued the following statement today on the bipartisan package of bills the House of Representatives approved in a series of votes over the last two weeks to address longstanding issues in Indian Country, including tribal cultural patrimony, the federal land into trust, and management of buffalo (also known as bison) on tribal lands. The package includes a bill by Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) of the Subcommittee for Indi… Continue Reading


12.08.21

Chair Grijalva Hails Passage of Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks Act as Part of FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act

Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) issued the following statement following last night's passage of the Alexander Lofgran Veterans in Parks Act as a part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, which permanently waives national park fees for veterans and gold star families. The bill, originally introduced by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), was named after Alexander Lofgren, a Wounded Warrior Fellow and former aide to Chair Grijalva in his … Continue Reading


11.26.21

Chair Grijalva: New Federal Fossil Fuel Leasing Report Shows Why Admin Must Move Forward With Rulemakings While Congress Advances Reform Bills

Tucson, Ariz. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said today that the newly released Biden administration report on updating the federal oil and gas leasing program shows the need for the administration to initiate rulemakings as soon as possible to reduce public subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, increase royalties for the public and increase public transparency in the leasing process. Grijalva said the report shows Congress must pass leasing reform bills to make necessary changes as… Continue Reading

Showing page   of 14