Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Federal Lands
Chair Grijalva, After Years of Highlighting Need for Tribal Consultation, Cheers Withdrawal of Key Federal Analysis for Exploitative Oak Flat Mining Project
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who has for many years highlighted the need for federal tribal consultation before moving forward with the Resolution Copper mining project in central Arizona, today hailed the news that the U.S. Forest Service is withdrawing its final environmental impact statement and draft record of decision issued on Jan. 15 and will conduct a thorough review before proceeding any further with the preparation of new analyses at the site. Grijal… Continue Reading
02.26.21
Chair Grijalva Hails Passage of Public Lands Bills, Looks Forward to Senate Action on Grand Canyon Protection Measure, Other Major Conservation Goals
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today hailed passage of the Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act, a package of Natural Resources Committee bills that includes Grijalva's Grand Canyon Protection Act; Rep. Joe Neguse's (D-Colo.) Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act; and a collection of bills introduced in the last Congress as a package by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) under the heading Protecting America's Wilderness Act. The Protecting America's W… Continue Reading
02.22.21
Chair Grijalva Leads Letter to Acting Sec. of Agriculture Urging Withdrawal of Flawed Analysis of Oak Flat Mining Project Rushed Out by Trump Admin
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a previously unannounced letter on Friday to acting Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Shea, signed by 21 House Democratic colleagues, urging the withdrawal of the U.S. Forest Service final environmental impact statement (FEIS) assessing the likely impacts of the proposed Resolution Copper mining project in central Arizona. The Trump administration rushed the document to publication on Jan. 15, just days before President Biden took offi… Continue Reading
12.30.20
Chair Grijalva Requests Body-Worn Camera Footage of National Park Service Agent Tasering U.S. Marine Veteran at Petroglyph National Monument
Washington, D.C. - In a new letter to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, available at http://bit.ly/2WTA50Q, Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) requests footage from body-worn cameras used by National Park Service (NPS) officers involved in the Dec. 27 Tasering of Darrell House, a Marine Corps veteran and enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and Oneida Nation, at Petroglyph National Monument. Grijalva requests four pieces of information on the recent incident: All footage recorded by a… Continue Reading
12.21.20
Chair Grijalva Helps Secure Landmark Tribal Water Wins, Saguaro National Park Expansion, Renewable Energy, Insular Resources in End-of-Year Federal Funding Law
Washington D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today highlighted the inclusion of his Saguaro National Park Boundary Expansion Act, along with landmark tribal water priorities, renewable energy wins, and Insular provisions as part of the Fiscal Year 2021, Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (H.R. 133) set to become law this week. H.R. 133 advances multiple tribal water rights settlements, including the largest water rights settlement in history be… Continue Reading
12.10.20
Grijalva Cheers House Passage of Saguaro National Park Expansion, Natural Resources Bills
Washington D.C. - Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed eight Natural Resources Committee bills, including Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva's (D-Ariz.) Saguaro National Park Boundary Expansion and Study Act of 2020 (H.R. 7098). Chair Grijalva's bill will expand Saguaro National Park and further protect the unique Sonoran Desert habitat of the greater Tucson area in Arizona, an effort he has championed since 2007. Under the terms of the bill, the Secretary of the Interior is auth… Continue Reading
12.07.20
Chair Grijalva, Subcommittee Chairs Slam Rush to Lease Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain Before Biden Inauguration – Accelerated Timeline Violates BLM Rules
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), chair of the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife, and Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), chair of the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, wrote to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt today seeking an explanation of how the Department of the Interior can move forward with a lease sale in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge when it would be cutting short a comment period and… Continue Reading
12.04.20
Chair Grijalva Applauds House Passage of a Dozen Natural Resources Bills
Washington D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) applauded the House passage of 12 bills within the Committee's jurisdiction. Bills passed on the House floor include legislation to protect big cats, reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, and strengthen access to health care for Urban Native Veterans. "This Committee is working to provide real solutions to challenges facing communities across the na… Continue Reading
10.05.20
Rep. Gallego, Chair Grijalva, Sen. Cantwell Lead Letter to Sec. Perdue Urging Pause or Reversal of Roadless Rule Exemption in Tongass Natl. Forest
Washington, D.C. - Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) led a bicameral letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today urging a pause or full reversal of the proposed exemption of Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which has protected tens of millions of acres of federal lands from overdevelopment and unwarranted logging since Jan. 12, 2001. On the House side, the letter - available online at… Continue Reading
09.30.20
Natural Resources Committee Advances Bills to Protect Boundary Waters From Mining, Remove Confederate Monuments, Protect Public Lands
Washington D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today led a Committee markup to advance 19 pieces of legislation, including key Natural Resources measures to protect federally recognized waters from dangerous mining, remove Confederate monuments from public lands, and support Indian Country. One bill provides federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Bill texts, amendments, amendments in the nature of a substitute, and vote counts can be found at the House of Represe… Continue Reading
09.24.20
Chair Grijalva Statement on Forest Service’s Newly Announced Roadless Rule Exemption for Tongass National Forest: “This is Putting Polluters Over People”
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the U.S. Forest Service's newly announced upcoming publication of a Final Environmental Impact Statement that will exempt the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from the 2001 Roadless Rule. "The Trump administration just opened up one of the world's biggest carbon sinks to more resource extraction and ignored overwhelming public opposition in order to do it. This is what America looks like when those i… Continue Reading
09.24.20
Chair Grijalva, Committee Members Question DOI Efforts to Build Road on Congressionally Protected Lands, Properties Purchased with Conservation Funds
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) led a letter today with seven other House Committee Democrats to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt questioning the Department of the Interior's (DOI) effort to rush forward a road-building project through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (NCA) in Southern Utah. Under DOI's preferred alternative, the planned four-lane highway, part of the Northern Corridor Project for St. George, Utah, would run through land protected by Congre… Continue Reading
09.01.20
Chair Grijalva on Forest Service Oil and Gas Deregulation Proposal: The Trump Administration is Giving Away Our Public Lands as Fast as Possible
Washington D.C. - Natural Resources Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement on the U.S. Forest Service's (USFS) publication of a proposed deregulation of oil and gas development on National Forest System lands. Under the proposal, the Forest Service - part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture - would have fewer opportunities to push back against potentially problematic lease sales, keep the public in the dark about proposals to drill, and shortcut reviews of ho… Continue Reading
08.13.20
After Months of Administration Silence, Chair Grijalva and Vice Chair Haaland Lead Letter With House Democrats Seeking Documents on Park Service Reopening Health Policies
Washington, D.C. - Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Vice Chair Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) led a letter signed by six House Democrats today seeking long overdue information from Interior Secretary David Bernhardt about the National Park Service's (NPS) failure to consistently enforce mask-wearing or social distancing standards as it reopens sites around the country amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The letter follows one Grijalva and 11 other Democratic mem… Continue Reading
08.05.20
Chair Grijalva, Haaland Slam Trump’s Attempt to Rewrite History for Political Gain, Question Legality of Garden of Heroes Executive Order
Washington D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Vice-Chair Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), sent a letter to President Trump and U.S. Department of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt challenging the legality, use of taxpayer money, and political goals of Trump's Executive Order on Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes that was issued at his Mt. Rushmore campaign style rally on July 3, 2020. As Trump signed this order, Native Americans protest… Continue Reading
08.04.20
Chair Grijalva Celebrates Long Fought Victory of Securing Permanent, Full Land & Water Conservation Funding
Washington D.C. - Natural Resources Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) released the following statement in anticipation of H.R. 1957, The Great American Outdoors Act becoming law today: "Today Americans can celebrate one of the most significant investments in environmental conservation in a generation. Permanent, full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund means that this vital program will never be held hostage again. Communities from Arizona, to Louisiana, to Maine, and every … Continue Reading
07.22.20
Chair Grijalva Hails Passage of Great American Outdoors Act, Points to Significant Local Benefits of Full Funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today hailed House passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, one of Congress' most significant investments in environmental conservation in a generation. The bill - for which Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) is the House sponsor - fully funds the successful and popular Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million annually, well above its yearly average funding level, and creates the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restora… Continue Reading
07.03.20
Chair Grijalva on Mt. Rushmore Fireworks Display Opposed by Tribes: “This is the Administration That Blew Up Sacred Native Burial Grounds for its Wall”
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today released the following statement on President Trump's planned event at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, which will include a fireworks display that had not been practiced for more than a decade due to concerns about wildfires and water contamination. According to the impact assessment that allowed the event to go forward, "All tribes consulted objected to the event and consider it to be an adverse effect to the traditional cultural pr… Continue Reading
06.30.20
Chair Grijalva Hails Climate Committee Recommendations – Highlights Public Lands Net-Zero Carbon Bill, Environmental Justice, Other Measures
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva today congratulated the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and Chair Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) on today's comprehensive report recommending a broad and aggressive policy approach to climate change. The Committee, Grijalva said, has done a vital public service in focusing on the greatest threat humanity faces and basing its recommendations on thorough public outreach. Grijalva praised Speaker Nancy Pelosi's determination to create the Committee an… Continue Reading
06.05.20
Chair Grijalva: Trump Illegal Rollback of Marine Monument Protections Shows He’s in “Recreational Destruction Mode” as He Clings to Power
Washington, D.C. - Chair Raúl M. Grijalva today released the following statement on President Trump's decision to end restrictions on commercial fishing in Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. The move comes just one day after he signed an executive order waiving the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act in some circumstances, falsely describing the giveaway long sought by polluters as a targeted response to the current economic… Continue Reading