www.universalcurrentaffairs.com

Newest national monument created near Grand Canyon.

US President Joe Biden has announced a new national monument, preserving a vast swathe of land around the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

The nearly 1m acre (404,700 hectare) Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument includes thousands of indigenous cultural sites.

The designation also severely limits the amount of mining permitted in the area.

Mr Biden has so far designated five national monuments since taking office.

The area, also known as the Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, is culturally significant to many tribal nations of the US Southwest, including the Hopi, Navajo and Yavapai-Apache peoples.

Indigenous advocacy groups and environmental organisations have for decades been calling for the area to be protected, but have met opposition from some Republican lawmakers and mining industry figures who argue that mining in the area is important to the US economy and national security.

The area of the monument is home to about 1.3% of all known uranium reserves in the US, according to officials.

Speaking at an event at the historic Red Butte Airfield near the Grand Canyon on Tuesday, Mr Biden said the designation of the monument will "help right the wrongs of the past and conserve this land of ancestral footprints for all future generations".

Source: www.nbcnews.com

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