From azcentral.com today, an opinion piece on the threats facing the Grand Canyon:
“There’s a fight over the Grand Canyon. Arizonans are on one side. Many of their elected representatives are on the other.
It’s a high-stakes battle in a long-running war about whether public land is meant to be used for profit or for conservation.
It’s also a question of whether elected officials represent the people who put them in office – or themselves.
The Canyon is smack in the middle of this controversy. Your grandchildren will be the winners. Or losers.
As a National Park, the Canyon is the embodiment of our national conservation ethic. The park itself enjoys a high level of protection.
But the Grand Canyon is not an island. Federal land around it is managed for multiple uses, which include ranching, logging and mining. What happens on that land can touch the Canyon. … “
Read more at: http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/lindavaldez/2016/05/08/grand-canyon-monument/83949844/
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