By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services | ExplorerNews.com
A federal appeals court has rejected a bid by environmental groups to force the Bureau of Land Management to do more to protect two national monuments in Arizona.
In an unsigned opinion, the three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sad there was nothing inherently wrong or illegal with BLM permitting “moderate to minor damage” to some objects in the Grand Canyon-Parashant and Vermilion Cliffs national monuments.
The judges acknowledged that the 2000 proclamations by President Clinton creating both monuments say they were established “for the purpose of protecting the objects” within the monuments. But they said the proclamations also allow other uses in the 1.3 million acres in northern Arizona, including grazing and public visitation.
“BLM interpreted the proclamations to permit balancing the protection of monument objects with other uses, rather than require absolute protection of each individual object,” the court wrote. “Giving the deference we owe to BLM’s interpretation, we conclude that is a reasonable one.”
