Attorney General Mayes Wins Court Battle to Protect Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument

PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today announced that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a complete victory in a lawsuit seeking to dismantle the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, rejecting every argument made by the Arizona State Legislature, State Treasurer, and several local governments that challenged the monument's creation.

The court ruled that none of the plaintiffs had legal standing to challenge the 2023 presidential proclamation that established the monument, which protects approximately 917,000 acres of federal land surrounding the Grand Canyon.

"Today's ruling is a victory for the people of Arizona and for the Indigenous communities whose ancestral homelands are protected by this monument,” said Attorney General Mayes. “The court rejected every argument Senate President Warren Petersen, Speaker of the House Steve Montenegro, and Treasurer Kimberly Yee put forward. I am proud to have stood up to defend these sacred and important lands."

Attorney General Mayes intervened in the case alongside Governor Katie Hobbs to defend the monument against the legal challenge. The Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the district court's dismissal on all counts, finding that claims of lost tax revenue, threats to water supply, reduced land value, and higher energy prices were too speculative to establish standing in federal court.

A copy of the ruling is available.