Grand Canyon Lands Withdrawn from New Claims

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced his decision to protect more than 1 million acres of federal lands surrounding the Grand Canyon and its vital watershed from additional uranium and other hardrock mining for the next 20 years. The Public Land Order to withdraw this acreage for 20 years from new mining claims and sites under the 1872 Mining Law is authorized by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.

The withdrawn area includes 355,874 acres of U.S. Forest Service land on the Kaibab National Forest; 626,678 acres of Bureau of Land Management lands; and 23,993 acres of split estate—where surface lands are held by other owners while subsurface minerals are owned by the federal government.

Read the Interior Department press release here.

25 – Babbitt Ranches – 270,000 acres

The Babbitt Ranches are a 120-year-old cow-calf and yearling operation where home on the range still includes a bedroll and chuck wagon. The ranchlands encompass 700,000 acres, 270,000 of which are deeded, and extend from the Grand Canyon to the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff.

37 – Irwin Heirs – 210,000 acres

Thomas Watson Sr. founded IBM. His son-in-law John Irwin II bought Arizona’s O RO Ranch. His grandson John Irwin III now heads the family-owned JJJ Corporation, which owns and operates the ranch, as well as other cattle operations.