Great Bend of the Gila National Monument at ‘an impasse,’ no floor votes expected this session

Back in August, Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva introduced a bill to create the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument. It would stretch across more than 370,000 acres and establish a tribal advisory council.

At least 13 federally recognized tribes maintain cultural ties there, like the Tohono O’odham, Yavapai-Prescott and Fort Yuma Quechan. But since then, that measure has stalled on Capitol Hill.

Aaron Wright is with Archeology Southwest. The Tucson-based nonprofit documented some 40,000 petroglyphs, hundreds of geoglyphs and dozens of ancestral villages within that site.

“We’re at an impasse,” Wright said. “We haven’t had any direct yay or nay from Grijalva, but in light of developments, we don’t anticipate any movement with the remainder of the current administration.”

One such development was the Gila Bend town council unanimously voting to send a letter of opposition to the proposed designation earlier this month. Wright described that decision as “a pretty significant blow to the campaign.”

Not to mention Grijalva — the legislative sponsor — is retiring after the next session following his recent cancer diagnosis. The House Natural Resources Committee told KJZZ News his bill is ineligible for floor votes since Republicans control the legislative agenda and no hearings have happened yet.

But President Joe Biden could still invoke the Antiquities Act to enact Arizona’s 20th national monument during his administration’s remaining days, like the Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.

At the same time, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to undo or downsize his predecessor’s designations.