BY MIRIAM WASSER
With less than two months until President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office, those pressuring President Barack Obama to designate the Greater Grand Canyon National Heritage Monument have a new scientific study on their side.
Conducted by the Center for American Progress (CAP) and Conservation Science Partners, the study found that the 1.7 million acres of the proposed monument is one of the most ecologically significant undeveloped areas in the American West, and that, in the words of its authors, the area "presents an opportunity to conserve key elements of ecological function within the region and across the western U.S."
Building on past reports and studies about conservation, environmental resiliency, and ecological connectedness, the authors of this new report analyzed data and found that the proposed monument meets the criteria for an important conservation effort, as outlined in a 2014 study by one of the lead authors, Dr. Brett G. Dickson of Northern Arizona University.