Zinke Recommends Reducing Gold Butte National Monument

LAS VEGAS, NV - Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued a final report to President Donald Trump detailing his review of every use of the Antiquities Act dating back to 1996. The report released Tuesday recommends Gold Butte National Monument, along with three others, be reduced in size.

Along with Gold Butte, Zinke also recommended revising the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, and Cascase-Siskiyou in Oregon and California. Zinke also recommend Trump revise the boundary of the Pacific Remote Islands, which were established in 2009 and expanded in 2014.

The report calls for a reduction and urges Trump to "request congressional authority to enable tribal co-management of designated culturual areas within the revised GBNM boundaries." The revised plan, Zinke's report said, should prioritize public access, infrastructure upgrades, maintenance, traditional use, tribal use, and hunting and fishing rights.

The decision in Gold Butte was not entirely unexpected. A leaked memo in September suggested changes were coming to the monument "to protect historic water rights" belonging to the Virgin Valley Water District. As it pertains to Gold Butte, nothing in Zinke's final report differs from the September leaked memo.

Groups vow to fight reductions in Nevada

Jaina Moan, Executive Director of the Friends of Gold Butte, told Las Vegas Patch on Monday that environmental coalitions in Nevada have a lawsuit prepared if the federal government shrinks the boundaries of Gold Butte. Supporters are being represented by multinational lawfirm Hogan Lovells, the 4th largest lawfirm in America.

The Tuesday press conference was held almost simultaneous to the release of the final report speaking out against the Trump Administration's decision to reduce the boundaries of Bears Ears, Grand Staircase, and Gold Butte. It included representatives from the Moapa Band of Paiutes and the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe who spoke against the reductions.

"Today is another sad day in the history of our country," said Darren Daboda, Chairman of the Moapa Band of Paiutes. "For us as native people, we try to protect and preserve our culture and heritage and it's just a slap in our face as native people."

Daboda said the local tribes whose heritage can be linked to the Gold Butte area have fought for years for the monument designation. He called the decision "heartbreaking" and said he was concerned that the Trump Administration is more focused on economic opportunities on the land rather than preserving it.

He accused Zinke and the Trump Administration of "breach of trust responsibility, that we thought, as a government to government, didn't take place."

Zinke was scheduled to meet with tribal leaders during a July visit to Basin and Range National Monument and Gold Butte National Monument, both in southern Nevada. But Zinke had to fly back earlier than expected to attend a cabinet meeting the following day in Washington, D.C. and was unable to meet with the tribe. Instead Zinke held a teleconference with Daboda and other representatives of the Moapa Band of Paiutes. Daboda said he told Zinke that the tribe was upset he didn't meet with them while he was in Nevada.

"He didn't hear our culture plight, our concerns about the land, our sacred sights, our creation stories, the plants and animals. As native people we need to speak up for them. That was our message to him," Daboda said.

After the teleconference, Daboda said Zinke vowed to let the tribe know of his final decision, but they never received notification of the recommendation to reduce Gold Butte's boundaries to exclude VVWD water rights.

"We thought we were moving on the right page, because he said, 'Once the decision is made, we'll inform (you), this is what the decision is,'" Daboda recalled Zinke saying. "It was sort of a slap in our face, because he cancelled on us twice."

Daboda said the exchange has also soured the tribe's relationship with the Department of the Interior. He said the tribe might be skeptical working with the federal agency on other projects that require the department's authorization.

"Those are the rapports, and the give and take as leaders we have to look at too. In the long term, will this impact our economic development? Will this impact our Land Conveyance Act? Will this person hold out on signing any of these documents?" Daboda wondered.

The Moapa Band of Paiutes Land Conveyance Act (H.R. 6081 from the 114th congress) would add an additional 26,000 acres of land to the tribe's reservation.

Daboda said that the Moapa Band of Paiutes will be actively involved in any litigation that ensues following the government's decision.

"We are going to be a partner with the lawsuit. we're going to see as much as we can accomplish," Daboda said.

"But at the same time being an Indian Country, going against the government, as native people, it's tough."

Virgin Valley Water District's water rights

The VVWD serves the city of Mesquite and owns five springs located inside Gold Butte National Monument's current boundaries. In July, the city of Mesquite passed a resolution expressing support of Zinke's monument review. The concern from the city, as well as the water district itself, is that having springs located inside a national monument could eventually become problematic with future administrations at the Bureau of Land Management's southern Nevada office. While the relationship between the Virgin Valley Water District and the BLM is currently good, VVWD General Manager Kevin Brown said it was best to be overly cautious at the July Mesquite city council meeting.

“In five, 10, even 20 years from now, who knows who will be in charge, what the politics will be, and who will remember the verbal promises made today. The district and the city can’t leave things to chance," Brown said at the July city council meeting in Mesquite.

On Tuesday, Brown told Las Vegas Patch he was happy to learn of the report, but said "it's the first step in a long chess match."

"There's a whole lot of steps that are going to be taken in between," Brown said. "I assume there's going to be a whole lot of litigation that's going on."

Conservation groups in Utah have already begun the process of filing suit. If the Gold Butte battle makes its way to court, the water district won't be taking part.

"If something like that happens I do not believe our board has any interest in joining any litigation," Brown said.

Image via Lucas Thomas/Las Vegas Patch