Staff Reports
In a bold move that left a bitter taste in the mouths of many property rights advocates, President Joe Biden unveiled the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument back in August 2023. Claiming to safeguard tribal lands, Biden put the kibosh on nearly 1 million acres for those pesky mining activities and other uses, much to the dismay of rancher Chris Heaton. And boy, is Heaton not pleased about it!
Heaton, who’s got skin in the game with the Y-Cross Ranch in Arizona dating back to the late 1800s, ain’t happy one bit. This fella’s got a bone to pick with the Powers That Be in D.C. Alongside his trusty advocates at the Pacific Legal Foundation, Heaton’s gearing up to take President Biden to the ol’ legal rodeo, aiming to see this monument vanish into thin air like a tumbleweed in the wind.
‘I Would Love To See The Monument Go Away’: Rancher Suing Biden Over Arizona Land Grab Sounds Off https://t.co/UZEGNt7iAS
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 20, 2024
With a hearty “yeehaw!” and a good ol’ fashioned lawsuit up their sleeves, Heaton and his legal posse are hollering about the unlawful nature of this monument creation. They’re yammering on about how the President overstepped his boundaries like a cowboy on a bucking bronco. And you know what? They might just have a point!
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Heaton, argues that this monument jazz has got their boots in a bunch. They’re fretting about potential criminal penalties for just doing everyday ranching chores. Can you imagine being slapped with a fine for clearing out tamarack trees to keep the water flowing? It’s enough to make a cowboy cry into his spurs.
But hold onto your hats, folks, ’cause there’s more to this rodeo than meets the eye. Heaton reckons there wasn’t a lick of consultation with the ranchers before Biden made his grand monument declaration. And that’s like trying to ride a bull blindfolded – a surefire way to get tossed off and land in a big ol’ pile of trouble.
So, while President Biden’s off playing cowboy with national monuments, there’s a whole mess of folks out there like Heaton who see this as nothing more than a political lasso trying to corral folks into submission. It’s a wild west showdown between property rights and federal overreach, and you can bet your boots this ain’t the last roundup for this dust-up in the desert.
