State lawmakers are calling on President Joe Biden to set aside more than 1.1 million acres around the Grand Canyon as a new national monument. Mayor Vail says she has never seen a national monument proposed in this form. The Town could essentially be surrounded by a national monument. 

Environmental groups and a dozen Native American tribes in the region say the proposed Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument is needed to protect the area’s water, wildlife, sacred spaces and ancestral homelands from uranium mining and other projects.

Mayor Vail viewed and online news conference in April. She said the monument designation would not impact cattle ranching or hunting. She has concerns about fire protection as the designation could apply to parts of the Kaibab National Forest. "I wanted to put it on the council's radar so that you can think of any questions or comments that we should be asking." Mayor Vail is in the in the process of setting up meetings with the government agencies involved.