President Petersen Requests Meeting with Trump Administration on Reversing Biden's Land Grab in Northern Arizona

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                              

Monday, February 10, 2025

President Petersen Requests Meeting with Trump Administration on

Reversing Biden's Land Grab in Northern Arizona

PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Senate President Warren Petersen is requesting a meeting with the U.S. Interior Secretary in hopes of reversing former President Joe Biden's land grab of nearly one million acres in northern Arizona. This 2023 unilateral action from the Biden Administration effectively blocks mining, threatens national security, harms the economy, and unnecessarily asserts federal dominance over the Grand Canyon State with more than 40% of Arizona currently owned by the United States.

Last year, when Attorney General Kris Mayes refused to protect Arizona's interests from this unconstitutional action, President Petersen filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration with former House Speaker Ben Toma, State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, Mohave County, Colorado City, and Fredonia in an effort to reverse the land seizure and "national monument" designation. Unfortunately, a U.S. District Court dismissed the case last month, but President Petersen is currently pursuing an appeal on the matter.

This past Friday, President Petersen sent a letter to Secretary Burgum laying out the dire consequences of Biden's land grab, as well as former President Barack Obama's 2009 prohibition on mining uranium, and asked for a meeting to discuss ending this government overreach.

"Government scientists believe that more than 300 million pounds of uranium is buried in this area. The energy that could be produced from this mineral is astronomical. Unfortunately, The Biden Administration has forced dirty uranium production overseas where there are no environmental standards, instead of here in the United States where we have the highest environmental standards in the world," said President Petersen. "By allowing Biden's land grab to remain in place, we're contributing to skyrocketing energy costs for hardworking families, and we're contributing to the nation's reliance on foreign powers to keep our nuclear electric power generators operating. Ending the federal government's hold of this piece of land falls in line with the Trump Administration's goals of energy independence, job creation, and lower costs for Americans. I look forward to working with Secretary Burgum on this matter of importance for Arizona and the entire nation."

###

For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov