Federal agency commits $15.2 million for landscape work near the Grand Canyon, Sky Islands

Large swaths of public land around Arizona's Grand Canyon and in the mountainous areas in southeast Arizona will receive $15.2 million in federal funding for ecosystem restoration, the Bureau of Land Management said.

The two areas, called the Yanawant and Sky Islands Restoration Landscapes, are among the 21 areas the federal agency identified as priorities for investment.

"We chose these 21 restoration landscapes because we know how important they are and how much these places are in need. We chose them because the public expects us to keep these areas healthy and functioning, and we agree," said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning during the Wednesday announcement.

The 21 priority areas are located across the West in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. In total, BLM will distribute $161 million from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. State offices will be responsible for managing the funds.

An additional $40 million from the IRA has already been invested for the same purpose, so the total is closer to $200 million, said Tomer Hasson, BLM senior policy advisor.

"BLM has long practiced public lands restoration," said Hasson. "What's exciting about this announcement is that it represents the ability to do this work deeply, to focus in particular places."

"We are not leaving other places behind. To the extent that there are funds available, we will be spending them in other areas," he added.

The large scale of the landscapes identified will allow the federal agency to open up conversations with tribes, states and local communities on how to manage them, Hasson said. Priority areas were also identified in relation to where restoration investments "would be supported and leveraged by partners."

The treatments across the public lands selected will vary depending on the threats and restoration needs identified on the ground. Funding is already being allocated, though a significant amount of money will also be distributed in fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

"The takeaway is that with today's investment we're going to be able to pass these lands to future generations better than we found them," Stone-Manning added.

Arizona's unique Sky Islands

The Sky Islands Restoration Landscape, almost 4 million acres stretching from Arizona's southern border to the Gila Mountains, will receive $9.6 million from the new federal program.

The Sky Islands, a series of isolated mountain ranges, are part of a vast ecological region that connects ecosystems in northwest Mexico to those on the Colorado Plateau. The mountainous area creates a wildlife corridor, and is home to dozens of federally protected species.

The Chiricahua mountains, also part of Arizona's Sky Islands, were not included in the BLM restoration landscape.

Because of the changes in elevation, rising up to 6,000 feet over the desert flats, and the unique characteristics of some of these mountain ranges, the Sky Islands offer numerous habitats for different species that rarely occur in the same region.

Within the program, the region will receive investments to "reduce fuel loads, improve groundwater management in the San Pedro River drainage, protect critical wildlife migration corridors, and support recovery of threatened and endangered wildlife," said a regional BLM press release.

Funding will also go to increase fencing near the San Pedro River "to take care of some long-standing cattle trespass issues we've had in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area," Stone-Manning said.

Protecting Yanawant near the Grand Canyon

An area northwest of the Grand Canyon will receive $5.6 million from the program.

The BLM restoration region, named the Yanawant landscape, lies directly north of Grand Canyon National Park, and consists of over 3 million acres. About half of it is BLM land.

The area, a diverse region including many ecosystems from desert scrub to ponderosa pine forests, is at "significant risk for catastrophic fire," said Hasson. The investment will increase fuel reduction work with partner agencies and park services to "diminish and identify threats to tourism, local economies and one of the wonders of the world."

Other areas of investment cited in the official press release were the removal of invasive species and "encroaching conifers," and restoring native grasses.

The BLM co-manages the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in the region north of the Canyon and oversees other public lands in the area, including Yanawant.

Clara Migoya covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to clara.migoya@arizonarepublic.com.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Two Arizona sites get $15.2M in federal funding for restoration work