Late Friday afternoon, we were notified that Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will be at Grand Canyon National Park on Monday morning to make a major announcement. He will be accompanied by Bob Abbey, Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Jon Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service, and Marcia McNutt, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey.
No further details were provided but there is speculation the announcement has to do with the expiration on July 20 of the two-year moratorium the Secretary imposed on exploration and mineral entry on nearly 1 million acres of federal lands, while an EIS is conducted on his proposal to withdraw the lands for 20 years. The EIS is still in process and the moratorium cannot be extended, thus creating the possibility that exploration could technically be resumed after July 20.