Laura Ancona | Student Life

While most students at Washington University are preoccupied with who our next president is going to be, one student is very concerned with our current president. Madeline McHugh, a junior majoring in Anthropology on the Global Health and Environment track, is an intern for Environment America, where she is petitioning President Barack Obama to make the Grand Canyon a national monument.

McHugh got involved with Environment America and the campaign when its representatives visited one of her classes last year. She applied to intern with the organization, citing her passionate interest in protecting the Grand Canyon.

Now, McHugh is the event organizer for the campaign. She has hosted three events with the intention of bringing in supporters. The final event will be a free hiking trip through Castlewood State Park in Ballwin, Mo., which will be held on Saturday, Nov. 12.

The goal of the campaign, according to McHugh, is to expand protection of the Grand Canyon.

“[The Grand Canyon] is a national park currently, but we want to extend the area of it because uranium mining is occurring outside of the boundaries,” McHugh said.

Because of the uranium mining, it has been very difficult to garner support for the Grand Canyon becoming a national monument.

“It hasn’t become one yet because there are obviously people gaining money from uranium mining; there are people who really support that,” she explained. “But the fact that it’s contaminating the water is a public health issue. There are more cons than pros, but some people don’t see it that way.”

The organization is campaigning in various ways. McHugh explained the method by which they hope to catch Obama’s attention.

“We’re petitioning currently, and then, we also do photo petitions to show the faces of the people who are petitioning,” she said. “At some point, we’re going to send in all of our petitions and photo petitions with a letter pleading him to declare this national monument. But the campaigning doesn’t just stop at the grassroots level; we also have lobbyists working on the cause, so there are many different angles.”

The issue does have a sense of urgency. McHugh expressed how important it is that Obama declare it a national monument before a new president takes office because “it will be harder in the first bit of the term to get [the newly elected president] to declare a national monument.”

If that does happen, Environment America will most likely shift its focus away from the Grand Canyon until it becomes more likely that it could be declared a national monument.

As for now, McHugh is hopeful.

“We have heard that the Grand Canyon is on his short list of monuments that he wants to declare—it’s in the top five,” she said. “Hopefully, before he leaves, it will be the first one.”

As for what she wants Wash. U. students to know?

“I think that [I’d like] if Wash. U. students realize the impact of it, even though it may not be happening to us,” she said. “It’s really important for us to show that we support these people that are being affected.”

Environment America will be hosting a free hiking trip at Castlewood State Park on Nov. 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The group will meet at the first picnic shelter at the park. Attendees must provide their own transportation. Check out the Facebook event and register for the hike through Eventbrite.