Action Alert!!

U. S. Congress wants to give land to Resolution Copper so they can destroy beautiful "significant natural, scenic, recreational, water or riparian sites."

Breaking News: Salizar and Udall to visit Arizona potential mining sites! Stay tuned for action alerts!

Forest Service responds to questions from the Natural Resource Committee

 Forest Service express concerns for S.409 land swap

AZ Fish and Game express concerns for S.409 land swap

Ask Pres. Obama to honor Eisenhower's and Nixon's protection of Oak Flat: Contact

ACT NOW: Write the Arizona Congresspersons and ask them to keep Apache Leap, Oak Flat and Devil's Canyon preserved in the public domain. We want an initial Environmental Impact Study (NEPA) to determine the impacts on Devil's Canyon before another hole is dug. See Report on water at site.

Obama Admin, McCain spar over Ariz. Copper Mine Bill — NYTimes

McCain has "arranged" other land swaps in Arizona:

John "Land Swap" McCain

McCain pushed Land Swap that benefits Backer— Washington Post 5/2008

McCain pushed regulators for Land Swap, despite pledge — McClatchy 10/2008

Arizona land swap dogged by questions — High Country News 3/2004

Records of Senate Hearing on S.409 details with comments

Responses to Senate Hearing on S.409 sent to Congress

Listen to the Hearing (video starts at 22:50 minutes)

Current survey on plant, animal, bird, reptile species in Devil's Canyon

Sandy Bahr, Roy Chavez, David Salisbury are interviewd by PBS-ASU Horizon, Phoenix

Rio Tinto extols copper deposit: Resolution Copper Mining LLC (RCML) has completed sufficient drilling on its deep porphyry copper deposit to report an Inferred Resource of 1.34 billion tonnes containing 1.51 per cent copper and 0.040 per cent molybdenum.

Map of impacted region

Proposal: To exchange these unique landscapes an hour's drive from metro Phoenix:


Oak Flat Campground protected by PLO-1229


Devil's Canyon riparian area

For these landscapes:


Seven B Ranch, Lower San Pedro River, 3,073 acres


LX Bar Ranch , 148 acres


Historical Sacred Apache Leap


Devil's Canyon in the Fall

 


J Slash X Ranch, 147 acres

Text of S.409

Stated purposes of the bill and the intended duplicity:

(1) to authorize, direct, facilitate, and expedite the conveyance and exchange of land between the United States and Resolution Copper;
Comments: It is true that the bill will exchange lands between U.S. Forest Service and Resolution Copper Corp. The problem is why would the U.S. Congress give beautiful Forest Service land to a mining company that is a partnership of two companies (Rio Tinto and BHP) with the worst mining pollution records on the planet--including in U.S.?

(2) to provide for the permanent protection of cultural resources and uses of the Apache Leap escarpment located near the town of Superior, Arizona; and
Comments: How can destoying the mountain behind Apache Leap escarpment, leaving only a shell of a cliff, be claimed as protecting it?

(3) to secure Federal ownership and protection of land with significant natural, scenic, recreational, water, riparian, cultural and other resources.
Comments: As is shown by on-site photos, none of the exchange land is "significant natural, scenic, recreational, water or riparian sites." With the exception of the San Pedro River site, all the exchange lands are over-grazed, insignificant ranches that have absolutely no market value. The San Pedro site could be purchased by the Nature Conservancy with a billion dollar annual receipts. Why not spend some of that money in Arizona, instead of aligning with a mining company that will devastate "significant, scenic, recreational, water and riparian sites." See more photos of proposed exchange parcels

Note: Bill introduced by Arizona Senators Kyl and McCain. Contributions to McCain in 2008 from mining was $210,813 (he got top billing); Senator Kyl was near the top of the mining list in his 2006 election with $82,823.

ACT NOW: Write the Arizona Congresspersons and let them know that we want to keep Apache Leap, Oak Flat and Devil's Canyon preserved in the public domain.

What about the water in the region?

What about the jobs promise?

Arizona Mining Reform Coalition's Fact Sheet on the Exchange Bill

Western Lands Project warns about land exchanges


Six Tribal leaders of the Apache Nation gather at Oak Flat
to sign an agreement to protect the land


Apache Elders speak up to save the land of
their heroic ancestors

ACT NOW — Write the sub-committee and let them know that we want to keep Apache Leap, Oak Flat and Devil's Canyon preserved in the public domain.