Fighting to protect the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains from the devastating impacts of mining.
Letter to the Arizona Daily Star
By Cathy McGrath
Vail
May 10, 2023 Updated May 10, 2023
“Instead, Hudbay is trying to drop five open pits into a populated area. Then, they will dip their straw in and suck out approximately 13 million gallons of groundwater per day, destroy a national forest, turn state land into a toxic dump and contaminate neighborhoods for miles.”
In conjunction with House Representative Raúl Grijalva’s (D-AZ) and Senator Matt Heinrich’s (D-NM) sponsored bills, the Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act of 2022, a group of conservation groups nationwide has requested Congress to approve the legislation. The bills, with Save The Scenic Santa Ritas as a co-signatory, propose some major overhauls to an antiquated mining law that often benefits foreign shareholders and foreign customers, leaving local U.S. communities stuck with groundwater depletion and environmental degradation.
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Synopsis: The Tohono O’odham, Pascua Yaqui and Hopi Nations file a joint motion for a temporary restraining order to stop Hudbay work. Conservation groups, including Save The Scenic Santa Ritas, file a motion of support.
In this video Dr. Hart describes how copper mines fail to prevent toxins concentrated in tailing piles and ponds from polluting our air and water. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame
Dr. Stanley Hart describes the impact of copper mining on underground aquifers, both how much groundwater is used and where it ends up. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame
Dr. Stanley R. Hart, Scientist Emeritus at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, talks with a group from Save the Scenic Santa Ritas about the factors that are causing HudBay Corporation to pursue development of a large open pit mine (“Copper World”) in the Santa Rita Mountains near Sahuarita in southern Arizona. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame
Dr. Stanley R. Hart talks with a group from Save the Scenic Santa Ritas about the geology of this Sky Island mountain range near Sahuarita in southern Arizona. Dr. Hart is Scientist Emeritus at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. WATCH NOW video by John Grahame
Watch the April video update about Lake Mead, new water restrictions in Las Vegas, and news from Lake Powell.
WATCH NOW
In Nov 2022 Russ captured recent bulldozing in the Santa Rita Mountains. His video starts over the Rosemont mine project on the east side and then swings over the Copper World project on the west side. WATCH VIDEO NOW
Check out Pima County’s updated map of the proposed mine site. Click on any spot on the map for ownership/status information. Mapping details are based on Hudbay’s PEA dated May 1.
Browse HERE over 30 titles of carefully selected books in various categories including: copper, water, mining, wilderness, exploration, and more. 
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