Report claims big economic gains for Tucson region with proposed mine
Fox11AZ.com
July 25, 2011
TUCSON, Ariz. — A report detailing the economic impacts of the Rosemont Copper Mine touts a gain of $9 billion in Pima County over the next 21 years.
But Tom Purdon with the group Save the Scenic Santa Ritas says don’t let the numbers fool you.
“It’s hard to give that analysis credibility,” said Purdon.
He says the study released by Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities does not account for loss in revenue– if outdoors enthusiasts no longer visit the area.
“Tourism in Southern Arizona accounts for more than two billion dollars worth of activity, people come in from all over the world to go hiking, birding,” said Purdon.
The Global West: how foreign investment fuels resource extraction in western states
High Country News
Feature story – From the July 25, 2011 issue
by Jonathan Thompson
Douglas, Wyo., population 5,000 and home of the legendary jackalope, lies in an almost puritanical landscape — beautiful, yet shy about that beauty, concealing it modestly under a beige blanket of grass and shrubs. A collection of low-slung stone and brick buildings sits at the town’s center, with tree-shaded residential neighborhoods radiating out from it. Ford, GM and Chevrolet pickups dominate local traffic, along with the occasional bus carrying workers from the North Antelope Rochelle coal mine nearby. After their shifts, miners and roughnecks can grab a burger and fries at The Koop, a steak at Clementine’s Cattle Company, or a mean enchilada and a beer over at La Costa Restaurant. Over beers, they might talk about politics, though without a lot of disagreement: Eight out of 10 voters in Converse County go Republican. Perhaps they’ll speculate as to whether the town’s other unlikely mammalian hybrid, the Bearcats…
Read more: http://www.hcn.org/issues/43.12/the-global-west
Game and Fish rips Forest Service on mine study
by Philip Franchine in Green Valley News and Sun
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Forest Service’s go-it-alone approach to an environmental study on the proposed Rosemont Copper mine “cheapens the document to a level of mediocrity at best,” the state Game and Fish director said recently.
Game and Fish Department Director Larry D. Voyles criticized the approach in a June 23 cover letter to Coronado National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch. Voyles on June 9 told Upchurch the Forest has kept the department, one of 18 cooperating government agencies, in the role of “spectator rather than active participant.”
The Game and Fish Department recently released its letters and detailed comments on the Forest’s working Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DIES) on Rosemont, following a public records request.
Proposed mine’s lighting holds risk for astronomy
by Tony Davis in Arizona Daily Star
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
City lights brighten the sky west of David Levy’s backyard observatory in the Vail area, but the skies are darker and starrier to the east.
Those contrasting views illustrate what could be at stake for dark skies in the Tucson area due to the Rosemont Mine, according to the U.S. Forest Service’s preliminary report on the proposed mine’s environmental impact. Levy, an internationally known amateur comet discoverer, as well as astronomers on Mount Hopkins are concerned that the mine’s projected increases in sky brightness would make their work more difficult – or impossible.
Agencies get more time for Rosemont comment
by Tony Davis in Arizona Daily Star
Sunday, July 3, 2011
State, federal and local government agencies will get another 30 days to file written comments on an environmental report for the proposed Rosemont Mine.
Reversing an earlier decision after getting several written protests from agencies, the Forest Service said Friday that the 17 cooperating agencies and the Tohono O’odham Tribe now have until Aug. 1 to submit comments on the mine planned for the Santa Rita Mountains. The service also said last week it plans to release a public draft at the end of August.
On June 21, Coronado National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch had rejected a request from the Arizona Game and Fish Department to extend the June 30 deadline by 45 days. The state agency had cited what it called the major scope and complexity of the preliminary draft of the mine environmental impact statement to justify its request for a time extension.
Rosemont draws criticism from Pima County
by Philip Franchine in Green Valley News and Sun
July 2, 2011
In an eight-page letter and 43 pages of comments dated June 30, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry told Coronado National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch that the process appears to be rigged in favor of Rosemont’s plan. The letter is sprinkled with references to possible litigation, the Forest Service’s legal responsibilities and the possibility the plan “could be invalidated” by failure to follow federal law.
The county does not let Rosemont off the hook on presumed environmental and economic impacts of the mine, but the comments focus on the actions of the Forest Service, which has the authority to approve or reject project. Private-sector opponents of the mine have said a lawsuit against the Forest Service is likely if the open-pit mine is approved. The mile-wide pit would sit just east of the Santa Rita Mountains ridge line.
The Forest Service has declined comment on Pima County’s submittal. Rosemont officials also said they would not comment.
Forest Service forsees huge scenic impact over Rosemont’s projected life
by Tony Davis in Arizona Daily Star
Friday, July 1, 2011
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