Save the Scenic Santa Ritas

Fighting to protect the Santa Rita and Patagonia Mountains from the devastating impacts of mining.

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News articles July 2011

July 31, 2011 By Administrator Leave a Comment


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.

Read more: http://www.fox11az.com/news/Report-claims-big-economic-gains-for-Tucson-region-with-proposed-mine-126122758.html


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.

Read more: http://www.gvnews.com/sahuarita_sun/game-and-fish-rips-forest-service-on-mine-study/article_794b4544-acf5-11e0-b82f-001cc4c03286.html


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.

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/science/environment/article_105a6379-db02-53a8-902e-bfbcb76cdef5.html#ixzz1U6NreWAt



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.

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/science/environment/article_f5d023e0-b51e-5bfd-bc3b-c56efcd714c6.html#ixzz1U6EpdLbi

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.

Read more: http://www.gvnews.com/news/rosemont-draws-criticism-from-pima-county/article_fa8a6cb4-a4f0-11e0-9572-001cc4c002e0.html


Forest Service forsees huge scenic impact over Rosemont’s projected life

by Tony Davis in Arizona Daily Star
Friday, July 1, 2011

The contrast between today’s view of the Rosemont Mine site and a U.S. Forest Service simulated photo of its future couldn’t be more striking.

Today, milepost 44 of Arizona 83 southeast of Tucson offers views of juniper-covered, rolling foothills in the foreground and tree-and-grass-covered ridges to the rear in the Santa Rita Mountains.

If the proposed mine is approved, this view from the state-designated scenic highway would change dramatically after 20 years of mine operations, according to a photo based on a computer-generated simulation made for the Forest Service. The mine’s reclaimed waste rock and tailings piles would be highly visible, cutting a huge swath in front of ridgelines, according to the simulated photo based on the mine design that the agency currently favors.

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_25523efa-30f4-58f4-b922-00a133ccbe95.html#ixzz1U6OBXRs2



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Litigation Update

Speaking of which (the appeal originally filed in Nov. 2017 challenging the Forest Service’s approval of the mine), we now have a schedule for that case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals – not definitive, but at least a general time frame:

 

After a lot of negotiating, the lawyers have come to an agreement on the final schedule of our cases before the 9th Circuit Appeals Court. Here is the updated schedule:

  • Feds opening brief due by 1 June 2020
  • Hudbay opening brief due by 15 June 2020
  • Then, our response by 3 September 2020
  • Feds optional reply brief by 2 November 2020
  • Hudbay optional reply brief by 9 November 2020

Click here for more updates

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