The San Antonio exploratory drilling project, located on the eastern side of the Patagonia Mountains and owned by junior Canadian mining company Barksdale Resources, is now listed on the Forest Service SOPA page. The scoping period is currently underway, and the Forest Service is accepting public comments through October 19, 2020.
Currently, the Forest Service lists the San Antonio project as a categorical exclusion (CE). This means the project does not need to go through an environmental assessment, as it is “a kind of action that has no significant individual or cumulative effect on the quality of the human environment.”
However, we're skeptical of this decision for many reasons, including project size, safety issues, road traffic, and wildlife impacts on known sensitive, threatened, and endangered species (including the yellow-billed cuckoo).
Patagonia Area Resource Alliance is currently working on writing organizational comments for this project, but we also need individuals to send comments in on this project. The Forest Service must count every comment, big or small—so the more we speak up on this, the better.
However, comments must include specific details to be counted. To help the public write comments, PARA will be hosting two workshops via Zoom at the end of September. These workshops will walk you through the steps and considerations needed to write comments on the San Antonio project.
Tuesday, September 29; 6 - 7 p.m. Arizona:
URL: Join Zoom Meeting >
Meeting ID: 811 8115 7270
Passcode: 095638
Phone: +1 669 900 6833
Meeting ID: 811 8115 7270
Passcode: 095638
Saturday, October 3; 10 - 11 a.m. Arizona:
URL: Join Zoom Meeting >
Meeting ID: 828 0020 6825
Passcode: 866962
Phone: +1 669 900 6833
Meeting ID: 828 0020 6825
Passcode: 866962
