Tell Congress: Permanently protect the Grand Canyon from uranium mining

(notice the river just below)

The petition to Congress reads: "Pass the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act to permanently protect the Grand Canyon and nearby areas from uranium and other mining activities." Add your name:

Although the Obama administration issued a 20-year moratorium on mining at the Grand Canyon because of the danger it posed to wildlife, water and sacred Native sites, the uranium mining industry sees an opportunity with a new administration to overturn the ban and restart mining in one of our nation's most precious and fragile areas.The Grand Canyon, one of our nation's most iconic national parks, turned 100 years old this year, yet mining special interests – with the help of the Trump administration – are clamoring to start exploiting its natural resources for profit and pollute the environment with radioactive material. But we can stop them. New legislation recently introduced by progressive champion Rep. Raul Grijalva would permanently protect the Grand Canyon and the areas around it from uranium mining and other destructive extractive activity.1 We must build massive public support to ensure Congress passes this incredibly important legislation immediately. Tell Congress: Permanently protect the Grand Canyon from uranium mining. Click here to sign the petition. For more than 50 years, the mining industry has extracted millions of tons of uranium ore from the Grand Canyon area and left behind toxic pollution that continues to threaten plants, animals, scarce groundwater supplies and sacred tribal sites.2 Unbelievably, for the last 20 years, tourists who visited Grand Canyon National Park may have been unknowingly exposed to dangerous levels of radiation caused by improperly stored uranium.3 Eager to restart mining in the area, the uranium mining industry – with the support of Western state Republicans in Congress who are intent on handing over public lands to Big Oil and other extractive companies – challenged the Obama administration's moratorium in a protracted legal battle, but ultimately lost late last year.4 This was a huge victory for Native leaders, environmentalists and public lands advocates, but the fight is far from over: The Trump administration could now easily rescind the ban via executive order.5 That's why Rep. Grijalva's bill is so important. The Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act would permanently protect approximately 1 million acres in and around the Grand Canyon from extractive mining activities and has broad support from a coalition of environmental and conservation groups, elected officials and Native leaders from the Havasupai and Hopi tribes and the Navajo Nation.6 As Clark Tenakhongva, vice chairman of the Hopi Tribe, put it, "The legacy of uranium mining has devastated the people and the land, and continues to destroy the land and lives of Hopisinom, Native Americans, and Americans alike."7 We must demand that Congress protect the Grand Canyon area from mining activities permanently. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/grand-canyon-mining?t=9&akid=31852%2E3130208%2EymFyTt - Josh Nelson, CREDO Action Add your name: References Kathleen B. Kunz, "Rep. Grijalva Wants a Permanent Moratorium on Mining Near the Grand Canyon," Tucson Weekly, Feb. 25, 2019. Grand Canyon Trust, "Uranium Mining," accessed March 8, 2019. Dennis Wagner, "Grand Canyon tourists exposed for years to radiation in museum building, safety manager says," Arizona Republic, Feb. 18, 2019. Amber Reimondo, "A Huge Legal Victory, But We’re Not Done Yet," Grand Canyon Trust, Oct. 3, 2018. Joanna Walters, "Grand Canyon uranium mining ban upheld as supreme court declines to hear challenge," The Guardian, Oct. 1, 2018. House Committee on Natural Resources, "Chair Grijalva Formally Introduces Bill to Protect Grand Canyon Area From New Mining Claims – Effort Enjoys Extraordinary Grassroots, Tribal Support," Feb. 26, 2019.

Urge Members of Congress: Fix America's parks by supporting this bipartisan legislation TODAY!

It’s not every day that we come to you with news and an opportunity like this!

Both chambers of Congress -- with strong support from both Republicans and Democrats, plus the Trump administration, have come together around new legislation that begins to address the $11.6 billion in overdue maintenance projects in America’s national parks.

This is truly remarkable and it’s our best opportunity in more than 50 years to get the parks the help they need with much-needed repairs! But for this to happen, Congress needs to know you care.

Urge your members of Congress to do everything they can to fix America's parks by supporting and passing this bipartisan legislation today!

America's national parks suffer from more than $11 billion worth of overdue maintenance needs, such as degraded roads, deteriorated trails and outdated visitor centers.

Thankfully, Republicans, Democrats and the administration recently worked together to craft this legislation that addresses the most critical maintenance needs in our national parks over the next five years.

Congress is to make a significant investment in protecting and repairing America’s national parks for future generations, they simply must hear from you. Tell your members of Congress to support and pass this important legislation today!    

- Emily Douce. Director of Budget & Appropriations

Below is the letter you'll find on the link above. 

(Since Sen. McCain and Rep. McSally proposed a similar bill last year, I suggest that you personalize the letter including that information. ) 

You can also send a your revised letter through their websites:

https://mcsally.house.gov/contact

https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form

I'm not sure about Sen. Flake's position on the bill, so the letter (below) would be fine for him.

https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-jeff

As one of the 1.3 million members and supporters of the National Parks Conservation Association and as your constituent, I urge you to do everything you can to support and pass the Restore Our National Parks (and Public Lands) Act (S. 3172/H.R. 6510) that, if enacted, would help address the most critical maintenance needs in America's national parks.

National parks suffer from over $11 billion in overdue repairs such as deteriorated roads, overrun trails, and degraded visitor centers. This consensus bill brings together bipartisan champions from similar legislative proposals striving to address these maintenance issues in our parks.

Please provide the overdue and necessary funding to address the backlog of repairs in national parks by supporting and passing S. 3172/H.R. 6510. If you have already cosponsored this legislation, thank you! Your continued support is crucial.

We must ensure national parks protect America's natural wonders and history for our children and grandchildren. Thank you.

More information:

ttps://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/3172/text

Bishop, Grijalva Introduce Bill to Establish a Fund Addressing National Park Maintenance Backlog

Bill would create fund for national park maintenance

In June of 2017, Sen. McCain and Rep. McSally proposed a bill to preserve and revive public lands. 

UPDATE: Ironwood National Forest. Ask your Representative to vote NO on GOSAR Amendment 63

Ironwood Forest National Monument, Photo by Bob Wick

We need your help in the next few hours. Today, Wednesday July 18, Congress is anticipated to be voting on a measure that would deeply undercut Ironwood Forest National Monument.

Representative Paul Gosar (AZ) filed an amendment to the Department of Interior Appropriations bill. Gosar’s amendment would bar funds to carry out the Ironwood Forest National Monument proclamation. In other words, the amendment would tie the hands of the Bureau of Land Management (which is in the Department of the Interior) and prevent them from managing the lands within Ironwood Forest National Monument so as to protect the objects the monument was designated to protect.

The amendment is as follows:

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to carry out Proclamation 7320 entitled ‘‘Establishment of the Ironwood Forest National Monument’’ issued by the President of the United States on 5 June 9, 2000.

Text – H.R.6147 – 115th Congress (2017-2018): Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019

Proposed amendments to H.R. 6147 (opens as a PDF)

UPDATE: Ironwood National Forest Saved!

This brazen attempt is not only a grave danger to our monument, but would also set a precedent leaving other monuments open to this kind of fiscal attack.

In addition to natural resources and scenic landscapes, Ironwood Forest National Monument protects Tohono O’odham traditional lands. This cultural landscape includes numerous ancestral places, rock art sites, and trails, including an O’odham pilgrimage route to San Xavier Mission that was in use as recently as the early twentieth century.Ironwood Forest National Monument.

Individual voices are critical in times like this. Please take two minutes right now to dial your representative and ask them to vote NO on GOSAR Amendment 63 regarding Ironwood Forest National Monument.

Key AZ representatives to contact regarding your opposition to the amendment are Paul Gosar himself (202-225-2315), Martha McSally (202-225-2542), Tom O’Halleran (202-225-3361) and Kyrsten Sinema (202-225-9888).

Ironwood Forest National Monument is in Representative Raul Grijalva’s district, and he opposes the amendment. Show your support for his opposition to Gosar Amendment 63 by calling his D.C. office at 202-225-2435.

Here is a short script you may use to share your opposition with these representatives:

Hello, my name is XXX and I live in [CITY].

I am calling to ask [Representative] to vote NO on Gosar Amendment 63 and its attack on our national monuments. The Ironwood Forest National Monument was designated 20 years ago. It is a significant cultural landscape in Arizona that belongs to all Americans. Amendment 63 constitutes a clear threat to the monument and the resources it protects.

Thank you for your time.

Again, those numbers are:

Gosar: 202-225-2315

McSally: 202-225-2542

Tucson office: 881-3588

O’Halleran: 202-225-3361

Sinema: 202-225-9888

Grijalva: 202-225-2435

To learn more about the monument:

Ironwood Forest National Monument, www.blm.gov/visit/ironwood

Friends of Ironwood Forest National Monument, ironwoodforest.org

- Archaeology Southwest

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Preservation Archaeology Blog

Rally to Stop Trumpcare will be held at Rincon High School at 6 p.m.

The Rally to Stop Trumpcare will be held at Rincon High School at 421 N Arcadia Ave, Tucson, AZ 85711. Doors open at 6 pm and the program kicks off at 6:30.

Why I sued to stop Trump's bogus border wall plan by Raúl Grijalva

Last Friday I wrote a piece in the Arizona Daily Star about why I am suing President Trump over his proposed border wall. Before construction can begin, we need an in-depth investigation to determine the human, financial, and environmental costs of building a wall.

I hope you will read my op-ed and then share it with your friends and family. It is critical that we spread the word about why this border wall must never become a reality.

President Trump says he cares about people, money and the environment. But if the money belongs to the federal treasury, the people are from diverse cultures, or the environment isn’t near one of his golf clubs, his concern disappears. There is no better example of this brutal indifference than the president’s plan to build a “beautiful” wall along our southern border.

Trump’s attempt to wall out Mexicans mixes scapegoating with bigotry and then disguises them as concern for public safety. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recent prepared remarks for a trip to Nogales, which I represent, stripped away the façade. He described the peaceful, law-abiding American Southwest as “ground zero” in a fight against “criminal aliens” — ignoring the fact that immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than native-born citizens.

This irresponsible rhetoric, which now stains the pages of the Department of Justice website, comes at a high cost. The last time anti-immigrant fervor ratcheted up, then-Gov. Jan Brewer told fanciful stories about "beheadings in the desert," Arizona tourism suffered badly and local businesses lost money so she could score a few political points.

As before, today’s debate over the wall has depended too much on melodrama and unfounded claims. Let’s talk facts. El Paso, Texas, has made headlines for years for its low crime rate and quality of life, and was named last year by U.S. News and World Report as one of the 10 best places in the country to live. Wall advocates prefer to dismiss this reality.

They also dismiss the real human, financial and environmental costs of building the wall. To pay for this $21 billion boondoggle, the president has proposed cutting funding for agencies that actually secure our safety. Among other reductions, the administration’s budget would slash Coast Guard funding by 14 percent and Transportation Security Administration funding by 11 percent. In sum, Mr. Trump’s plan would transfer hundreds of millions of dollars from twenty-first-century national security agencies to a “security” project dating from the Roman Empire.

The vehicle barrier on the U.S.- Mexico border weaves around Saguaro cactus in the Sonoran desert on the Tohono O'odham reservation in Chukut Kuk, Arizona, April 6, 2017.

The environmental consequences of erecting a wall over thousands of miles of natural and cultural resources must be considered as well. The Tohono O’odham Nation has flourished for centuries along dozens of miles of Arizona’s southern border. This land has long been shared by families and wildlife, and both move back and forth across the border daily.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service predicts at least 89 endangered or threatened species, and 108 migratory bird and bat species, would be impacted by a border wall. This wall will wreak havoc on border communities, trample the Nation’s sovereignty, and destroy vital habitat — all for no good reason.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has spoken publicly of his expectation that the Department of Homeland Security will “put forward a waiver on the border, which will allow [him] more flexibility.” In other words, he expects federal agencies meant to act in the public interest to ignore environmental laws along the border so this destructive wall can be built.

The Trump administration and the Republican majority in Congress will do all they can to build this wall — and they don’t seem interested in knowing what the impacts will be. That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity and I recently filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection calling for the preparation of a supplemental programmatic environmental impact statement (essentially a thorough exploration of environmental impacts) for the U.S.-Mexico border enforcement program.

The overall program, which includes not only wall construction but the use of drones, high-cost machinery, constant road traffic and much more, has not had its environmental and wildlife impacts evaluated in 16 years. It’s past time, and we’re confident the courts will agree. We need to understand what impacts we’re already having on the environment of the Southwest before we push forward another destructive, unnecessary project.

The construction of a wall is ill-conceived on many levels. A nation can never be a shining city on a hill if it hides behind a barricade of concrete. We are not protecting our country by impoverishing our people and communities to pay for a costly fool’s errand. If we build Mr. Trump’s wall, it will be because we accept his fear of the outside world. Like all weak foundations, it will crumble over time, leaving our nation forever diminished.