Support Historic Bill to Reform Destructive, Old U.S. Mining Law

A new bill has been introduced in Congress that would overhaul the 1872 Mining Law and at last bring the United States into the 21st century — ready to meet the demands of a clean energy economy while not repeating the mistakes of the past. Tell your elected officials to support this historic legislation, and help protect the Santa Ritas, Patagonia Mountains, and other Sky Islands from toxic hardrock mining. For 151 years, mining for copper, uranium, and other minerals has been governed by a gold-rush era law that promoted westward expansion and extraction at all costs. As a result, according to the EPA, 40% of western watersheds are now polluted. Hundreds of thousands of mines have been abandoned and left to taxpayers to clean up. And Indigenous tribes and other communities have been polluted with arsenic, mercury, and lead. This is unacceptable.  The Clean Energy Minerals Reform Act, introduced by Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), offers several solutions. It would: Establish environmental standards that don’t exist under the current law and make industry clean up their abandoned mines; Ensure a fair return to taxpayers with a royalty for mining on public lands; Create space for meaningful tribal consultation and improve siting/permitting with a leasing system and public process; and Give land managers power to protect sacred and irreplaceable resources.  Urge your elected officials to support this visionary bill and protect our public lands and water for future generations. Find Sky Island Alliance's action here:  https://skyislandalliance.org/2023/06/rosemont-mine-alert/

THANK SENATORS FOR FIGHTING TRUMP'S ATTACKS ON OUR NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS

The people have spoken, and there is OVERWHELMING support for our national monuments. More than 2.7 million comments were sent to Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke during this unprecedented “review” of monument designations.

Although the comment period has ended, the fight to protect these special places continues. We truly appreciate Senator Maria Cantwell, Senator Martin Heinrich, Senator Tom Udall, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Senator Brian Schatz and Senator Michael Bennet for urging the Trump administration to listen to their constituents and preserve our monuments.

Show your support: Thank these senators for leading the fight to protect our monuments.

Your Message (feel free to personalize it):

Thank you for standing up for our monuments

Dear Senators,

Thank you for speaking at the recent press conference highlighting the more than 2.7 million public comments in support of protecting national monuments designated under the Antiquities Act.

I oppose President Trump's and Secretary Zinke's unprecedented "review" of these monuments, and I appreciate your leadership in calling out these threats to our public lands and waters. Our monuments belong to all of us, and we need to make sure it stays that way.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]