By Roger Clark, Air & Energy Program Director
Thousands of new mining claims are threatening Grand Canyon’s watersheds, fragile seeps and springs, Havasupai sacred sites, and critical wildlife habitat. Hundreds of abandoned uranium mines and mill sites are currently poisoning our region’s land, water, and people. For this reason, the Secretary of Interior ordered a 2-year moratorium on new mining claims while the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) evaluates a 20-year ban.
Please be prepared to comment on BLM’s soon-to-be-released Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed prohibition on new mining claims within nearly one million acres of watersheds that drain directly into the Grand Canyon. To submit your comments in support of this important decision, please keep checking: Proposed Mineral Withdrawal Near Grand Canyon – BL
For more information, please visit:
- News coverage of Grand Canyon congressional hearing
- USGS Study: Elevated Uranium Levels in Grand Canyon Watershed
- Lawsuit Challenges Uranium Mine That Threatens Water and Wildlife of the Grand Canyon
- British mining company in controversial uranium project near Grand Canyon
