Stop Uranium Mining! Protest Congressmen Gosar’s Attack of the Grand Canyon
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Hello everyone,
Flagstaff is planning a peaceful protest to call out Arizona Congressmen Paul Gosar’s public support for uranium mining at the Grand Canyon and block the Ken Salazar’s proposed 20 year withdrawal of hard rock mining in and around the Grand Canyon, which will protect a million acres of the canyon and protect the Grand Canyon Watershed.
Congressional District 1 of Arizona is home to more Native Americans than any other district in the United States!
“WHO IS GOSAR REPRESENTING?” Mining industries?
We are his constituents–the Grand Canyon region, Northern Arizona and Indigenous communities.
Attached a flyer to share with others about the protest;
Gosar flyer
date: Wed. 19th
time: 11 am
place: Cedar Safeway parking Lot on the NE corner of Cedar & North West StreetWe hope to get a great deal of support from our Flagstaff community:)
Please view the article below for more details:U.S. legislators push for uranium mining rights with new Act; area officials rally to pressure Salazar
October 13, 2011
Today’s News Herald
Jayne HansonU.S. Lawmakers have renewed hope of dispelling misinformation and controversy surrounding the closure of uranium-rich lands and rights to mine one million acres near Grand Canyon in Northern Mohave County. A handful of lawmakers teamed Wednesday to introduce the Northern Arizona Mining Continuity Act to Congress.
The legislation will stop the U.S. Department of Interior from banning mining in a vast area of Arizona — a measure that could kill the promise of hundreds of mining industry jobs in the area.
The lands, currently closed to new and exploratory uranium mining, face a potential 20-year withdrawal period at the hands of U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
The Act is set to rev economical interest surrounding the uranium mining issue and to dispel misinformation so far circulated by environmentalist groups, lawmakers said.
LAWMAKERS
U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said he expects opposition from some members of Congress, but is confident the jobs focus is the hook.
“There is opposition from some in Congress, we know that,” Flake told Today’s News-Herald Wednesday. “But if people are concerned about jobs then they will be in favor of this.”
However, the congressman anticipates bouts of legislative gridlock along the way.
“I expect general gridlock in Congress,” Flake said. “The Senate simply isn’t moving any legislation.”
Flake also said much misinformation lingers with environmentalist groups when it comes to uranium mining.
“There is a lot of misinformation,” Flake said. “We’ve got to be methodical and get information out and keep going with it. It takes more time on our part to explain it because it is an easy tag for environmentalist: ‘protect the Grand Canyon.’ The other side seems intent on blocking all mining or job-producing activities.”
Fellow U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., agrees.
“I think people are fact versus fiction,” Gosar said Wednesday.
The issue is again picking up some steam because Americans are starting to weigh the facts when it comes to uranium mining. Environmentalists groups have employed “scare tactics” and “muddied the water” pertaining to the mining process, he said.
“It’s a very, very safe mining process,” Gosar said. “Our job is to educate the public what is fact … back East they don’t understand what we deal with in the big, wide-open states like Arizona. We are at a point where government can get back to working with the public. It is a source of wealth and source of future jobs and can be done in an environmental way.”
The Act would uphold the historic agreement embodied by the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984, or AWA, that designates parts of Arizona Strip as Wilderness and restored other lands to reasonable and safe uranium mining use. AWA states banning mining on Arizona Strip isn’t allowed, according to a group-Legislator press release issued by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. said President Obama is missing the mark by putting “rabid environmentalists above America’s long-term energy independence and national security,” according to the prepared statement.
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert said for top government officials to ignore the proposed legislation simply is a job-killer.
“At a time when we are desperate for jobs and economic growth, this Administration continues to do everything in its power to implement the job-killing policies of fringe environmental groups,” Schweikert said in the prepared statement. “This withdrawal is not so much a protection of the Grand Canyon, but a government land grab of economically fertile mining land.”
Republican senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, both of Utah, also supported the Act, as well as U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, and U.S. Rep. Ben Quayle, R-Ariz.
According to earlier reports, uranium mining could create hundreds of jobs for struggling communities in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah and could equal billions in revenue for Arizona.
THE COALITION
Coincidentally, Arizona-Utah Local Economic Coalition met Wednesday in St. George, Utah. The Coalition is a group of governmental officials representing Mohave County, Fredonia and Williams in Arizona; and counties of Kane, Washington, Garfield and San Juan in Utah. The group has been circling the wagons, so to speak, for several months in order to roadblock Salazar’s intended 20-year moratorium.
“There was a review of our economic development study we did, we are finalizing that,” said Buster Johnson, Coalition co-chairman, Wednesday.
Johnson said the independent study revealed average mining industry wages to be about $55,000 annually compared to tourism job wages, which bank $20,000 or less annually.
“The majority of tourism jobs are usually supplemental, or secondary,” he said. “It’s hard to raise a family on tourism dollars. Where as, mining jobs are more the type to raise a family on.”
Bureau of Land Management is set to release its final Environmental Impact Study pertaining to the issue. After 30 days, Salazar makes a decision to move ahead with the closure, or not. Coalition officials anticipate a decision near the end of November, Johnson said.
The Coalition’s cause is gaining propulsion with support from school districts, chamber of commerce organizations, and irrigation districts — all in the path of looming economic impacts linked to the extended closure. The Coalition’s next meeting is set Dec. 6 in St. George.
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March 26th!
