Presentation on impacts of Rosemont Mine

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#1

The Center for Biological Diversity invites you to attend an eye-opening presentation on the economic threats of the proposed Rosemont mine in the Santa Rita Mountains near Tucson. The Mountain Empire Action Alliance, a fellow member of the Save the Scenic Santa Ritas Coalition opposing the mine, recently commissioned economist Thomas Power to conduct a study of the mine’s economic impacts.

What: Presentation by nationally recognized economist Dr. Thomas Power addressing the economic impacts of the proposed Rosemont mine on local businesses and the regional economy.

When: Thursday, July 1, 10:30 a.m.

Where: Viscount Hotel in Tucson, 4855 E. Broadway, Salon B

RSVP to the Mountain Empire Action Alliance at (520) 261-7422 or email RSVP@MountainEmpireAction.com.

The environmental impacts of the proposed Rosemont mine are potentially devastating for wildlife, air and water quality, and recreation. Augusta Resource Corporation and its subsidiary Rosemont Copper Company would like us to believe that these impacts are an acceptable price to pay for the jobs and economic growth that will result from the mine. However, the company is not telling the public the whole truth about the economics of its proposal.

Dr. Thomas Power, Research Professor and Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics, University of Montana, will address the very real threats that the proposed mine poses to our local businesses, regional economy and quality of life. Dr. Power is a nationally recognized expert on the economic impacts of industrial exploitation of natural resources on surrounding communities. In his book, “Lost Landscapes and Failed Economies: The Search for a Value of Place,” he makes a persuasive case that preservation of the natural landscape can be more valuable to a community’s long-term economic health than the short-lived value of natural-resource extraction.

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#2

If any locals or ATA folks happen to attend this presentation, would be interesting to hear whether the Arizona National Scenic Trail finds its way into the discussion, either on the script or possibly in Q&A.

The mine will affect the Arizona Trail for a number of miles; the viewshed (not including wide-scale impacts to visibility from airborne dust) may be impacted on and off for perhaps 5 miles, while the soundscape along the trail corridor - especially at night - could be affected for 20 miles, or further during times of explosive detonation at the mine site. The mine site will be very close at hand (less than one mile distant) for an hour or two of hiking time, where thru-hikers will probably feel inclined to hike quickly by without camping. Day-destination hikers will likely opt to avoid the impacted section of trail altogether, effectively breaking the continuity of this long distance trail forever.

Ah, but the mine is not a done deal… yet!

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#3

Snails, Plants, 4,400 Acres Defended From Copper Mine

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed scientific petitions to protect two snails and two plants whose survival is threatened by plans for a sprawling mile-wide copper mine in southern Arizona. The controversial Rosemont Copper Mine is proposed for the Santa Rita Mountains in the biodiversity-rich “Sky Islands” region. It would destroy at least 4,400 acres of habitat (including more than 3,300 acres of national forest) with its mining waste and jeopardize the very existence of the Rosemont talus snail – a dry-land-dwelling invertebrate found nowhere else but the site of the proposed mine. It likewise poses big problems for the Sonoran talus snail, which is found in just a few other areas besides the Rosemont site and is already in danger from smuggling, Border Patrol activities and real-estate development. The Rosemont Mine also threatens to two rare plants: the Bartram stonecrop and beardless chinch weed. The Center sought protections for both of those yesterday.

Said the Center’s Tierra Curry, who authored our snail and plant petitions: “The Rosemont Mine is a disaster waiting to happen that will permanently destroy public land crucial to Arizona wildlife, clean water, tourism and recreation.” Besides harboring the snails and plants we just petitioned to protect, the Rosemont site provides crucial habitat for the jaguar, the Chiricahua leopard frog and many other rare species.

Read more in the Sierra Vista Herald and check out our brand-new webpage on conserving Sky Island species and habitat.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/sky_islands_conservation/index.html

PETITION TO LIST TWO TALUS SNAIL SPECIES FROM THE SKY ISLANDS OF ARIZONA AS THREATENED OR ENDANGERED UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT:

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#4

A couple of noteworthy excerpts from the petition:

In addition to the threat the snails face from habitat destruction due to the mine, they are now also threatened by overcollection as *** every live snail encountered was collected by the mining company’s consultants in 2008 surveys (WestLand Resources 2009). ***

The Arizona Ecological Services Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has already acknowledged that the Rosemont talussnail “may warrant listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act” (Spangle 2009).

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#5

The proposed Rosemont Copper Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains, 30 miles southeast of Tucson, less than one mile from the Arizona National Scenic Trail, would be an open pit more than one mile wide and more than half a mile deep, perhaps the distance from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon down to the Tonto Bench. The mine would destroy at least 4,400 acres of habitat, including more than 3,300 acres of public land on the Coronado National Forest, where the mining waste would be dumped.

With a project this disastrous, if approved, set to break earth in less than two years time, you might think the Arizona Trail Association would be sending out information and petitions to their members and through their website. You might think that those most closely affiliated with the ATA, the trail segment stewards and work crew organizers, would be active in this capacity here on the forum. The reality, though, is that the collective hands of leadership are largely tied, as the ATA has formed a bittersweet partnership with the mining company by accepting bigtime funding for the completion of Arizona Trail singletrack in the vicinity of the mine, the only available routing for the official trail. This issue has been discussed on the forum in the past, I believe, so I won’t dredge it up other than to say - and I want to emphasize this - that you really have to forgive the ATA here, as their hand was in many ways forced by decisions made outside of their purview.

The newly constructed trail near the proposed mine makes for a great hike or ride, and obviously we have ATA to thank for this and must continue to support their efforts monetarily in order to see the Arizona Trail through to its full completion and to uphold its long-term vision as a National Scenic Trail. However, the mining debacle is one issue where Arizona Trail users and advocates need to really think about the long-term consequences of simply cheering from the sidelines or sending in an annual check to the trail association without doing something truly focused on stopping the mine. Long-distance hikers in particular are often prone to a certain sense of fatalism, passivity, or even tourist-like naivete about the localized concerns that their favorite long distance trail may be facing. Just remember, though, that the Arizona Trail Association cannot help to stop this mine from ruining the very trail they oversee. Doing nothing, or only that much, is not enough in this case. But the good news is that hikers - all hikers - can do something positive here that is absolutely essential to the health of the Arizona Trail and really to it’s very survival as we’ve come to know and love it.

You can choose to support two organizations that are vehemently fighting to stop the Rosemont copper mine from happening. Both of these organizations are locally based and continue to be extremely focused on prevention, both in the press and in the courtroom. Please consider making a generous donation to either, or both, of these organizations within the coming days - not weeks, as every day counts with a decision deadline on the mine looming perhaps by the end of the year. The Arizona Trail, and even more importantly the delicate and irreplaceable ecosystem of the arid northern Santa Rita Mountain range, will thank you.

http://www.scenicsantaritas.org

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