Conservation groups appealed a federal judge’s ruling Friday denying their request to pause the Oak Flat land exchange in Arizona.
Without an injunction from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the public lands about 40 miles east of Phoenix are expected to be handed over to a private mining company on August 19.
“We’re deeply disappointed in this decision, but we’re not giving up our fight to save Oak Flat from the claws of the mining industry,” said Russ McSpadden, Southwest conservation advocate at the Centre for Biological Diversity. “The clock to save this extraordinary place is ticking, and we’re hopeful an appeals court will allow these important cases to be heard.”
In June, U.S. District Judge Dominic W. Lanza paused the land exchange for 60 days while two lawsuits proceeded. With Friday’s ruling, that injunction expired on August 19.
One lawsuit seeking to extend the injunction was filed by the San Carlos Apache Tribe, and the other by a coalition of conservation and recreation groups (Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, Earthworks, the Centre for Biological Diversity, Access Fund and Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter) and the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona, Inc.
“It is sad news that the judge did not pause this ill-conceived land exchange that if allowed to go forward would destroy Oak Flat and all that makes it special, including the old Emory oak trees, endangered hedgehog cactus, and its significant cultural and recreational values,” said Sandy Bahr, director of Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter. “We are not giving up, however, and remain committed to doing everything we can to ensure Oak Flat is here for future generations.”
The Trump administration wants to transfer more than 2,400 acres of federal public lands to Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of multinational mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP, to facilitate construction of a massive copper mine. The mine would permanently destroy Oak Flat, a sacred site of tremendous spiritual importance to the San Carlos Apache Tribe and other Tribes in the region.
The federal lands to be exchanged, including Oak Flat, are also home to endangered and threatened species like ocelots and Arizona hedgehog cacti. They provide invaluable recreational and ecological benefits.
“The climbing community stands with the San Carlos Apache tribe and our partners in the conservation community to protect Oak Flat, a sacred land that boasts invaluable natural, cultural and recreational resources,” said Erik Murdock, deputy director of Access Fund.
“We’re disappointed by Judge Lanza’s decision to allow the ill-conceived land exchange to move forward, but we will continue to oppose handing over public lands to a foreign mining company at the expense of the environment and the overwhelming interests of all Americans,” added Murdock. “We cannot let the Oak Flat land exchange set a precedent for our public lands.”
Resolution intends to cave in Oak Flat’s rolling hills, leaving a crater up to two miles wide and 1,000 feet deep, using a new technique to excavate ore 7,000 feet underground.
Massive amounts of groundwater would be pumped, depleting surface waters, obliterating sacred land, and threatening water availability across the region. Material removed from the mine would also spread toxic waste across thousands of acres of public land.
“Approval of the Resolution copper mine means that we’re OK with the profits from extracting American copper going to offshore corporations, we’re OK with American copper being shipped to offshore for finishing, and we’re OK with the destruction of an important sacred site and recreation area — all because the corporations owning this mine have sufficient lobbying resources to get it done,” said Curt Shannon, interim director of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition.
The conservation groups and the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona, Inc., are represented by attorneys with the Western Mining Action Project, the Centre for Biological Diversity, and Montgomery & Interpreter, PLC.
