Coloradans Call for Grand Canyon Mining Moratorium
Monday, May 9, 2011
DENVER - Hundreds of thousands of Americans, including 14 Colorado groups and businesses, have weighed in supporting a federal proposal for a 20-year ban on new uranium mining claims on 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon. The Obama administration is expected to decide the issue in the next few weeks.
Lynn Hamilton, executive director of Grand Canyon River Guides, makes the case that runoff from existing uranium mines has already polluted several rivers, creeks and springs within the national park.
"It's really alarming for people to feel like the areas that they're visiting and recreating in, which they consider to be wilderness areas, are tainted in this way."
Colorado Reps. Jared Polis and Diana DeGett joined 61 other members of Congress in signing a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar urging him to approve a 20-year moratorium. Several local governments and area Native American tribes have also endorsed the proposed mining ban. The industry maintains that modern mining techniques prevent the historical environmental damage cited by opponents.
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) is one of the groups calling for the continued ban. NPCA Southwest Regional Director David Nimkin says the Grand Canyon is a huge economic engine in the region,
"for recreation purposes, for economic growth and development, for sustainable growth and development development."
Five million tourists visit the Grand Canyon every year, contributing nearly $700 million to the local economy, and supporting 12,000 full-time jobs.
But the mining doesn't just put tourism at risk. Hamilton says it also directly affects the health and livelihood of the region's Native American population.
"It's really a deadly history. In fact, many Native Americans have died from drinking tainted water, or using that water to sustain their livestock and crops when it's contaminated."
A list of all the Colorado groups and businesses signing a letter asking to extend the moratorium is available at http://ht.ly/404k8.
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