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For Immediate Release
July, 20 2009, 11:00am EDT
Contact:
Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (928) 310-67
Roger Clark, Grand Canyon Trust, (928) 774-7488
Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club-Grand Canyon Chapter, (602) 999-5790
Salazar Protects Grand Canyon Watersheds From New Uranium Claims and Exploration
Order Temporarily Bans New Uranium Claims and Exploration Across 1 Million Acres of Public Land Surrounding Grand Canyon National Park
GRAND CANYON, Arizona
Conservationists are applauding a notice issued today by the Obama
administration to temporarily place 1 million acres of public lands
surrounding Grand Canyon off limits to new mining claims and exploration or
development of existing, unpatented claims. The order complies with a 25
June 2008 resolution by the House Committee on Natural Resources enacting
the same protections across the same area. The protections do not affect
three existing mines in the area slated for reopening or the exploration of
existing patented claims.
Uranium
prices have caused sharp increases in new uranium mining claims,
exploration, and permitting to reopen old mines on public lands surrounding
Grand Canyon National Park. Uranium development
threatens to damage wildlife habitat, industrialize iconic wildlands, and contaminate
surface water and groundwater feeding regional water wells, seeps, springs
and the Colorado River - prompting concerns from former Arizona
Governor Janet Napolitano, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the Arizona Game and Fish
Department, the Navajo, Hopi, Havasupai, Hualapai, and Kaibab Paiute
tribes, Coconino County officials, and independent geologists.
"Secretary
Salazar's decision secures a much-needed, but temporary respite from
thousands of new uranium claims around the Grand
Canyon," said Grand Canyon Trust spokesman Roger Clark.
"For permanent protection, Congress now needs to pass the Grand
Canyon Watersheds Protection Act."
Today's
order aligns the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
direction with the 25 June 2008 resolution by the House Committee on
Natural Resources, which directed the secretary of the interior to enact an
"emergency withdrawal," banning new claims and exploration across
the 1 million acres for three years. The Center for Biological Diversity,
Grand Canyon Trust, and Sierra Club filed
suit against the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land
Management in September 2008 for authorizing uranium exploration in violation
of the withdrawal. The groups are evaluating how today's action
affects that pending litigation.
"We
are pleased to see Secretary Salazar take this action to protect the lands
around Grand Canyon and the Colorado River,
which provides the drinking water for millions of people downstream,"
said Sandy Bahr, chapter director for the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon
Chapter. "Our waters and special places such as Grand
Canyon deserve strong protections."
The
administration's order comes as Congress considers legislative mining
reforms. Tomorrow the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests And Public
Lands will hear
testimony on H.R.644, the
Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2009,
introduced by Representative Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz, that would permanently
ban exploration and new claims on about 1 million acres of public lands
bordering Grand Canyon. Last week the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources heard
testimony on legislation to reform the antiquated 1872
mining law. The Environmental Protection Agency in that hearing noted that
hard-rock mining has impacted 40 percent of all western watersheds and
generates 28 percent of the toxic pollution in the United States.
"Grand Canyon's uranium problem exemplifies the
need for national mining law reform," said Taylor McKinnon, public
lands campaigns director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "America
deserves a mining law that holds our parks, watersheds and wildlife above -
rather than hostage to - mining industry profits."
State
air and water permitting has begun to open three existing mines in the area
covered by today's order but will not be limited by it. All three
mines are owned by Denison Mines, a Canadian firm with Korean ties. Federal
environmental approvals for all three mines are outdated and were completed
in the 1980s. The Havasupai tribe will host a rally
on July 25th and 26th near Grand
Canyon's south rim in protest of one of those mines, the Canyon mine,
located on the Kaibab National Forest and traditional tribal lands.
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As Israel continues its "silent genocide" in the Gaza Strip one month into a supposed ceasefire with Hamas and Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank hit a record high, Amnesty International on Tuesday ripped the advancement of a death penalty bill championed by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Israel's 120-member Knesset "on Monday evening voted 39-16 in favor of the first reading of a controversial government-backed bill sponsored by Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech," the Times of Israel reported. "Two other death penalty bills, sponsored by Likud MK Nissim Vaturi and Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, also passed their first readings 36-15 and 37-14."
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Both Hamas—which Israel considers a terrorist organization—and the Palestine Liberation Organization slammed the bill, with Palestinian National Council Speaker Rawhi Fattouh calling it "a political, legal, and humanitarian crime," according to Reuters.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the devastating assault on Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Since then, Israeli soldiers and settlers have also killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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As CNN reported Monday:
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A Kansas county has agreed to pay $3 million over 2023 police raids of a local newspaper and multiple homes—one of which belonged to its elderly publisher, whose death shortly followed—sparking nationwide alarm over increasing attacks on the free press.
Marion County agreed to pay the seven-figure settlement and issue a formal apology to the publishers of the Marion County Record admitting that wrongdoing had occurred during the August 11, 2023 raids on the paper's newsroom and two homes.
The apology states that the Marion County Sheriff's Office "wishes to express its sincere regrets to Eric and Joan Meyer and Ruth and Ronald Herbel for its participation in the drafting and execution of the Marion Police Department’s search warrants on their homes and the Marion County Record. This likely would not have happened if established law had been reviewed and applied prior to the execution of the warrant."
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Rhodes was referring to the 98-year-old Record co-owner, who was reportedly in good health for her age, but collapsed and died at her home in the immediate aftermath of the raid by Marion police and country sheriff's deputies.
"This is a first step—but a big step—in making sure that Joan Meyer’s death served a purpose."
Eric Meyer, Joan Meyer's son and the current publisher of the Record, said: “The admission of wrongdoing is the most important part. In our democracy, the press is a watchdog against abuse. If the watchdog itself is the target of abuse, and all it does is roll over, democracy suffers.”
According to the Record, awards include:
- $200,000 to Eric Meyer, whose home was raided and two computers and a cellphone seized;
- $250,000 to reporter Deb Gruver, whose cell phone was seized;
- $300,000 to the Record;
- $600,000 to reporter Phyllis Zorn, whose cell phone was seized;
- $650,000 to former vice mayor Ruth Herbel, whose computer and cell phone were seized, and her husband, Ron, whose dementia was aggravated by the raid on their home; and
- $1 million to the estate of Joan Meyer.
Record business manager Cheri Bentz—who suffered aggravation of health conditions following one of the raids—previously settled with the county for $50,000.
Katherine Jacobsen, the US, Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, hailed the settlement as "an important win for press freedom amid a growing trend of hostility toward those who hold power to account."
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The raids—during which police seized the Record‘s electronic equipment, work product, and documentary materials—were conducted with search warrants related to an alleged identity theft investigation.
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State District Judge Ryan Rosauer ruled last month that Cody likely committed a felony crime when he instructed a witness with whom he allegedly had an improper romantic relationship to delete text messages they exchanged before, during, and after the raids.
While Cody will not be tried in connection with Meyer's death or the 2023 raids, Rosauer ordered him to stand trial over the deleted texts.
Meyer at the time expressed dismay that Cody wasn't being tried for his mother's death or the raids. He also worried that Cody was being made a scapegoat, as other people and law enforcement agencies were involved in the incident.
Following the announcement of the settlement, Meyer said that "this never has been about money, the key issue always has been that no one is above the law."
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"What keeps our democracy from descending as Germany did before World War II is the courage she demonstrated—and we’ve tried to continue—in fighting back," Meyer added.
"This never has been about money, the key issue always has been that no one is above the law."
Five consolidated federal civil rights lawsuits have been filed in the US District Court for the District of Kansas, alleging wrongful death, unlawful searches, retaliation for protected speech, and other claims tied to the raids.
“It’s a shame additional criminal charges aren’t possible,” Meyer said, “but the federal civil cases will do everything they can to discourage future abuses of power.”
Although unable to savor the Record's victory, Joan Meyer presciently told the officers raiding her home, "Boy, are you going to be in trouble."
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Republican New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov on Tuesday sent a formal invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak in New York City on January 1, 2026, while at the same time daring Mamdani to keep his pledge to have him arrested on war crimes charges.
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) last year issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel's war in Gaza that has killed at least 69,000 Palestinians.
During his successful mayoral campaign, Mamdani repeatedly said that he would enforce the warrant against Netanyahu should the Israeli leader set foot in his city.
Although Mamdani backed off some of his most strident past statements during the campaign, particularly when it comes to the New York Police Department (NYPD), he doubled down on arresting Netanyahu during a September interview with The New York Times.
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