western lands update winter 2012

7/30/2019 Western Lands Update Winter 2012

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2 Western Lands Update Winter 2012 Vol. 16 # 2

Obama, and then, rowning thoughtully,pondered the positive changes in environ-mental policy that might come in a secondSalazar/Obama term.

Enough! Just as we did back on 2009,

many o us in the grassroots communitywant to see a real environmental leaderheading up Interior, and we choose Rep.Ral Grijalva (D-AZ). Grijalva, whorepresents the Tucson area, has been astalwart or the environment as Chair andnow Ranking Member o the public landssubcommittee in the House. He likes

public land a lot; he doesnt like legislatedland trades, privatization, uranium miningin the Grand Canyon, or other bad things.He is outspoken, progressive, and consis-tently pro-environment.

At this writing, more than 230 grass-roots groups rom across the country havesigned on to a letter to President Obamacalling or the nomination o Grijalva toreplace Salazar. There is also an onlinepetition on the White Houses petition site

Please consider reading and signing the pe-tition. Use the link below, or do a search.Thanks! Janine

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/

appoint-congressman-raul-grijalva-51st-

secretary-interior/p6Sc2HLv

Interior SecretaryFrom page 1

Ral Grijalva (Photo: Western Lands Project)


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Western Lands Update Winter 2012 Vol. 16 # 2 3

74 groups warn against nastyBoundary Waters land exchange

For more requent

news updates visit

our website at

westernlands.org, and

our Facebook page

at acebook.com/

WesternLandsProject

A painting o an open-pit mine hangs in Senator Amy Klobuchars reception

area (Photo: Western Lands Project)

In our last issue, we told our readersabout a very bad land trade bill spon-sored by Minnesota Rep. Chip Cravaack

concerning lands in the Boundary WatersCanoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Thelegislation would trade State lands withinthe Boundary Waters to the Forest Ser-vice in exchange or land in the SuperiorNational Forest (SNF). Mining companiescovet lands in the SNF, where mining iscurrently prohibited, and the trade wouldopen those lands up to exploitation. Thebill passed in the House in September, andword began to circulate that Minnesotastwo Democratic Senators were looking atintroducing a Senate version.

While in Washington, D.C. in Sep-tember, Janine met with sta rom bothSenators oces to convey the big pictureon land exchange legislation. Then, in thehope o staving o a Senate bill, in mid-November, Western Lands Project, SaveOur Sky Blue Waters, and Wilderness

Watch issued an open letter to Senators AlFranken and Amy Klobuchar, asking thatthey rerain rom introducing a Senate ver-sion o the land trade bill. In part, the letterreads: The land exchange is mandated so thatno consideration o negative consequencescan get in the way. The bill stipulates that the exchange isnot a major ederal action, a covert wayo waiving the National Environmental

Policy Act (NEPA), with its environmen-tal analysis, disclosure, and public involve-ment requirements. The bill would sidestep Native Ameri-can Tribal consultation normally requiredunder ederal law. The bill calls or appraisals to be donein accordance with a methodology ash-ioned by the Minnesota Legislature that

says the lands traded need only be sub-stantially equal in value, and that, regard-less o value, the State shall not receiveewer acres than the Forest Service. It is not clear whether the mineralinterests the State owns under its landswithin the BWCAW would be conveyedto the U.S. along with surace rights. TheMinnesota Constitution requires thatthe State reserve mineral rights on land ittrades. This leaves the potential or urthercontroversy in the uture. HR 5544 is a taking o public lands inorder to acilitate controversial mining thatwould pollute the Superior National For-est and the two international watersheds oLake Superior and the BWCAW.

Continued on page 7


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Helping ans o a desert ghost town

R

yan, California, is a pristine, pri-vately-owned ghost town in Calior-nias Death Valley. It was a company

town o U.S. Borax, and once a center othe borax mining industry in the UnitedStates. Today it is owned by multinationalmining conglomerate Rio Tinto. Althoughthe borax mine is inactive, Rio Tinto main-tains the town and the mining equipmentor possible uture operations.

Ryan is adjacent to public lands, bothBLM-managed lands and Death ValleyNational Park. Save Historic Ryan, an

inormal citizen group, is worried that RioTinto could expand its mine onto thosepublic lands, possibly via land exchange,i it were to re-start mining operations.These citizens have tried repeatedly to getinormation on the camps uture and havebeen rebued. The Save Ryan olks oundus and asked or help, and Western LandsProject has submitted Freedom o Inor-mation Act requests to both the BLM andthe Park Service to learn what plans maybe in the works.

Ryan Camp in Death Valley (Photo: Save Ryan)


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Water and public lands:Groundwater mining in NevadaReaders may recall our battle a few yearsago against a spate ofquid pro quo wilder-ness billstrading wilderness protection inone area for sell-offs, exchanges, and out-right giveaways of public land elsewhere.One of these was Senator Harry ReidsLincoln County Conservation, Recre-ation, and Development Act of 2004.Among the bills worst provisions was theconveyance of a free, half-mile wide, 300+mile-long right-of-way across public landfor construction of a pipeline that wouldtake water from counties in eastern Ne-vada and send it to Las Vegas.

Susan Lynn, a member of WesternLands Project and former coordinator ofthe Great Basin Water Network, explainsthe impacts and implications of the project.

Over the course of a decade-longdrought, the Southern NevadaWater Authority (SNWA) has

widely circulated alarming photos o LakeMeads bathtub ring, showing the strik-

ing decline o the reservoir that holds LasVegas water supply rom the ColoradoRiver. SNWA has aggressively pursuedways to supplement its Colorado Riverwater allocation, and the water authoritysmanager, Pat Mulroy, is determined thatLas Vegas must continue to grow, and thatto do so it will need more water. Mulroyis well-known or her cold dismissal oanyone who objects to her plans.

As early as the late 1980s, SNWA was

tying up unclaimed groundwater rightsin Clark, Lincoln, and White Pine coun-ties, north and east o Las Vegas. Becausethey were only recently acted upon by theNevada State Engineer, these applicationshave prevented economic growth in ruralareas or nearly a quarter o a century.Now, the ate o northern Nevadas towns,ranches, and arms will be determined

by the extent to which SNWA is able toexploit the water rights and transport the

water.

This last August, the Bureau o LandManagement issued its Final Environmen-tal Impact Statement on the pipeline andSNWAs plan to remove 200,000 to 300,000acre-eet o water every year rom easternNevada and western Utah with the aid othe pipeline.

The project is estimated to cost $15.6billion. Above and beyond the monetarycosts, the anticipated impacts o with-

drawing water rom already dry publicland deserts and valleys are truly alarming. The water table will drop rom 10-200eet within 200 years in the our valleysapproved by the Nevada State Engineer. The land surace will subside 5eet across 525 square miles. Nearly 35,000 tons o wind-blowndust will be spread every year. Another 180 to 340 miles o lateralpipelines will crisscross the landscape.

144 to 174 wells will be installed, withaccompanying roads and power lines.Many o these valleys are within the

Colorado River fow basin, but SNWAwill be intercepting groundwater fows tothe Colorado River beore they reach Lake

Above and beyond the monetary costs, theanticipated impacts o withdrawing water romalready dry public land deserts and valleys aretruly alarming.

Continued on page 6


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Mead while simultaneously tapping itsColorado River rights.

According to the Final EIS, the proj-ect would imperil 305 springs, 112 mileso streams, 8,000 acres o wetlands and191,506 acres o shrub land wildliehabitat or sage grouse, mule deer, elk andpronghorn antelope. In addition, GreatBasin National Park and its carbonatecaverns(Lehman Caves), and at least threeederal and state wildlie reuges will seeimpacts rom the water withdrawals.

Tribes with reserved water rights andsacred sites, along with existing seniorwater rights holders, are very concernedabout severe declines in groundwater, andit is anticipated that withdrawals will jeop-ardize ranching, irrigation, and communitywater systems. To many, this would consti-tute groundwater mining, supposedlyprohibited by most western states wishingto maximize benecial use.

It is widely eared that the pipelineproject will create the next Owens Val-ley, a reerence to the Caliornia Valleythat was dewatered via pipelines built byLos Angeles Department o Water andPower in the early 20th century (and dra-matized in the movie Chinatown).

Great Basin Water Network has chal-lenged the State Engineer on SNWAswater rights applications in the 7th Dis-trict Court, State o Nevada. Briengs aredue January 30, 2013 with oral argumentsscheduled or June 2013. In the meantime,the Network, along with its many allies, isawaiting BLMs Record o Decision on thepipeline, expected to be issued soon. Youcan ollow this story by going to http://

greatbasinwater.net.

-Susan Lynn

Western oothills o Snake Valley looking to the S. Snake Range and GreatBasin National Park (Photo: D. Ghiglieri)

The project would imperil 305 springs, 112 miles o streams, 8,000 acres o wetlands and

191,506 acres o habitat or sage grouse, muledeer, elk and pronghorn.

Groundwater Mining

From page 5


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Through Ca Press, we are proud

tocontinue ofering Western Lands

Project t-shirts.

To view design, color, size and

style options, visit caepress.com/

westernlands andorder yours today!

(Note: the organic cotton tees run

small).

Western Lands T-Shirts

But the letter was not rom us alonealltold, 74 grassroots groups rom across thecountryCaliornia to Kentucky to Ver-montsigned on.

Our purpose in gathering this supportwas to remind the Senators that Wildernessand National Forest lands are the concernso all American citizens, and that this ex-change cannot be treated merely as a Minne-sota issue. Perhaps partly in response to ouropen letter, the Senators have stepped backor now, and apparently will not introducea bill in the lame duck session. But the issuebears watching. The land exchange is beingtouted as a jobs issue, and a lovely paintingo an open-pit mine graces the wall o Sena-tor Klobuchars reception area.

Boundary Waters

From page 6


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Please Join Our Monthly Donors

Perhaps youve noticed that some Western Lands supporters on ourlist are monthly donors. While we greatly appreciate any and all con-tributions, our monthly donors do have a special place in our hearts.

They remind us o their commitment to public land 12 times a year!All three o our sta members give monthly and so do several other

longtime Western Lands riends. Some give $10 a month, others give $50 amonth. Over the course o a year, it really does add up.

Have you thought about this option? You save time and a stamp andwe wont bug you with any more undraising letters. At the end o theyear, well send you a thank-you or your total donations. Its more stableunding or us and less work or you, and you can opt out at any time.

To become a monthly donor, your enrollment options are only limitedby your bank. As a Chase bank customer, I was able to set up monthlydonations online. Other banks require you to visit a branch in person. Oryou can always set-up a monthly git through a charity git site like JustGive (www.justgive.org) or Network or Good (www.networkorgood.org) although there may be a ee. Contact your bank or give me a call iyoud like some help guring out how you can become a monthly donor.

And thank you. No matter how you choose to support Western LandsProject, it makes a tremendous dierence. Emily

Western Lands Project is proud to be among the grassroots groups who receive a portion o the profts romthe sale o these stickers. Found in museum shops or online at earthsticker.com, these stickers were createdby artist Philip Krohn to help environmental groups working to protect biodiversity and wild nature.


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Thank you, wonderful members! We are grateful forthe foundations &

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our work

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Foundation

Maki Foundation

New-Land Foundation

Weeden Foundation

White Pine Fund

Wolcott Family

Foundation - pledged

The donations and grants shown were received between June 7, 2012 and December 6, 2012. I

your git was received ater this date, youll be acknowledged in our next newsletter. Thank you

or your support- we could not do this work without you!

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Board o Directors

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Marianne Dugan, Eugene, OR

Steve Gilbert, Helena, MT

David Gladstone, Snohomish, WA

Sandy Lonsdale, Waldport, OR

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western lands update winter 2012

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