Did you know that recently the Bureau of Land Management approved new mining operations near the Grand Canyon ?
Did you know that Congress acted last year to temporarily prohibit new mining near the Grand Canyon ?
Well, it’s true : the BLM — part of the Interior Department — authorized a Canadian mining company to drill for uranium near the Grand Canyon. And that may be only the beginning — according to the Environmental Working Group, since 2003 the number of mining claims within 5 miles of Grand Canyon National Park increased from 10 to more than 1,100.
It’s fear for the impacts of uranium mining on the Grand Canyon that prompted Congress to act last year to prohibit new claims near the park.
Because mining near the Grand Canyon will not only threaten one of our greatest national treasures, but will also threaten the Colorado River that flows through the Canyon. The river provides drinking water for 25 million Americans. Fortunately it’s not too late to stop the mining near the Grand Canyon and protect this valuable water supply. President Obama’s new Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, has not weighed in on the issue.
TAKE ACTION Tell Secretary Salazar to make the land near the Grand Canyon off-limits to mining. Send a letter to Ken Salazar asking him to follow Congress’s lead — and the law — in this matter.