| On July 1 1999, Amigos Bravos and a broad coalition of grassroots activists won a significant victory when Bureau of Land Management officially withdrew the Copper Hill area near Picuris Pueblo from any future mining claims. Copper Hill, between the Wild and Scenic Río Grande and the proposed Wild and Scenic Río Pueblo/Río Embudo, was the proposed site for Summo Corporation's open-pit copper mine. Local residents opposed the immense mine both because of the impact it would have had on water quality and water quantity, and the socioeconomic impacts on the unique, agrarian quality of life in nearby villages. Summo abandoned the project last year due to financial woes and, we believe, the strength of local opposition.
Early in the struggle against the mine, Amigos Bravos proposed that Summo allow its claims to lapse and that BLM officially withdraw those areas from "mineral entry." We successfully negotiated a withdrawal agreement with BLM––if and when Summo allowed its claims to lapse ––and later convinced Summo executives that dropping the claims would be not only in the long-term interest of the community and the watershed, but in the financial interest of the company as well. It became clear to Summo that the fight against the well-organized, vehement grassroots opposition would become protracted and expensive.
BLM's official order withdraws 3,632 acres of public land and 1,148 acres of federally-owned mineral interests underlying private property, removing the entire area from the threat of mining for at least 20 years to "protect the outstanding cultural, wildlife, and visual resources of the Copper Hill area."
Thank you, BLM, for recognizing that leaving intact some of our public lands provide greater benefit for more people. ¡Vivan los grassroots! |
