Statement by Environment America’s Preservation Advocate, Christy
Goldfuss
“In a vote of 20-2, with Republicans walking out on the vote, an American treasure received emergency help today from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources. Recognizing that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, Sub-committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) showed his courageous leadership by calling for a pause on a mining boom in the area of one of our most valued national treasures.
Today, the Committee put the Bush administration in a timeout for rubber stamping an assault on the Grand Canyon. Now, American tourists won’t be forced to sit behind mining trucks as they go to visit one of our greatest American treasures.
Due to a little known provision in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, in an emergency situation, the act of the Committee alone can compel the Secretary of the Interior to remove lands from mineral leasing. This temporary withdrawal permits the Committee to slow a snowballing corporate land grab that could permanently damage a treasure that belongs to all Americans.
Although this resolution provides a necessary temporary fix, ultimately the Grand Canyon and all national parks across the country need comprehensive mining reform of the 1872 Mining Law to protect these national treasures permanently.”
-Christy Goldfuss, preservation advocate of Environment America
