Colorado prepares for the next mining boom

Hang on to your cowboy hats, the mining boom is back! In just four years, mining claims in Colorado have jumped over 230 percent. Unfortunately, an 1872 law—passed under President Ulysses S. Grant—is still the law that governs mining operations across the nation. We think it’s high time for reform.

Wild lands such as Red Lady near Crested Butte are under siege from current and proposed mining operations. Even national parks are at risk, with mining claims within five miles of Rocky Mountain and Grand Canyon National Parks.

Environment Colorado has joined sportsmen, conservationists and outdoor recreation groups to fight to reform our mining laws. The House passed strong legislation, but mining companies threaten to weaken the bill in the Senate. We’re working to ensure that the final legislation includes strong protections for our wild lands.

Protecting our wild lands from uranium mining

As our advocates in Washington, D.C., fight to reform federal mining laws, we’ve been working in the Statehouse in Denver to protect our wild lands and water against another emerging threat: toxic uranium mining pollution.

Uranium claims on public lands jumped from just over 100 in 2003 to more than 11,000 in 2008. This boom threatens our most valuable wild lands, such as the Dolores River Canyon, which is surrounded by hundreds of uranium claims. Past uranium booms have scarred landscapes and ruined wild rivers. As rock is stripped out of the ground, radioactive waste is left behind in tailing ponds.

Environment Colorado teamed up with the Western Mining Action Project and citizens in northern Colorado to pass the Land and Water Stewardship Act (HB 1161), which protects groundwater from uranium mining pollution as well as our public health and our environment by requiring that all uranium mining projects have strong environmental protection plans.