Zinke is set to address the National Mining Association conference in Arizona today, according the AP. A good time to look back at a few ways the Trump Admin is catering to the mining industry’s agenda. (thread)
The @forestservice wants to revisit the withdrawal of 1 million acres from new uranium mining designed to protect the Grand Canyon watershed. The National Mining Association is also taking their case to the Supreme Court to try to get the protections reversed.
(A reminder that mining near the Grand Canyon iswildly unpopular. A recent poll found 74% of Arizonans opposed) coloradocollege.edu/other/stateoft…
.@SecretaryZinke nixed the withdrawal of 10 million acres of prime sage grouse habitat from new mining claims. This action, along with other efforts to weaken the conservation plans, throws one of the most biggest, most successful collaborative efforts in the West in jeopardy.
.@Interior also canceled the mineral withdrawal of about 1M acres in California included in the comprehensive Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. New mining claims throw a wrench in balanced plan designed to offer certainty for both developers and conservation.
The Trump Admin canceled an EIS examining whether to extend a ban on new mining claims just outside the Boundary Waters wilderness area in Minnesota. startribune.com/forest-service…
And, of course, Trump’s unprecedented evisceration of protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments lines up nicely with where the coal and uranium resources are. nytimes.com/2018/03/02/cli…
The only place where Zinke is willing to part ways with the mining industry? In Montana (ie his backyard). See: supporting the mining ban on lands outside Yellowstone National Park. denverpost.com/2017/08/28/u-s…
The National Mining Association has held a conference or two at the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C. and they dropped $1.9 million on lobbying in 2017. So far, those investments appear to be paying off.
