Editorial: Mine would jeopardize wildlife habitat

The bar has been raised in the fight to keep the Rosemont Mine out of the Santa Rita Mountains.

A letter from the Arizona Game and Fish Department severely criticized the proposed mine for its impact on wildlife. It has provided more ammunition for mine opponents who want to keep Augusta Resource Corp. from digging for precious metals in the mountains east of Green Valley.

“Despite any and all mitigation measures, this project will result in significant adverse impacts to wildlife, wildlife habitat and wildlife recreation,” the department wrote in a six-page letter to the U.S. Forest Service. “We believe the project will render the northern portion of the Santa Rita Mountains virtually worthless as wildlife habitat and as a functioning ecosystem, and thus also worthless for wildlife recreation.

“Furthermore, the project has great potential to impact wildlife and habitat off the forest. We therefore do not support the development of the Rosemont Mine,” said the letter, written by Joan Scott, habitat program manager for the department’s Tucson office.

The Forest Service has been asking for public comment on the copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains. An estimated 4,000 comments have been received, officials said, but the state report is stark and powerful in opposition to the site.

The criticism in the letter comes from a state agency with no financial stake in the outcome. Game and Fish ordinarily does not take sides in land disputes, adding to the urgency of the message. The words will be part of what the Forest Service considers as it develops an Environmental Impact Study.

Many groups have discussed the impact on wildlife in their decision to oppose the mine. The letter gives them new reasons to fear development on the Rosemont property and in surrounding Forest Service land.

“While mining will always be a vital part of Arizona’s economy, there are certain places where mining is simply not appropriate,” Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano wrote to U.S. Rep. Raœl Grijalva, D-Tucson, who wrote federal legislation to update the 1872 Mining Acrt. “While there is a clear need to maintain a vital mining industry in Arizona, we must balance that with environmental concerns — we cannot return to mining practices of the past and leave our communities in an economic and environmental crisis.”

We do not oppose mining in Arizona. It has added significantly to the state and local economy since statehood.

However, Congress does need to reform the 1872 Mining Act and allow communities to decide whether mining is appropriate in certain areas. Rosemont would bring hundreds of jobs and make money for investors, but the long-terms costs would be high.