Washington, D.C. – With families across the country heading to Grand Canyon National Parks this summer, the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, led by Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), will hear testimony from witnesses on a bill to protect the area from the uranium mining boom at the Park’s edge. Chairman Grijalva’s Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 644) would provide for the withdrawal of more than 1 million acres of Federal land around the Grand Canyon from future mining claims.
The number of claims surrounding the Grand Canyon has increased exponentially over the past several years. For example, the more than one million acres of Federal land that the Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act would permanently protect has seen an increase in mining claims from 110 in January of 2003 to 8,543 in January of 2009. With water such a scarce resource in the Southwest, there are growing concerns about the impacts of mining on the water quality, the surrounding communities, and on the Park itself.
Subject: House Natural Resources
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2009
When: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.
Where: Room 1324 Longworth House Office Building
Witnesses: Panel 1
Kay Brothers
Southern Nevada Water Authority
Mr. Matthew Putesoy
Havasupai Tribe
Elizabeth C. Archuleta
Coconino County Board of Supervisors
Panel 2
Mr. Mark Trautwein
Former Staffer to Congressman Morris Udall
Professor David K. Kreamer
Hydrologist and University Professor
Bill Hedden
Grand Canyon Trust
Clarinda T. Vail
Red Feather Lodge, Inc.
There will be a live webcast at http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/