Rees: We must protect Arizona’s aquatic ecosystems

Since 1959, Trout Unlimited has been working from coast to coast to protect, reconnect, restore and sustain trout habitat on behalf of today’s sportsmen and women.

We remain committed to our mission to conserve North America’s cold water fisheries and their watersheds.

With that comes opportunities to protect public lands that support healthy ecosystems for all wildlife, such as the landscape surrounding the Grand Canyon from uranium mining.

In 2012 the Department of Interior issued a 20-year uranium mining moratorium near the Grand Canyon that had dedicated funding to study the impacts of uranium mining on the water, wildlife and habitat of the region. Results from a U.S. Geological Survey in 2010 that spurred the moratorium, documented 15 springs and 5 wells containing dissolved uranium that exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for drinking water.

Uranium mining poses a serious risk to wildlife and to the people who live in the region as well as those who enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking and camping there. Water in this area is scarce, and small springs and streams that are not visibly connected on the surface provide conduits for contamination to locations far from the original source.

The incredible Lee’s Ferry Fishery on the Colorado River could potentially be harmed because of the interconnectedness of perennial, intermittent and ephemeral streams.

Since 2012, nothing has been done to clean up the already 500 contaminated mines in the region, new instances of uranium contamination from existing mines has occurred, and funding for the originally intended studies has been cut. At the same time, foreign-owned mining interests continue to lobby the Department of Interior and Department of Commerce to reopen the area to new mining.

Reacting to the USGS study and an outcry from Arizonans, Sen. Sinema and Sen. Kelly introduced the Grand Canyon Protection Act, S.387. This legislation will prevent uranium mining on 1 million acres surrounding the Grand Canyon, lands that have long been sought for uranium mining.

This bill would still allow for multiuse of the landscape: logging, grazing, and outdoor recreation.

Hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts come from a broad range of backgrounds across the political spectrum. One thing that ties us all together, a truly American ideal, is the conservation of wildlife and wild places. Wildlife, fisheries and the water that supports us are not partisan issues.

The GCPA is a responsible approach based on science and with a vision for the future. Uranium mining near the Grand Canyon is unacceptable given the best science available and the known risks to our natural resources, the economy of Northern Arizona and the communities that depend on Colorado River water.

It’s time to stop gambling with the future of the Grand Canyon region. As sportsmen, we value multiuse of our public lands and insist on practical and science-based approaches to managing our natural resources. The GCPA meets that test, and we strongly support it.

As a sportsman, and the Arizona Public Lands Coordinator for Trout Unlimited, I commend our elected officials from Arizona who are working to protect these lands and waters from the irreversible harm of uranium mining in this region. There is clear evidence that the benefits simply do not outweigh the risks to water and wildlife.

With the nation’s goal of protecting 30% of public lands and waters by 2030, conserving this large swath of land will help accomplish this goal. We cannot undo the toxic history that’s been left in this region, but we can prevent new contamination from destroying its future.

Sen. Sinema and Sen. Kelly, we need action from congress now to pass S. 387. Let’s work together to protect the Grand Canyon and the lands and waters surrounding it.

Editor’s note: Nathan Rees is Arizona Public Lands Coordinator for Trout Unlimited. Visit tu.org.