By now, everyone has heard of the proposal to put an
open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains. In addition, you’re probably
aware of the amount of money Rosemont/Augusta is spending in the community to
try to persuade us all that the mine is a good thing for our future. At the
same time you may know that many jurisdictions and elected officials oppose the
mine. Both of our members of Congress, Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords
oppose it as do Pima County, Santa Cruz County, the City of Tucson, the Town of
Sahuarita, the Town of Patagonia, the Green Valley Council, and the Tohono
O’odham Nation. Of course, the Town of Marana and the Town of Oro Valley recently
changed their positions. Marana changed from opposing the mine to being neutral
to supporting it, while Oro Valley went from opposition to neutrality.
So, the crux of the matter is, in this time of economic
stress: Are 406 jobs worth the environmental and economic damage that will be
caused? We know that 406 jobs would represent less than three-tenths of one
percent (.3%) of total employment in Pima and Santa Cruz counties. We also know
that Roche Pharmaceutical, with 500 jobs, just opened in Oro Valley without
causing any impacts worth mentioning.
GAYLE HARTMANN is president of the Save the Scenic
Santa Ritas Association, a coalition of southern Arizona homeowner, business,
environmental, and recreational organizations. She has worked as an
archaeologist and archaeological editor at the Arizona State Museum, U of A,
and for environmental consulting firms in Tucson. She has also been the editor
of Kiva: The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History. Gayle
served on the Pima County Planning and Zoning Commission and the Steering
Committee of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. She also served on the Board
of Trustees of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Gayle has lived in Tucson for
43 years.
DOV newsletter September 2011
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