9th Circuit Court of Appeals hears case Sept. 14, events

The efforts continue to protect the sacred San Francisco Peaks from ski area expansion and snowmaking with treated sewage effluent. On Sept. 14th the legal battle to save the Peaks will continue in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, CA. Support/Awareness events will be held in California and in Flagstaff.

FLAGSTAFF EVENTS:

Tens of Thousands in Marches Across Arizona

STUDENTS TAKE THE STREETS

Transforming the Streets into the Classroom: Students Protest in Arizona

Risking suspension and having to jump over fences after schools were locked down, students have walked out of classes and taken the streets across Arizona this week to protest national immigration legislation. Following initial walk-outs in Los Angeles, America's youth are claiming their political power and are speaking out against U.S. House Resoluation 4437 and the U.S. Senate version of the bill.

March 31 Story about Continued Tucson Protests

March 30 Photos from Protest in Downtown Tucson

Read More about Nation-wide Student Demonstrations at U.S. Indymedia Center

Democracy Now! March 29 Story

LAST WEEK'S MASS DEMONSTRATIONS IN ARIZONA

More than 20,000 people jammed the streets through central Phoenix near Senator Jon Kyl’s office on Friday to protest anti-immigration legislation that would further criminalize undocumented immigrants and build new fences along the Arizona-Mexico border. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which Kyl serves on, is planning to finish writing the Senate version of HR 4437 on Monday. The largest march in Phoenix history complements recent protests nation-wide, including more than 500,000 in Los Angeles, 40,000 in Denver, and over 100,000 in Chicago.

The fight to protect the San Francisco Peaks from the proposed Snowbowl Ski Resort expansion and snowmaking joined the pro-immigrant sentiment on Saturday when more than 1,200 people marched through downtown Flagstaff in support of sacred sites and immigrant rights for all the Americas.

Tucsonans protested a fundraiser for Kyl attended by Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday, and on Friday more than 1,000 people lined Oracle Road near Kyl's Tucson office to show opposition to his support for the anti-immigrant bill.

Forest Service Decides to Desecrate Sacred Peaks

In a conference call on March 8, Coconino National Forest Supervisor Nora Rasure announced a controversial decision that will allow Arizona Snowbowl Ski Area, located in the San Francisco Peaks, to make snow using reclaimed wastewater. This decision will also allow for an additional 66 acres of new trails, a 14.8 mile pipeline to transport the wastewater from Flagstaff to Snowbowl, and a snowplay/tubing facility.

Rasure's decision to allow Arizona Snowbowl to use reclaimed wastewater on the sacred peaks drew outrage from its many long-time opponents, who vowed to stop the plan.

"Ms. Rasure's decision flies in the face of facts in their own Draft Environmental Impact Statement, respect for ancient traditions and sound ecological and economic judgment," said Save the Peaks Coalition member Klee Benally. "The Coalition will be challenging this decision in hopes that her superiors will defend the mountain's natural and cultural values."

Leaders from fourteen Southwestern tribes who hold the mountain sacred met with Rasure in February at a summit hosted by the Coalition. They expressed their opposition to Snowbowl's plans for development on the San Francisco Peaks.

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr.'s remarks underscored the mountain's great cultural significance and emphasized the severe adverse impacts the Snowbowl plan would have on Native peoples throughout the region.

" We want to share with you what it means when we say, 'the Peaks are us...it is Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Acoma.'" Shirley said. "When you build on it, when you talk about putting wastewater on it, you are desecrating our life. You are chipping away at our way of life and committing genocide.