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.
Save the Peaks press release & press conference audio | Alternate summary | Phx solidarity action
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