To the United States Congress, the Director of the Bureau of
Land Management and the Chief of the United States Forest Service:
Your memorialist respectfully represents:
Whereas, currently, Arizona lands are significantly encumbered
and controlled by a variety of federally managed public lands and other
government designations, including 12.2 million acres of Bureau of Land
Management surface lands and an additional 17.5 million acres of subsurface,
11.4 million acres of United States Forest Service lands, 7.9 million acres of
military installations and 24.7 million acres of Indian tribal lands; and
Whereas, the United States House of Representative’s Committee
on Natural Resources passed a resolution to withdraw nearly 1.1 million acres
of land from new mining claims and exploration; and
Whereas, the people of Arizona rely on access to public lands
for a large number of economic, infrastructure and recreational purposes,
including mining, oil and natural gas development, grazing, outdoor recreation
and rights of way for transportation, waterlines, electric transmission and
telecommunication lines; and
Whereas, the state of Arizona’s economy relies on these
important industries to fuel its economy and tax base; and
Whereas, energy price increases have a disproportionately
negative impact on Arizona’s poor individuals and families; and
Whereas, Arizona schools, as well as state and local
government, are among the benefactors of access to Arizona public lands; and
Whereas, the Arizona Strip is estimated by the United States
Geological Survey to contain uranium with the energy equivalent of 375 billion
barrels of oil, an amount equal to the total recoverable oil from the Alaskan
pipeline through Prudhoe Bay; and
Whereas, the area is currently mining flagstone, sand and
gravel, is known to have vanadium and may have copper and other minerals; and
Whereas, the world’s shortage of uranium continues to escalate
and our country continues to import more than three-fourths of the uranium we
use from foreign sources; and
Whereas, uranium production will significantly reduce the United States’ energy vulnerability; and
Whereas, in the 1980s, uranium mining operations existed that
have now been so well reclaimed that it is difficult to discern where these
mines existed; and
Whereas, there are no known detrimental effects of mining
uranium in the area to the waters of the Grand Canyon or to the health and
safety of the miners or surrounding communities; and
Whereas, the effort by Congress to withdraw these lands from
new mining claims and exploration will cost Arizona hundreds of millions of dollars
in lost revenues that help fund local communities and schools; and
Whereas, locking away much of Arizona’s valuable mineral resources from environmentally sound development not only hurts Arizona economically, but also weakens America by hamstringing the production of more
energy in Arizona and the nation.
Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of the
State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays:
1. That the United States Congress refrain from
passing any new legislation to withdraw any lands in Arizona from mining, and
refrain from enacting any wilderness designations in Arizona without the
unanimous support of Arizona’s congressional delegation.
2. That the Bureau of Land Management and the United
States Forest Service not limit the public’s access to public lands under their
jurisdiction for mining, grazing, recreation or other uses.
3. That the Secretary of State of the State of
Arizona transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the United States
Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Director
of the Bureau of Land Management, the Chief of the United States Forest Service
and each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.
