On the surface, the battle is about using reclaimed sewage to make fake snow for a ski resort on the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona. Just below the surface is a war built on racism and greed. As I write this, another group of young activists is being arrested for locking themselves down to block construction of the pipeline that will carry that sewage to the Mountain.
The San Francisco Peaks are sacred to 13 Native American tribes of northern Arizona. For years the US Forest Service has permitted the operation of the Arizona Snowbowl, a downhill ski destination located on the west slope of the Peaks just north of Flagstaff.
Arizona is, of course, mostly desert. The Peaks are a remnant of an old strato-volcano that likely was active a few million years ago. Their highest point is over 12,000 feet in elevation. The mountain gets snow every year, but sometimes not enough to provide a lengthy and reliable (marketable) ski season every year.
So, a few years ago, a deal was struck. The City of Flagstaff (in a thoughtless moment that now haunts members of the current city council) agreed to sell reclaimed waste water (sewage) to the Snowbowl each winter for the purpose of making artificial snow.
The tribes, environmentalists, and other concerned citizens brought suit to stop construction of the pipeline. For the tribes, the idea of dumping reclaimed sewage on the sacred mountain was the equivalent of defecating in a temple.
Multiple cases worked their way through the courts. Some are still pending. I won't go into the details here. You know how to Google.
After a recent decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Snowbowl owner decided he was far enough ahead in the legal battles and running out of time on the economic side of the equation. He ordered the construction of the pipeline. Work began this summer.
Since then, semi-organized resistance in the form of civil disobedience has slowed the trenching and laying of the pipe from the ski lodge to US Highway 180. Young Native Americans have chained themselves to trenching equipment, halting construction temporarily. They've been arrested, bailed out, and continue the resistance.
Another action took place this morning, slowing the destruction of the mountain. More young people will go to jail. They are not veterans of previous historic efforts to bring about change through civil disobedience, but they are learning and they are brave.
So far, there have been no overt acts of destruction to stop the pipeline, no monkey wrenching -- only peaceful resistance. The resistance has a website: http://www.truesnow.org/. There is also a fb page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002681521603
I'll post more once details of today's action are available.