In 2009 the Queen Creek Coalition, a Rock Climbing club was opposed to the Resolution Mining Company's destruction of the Oak Flat/Apache Leap area in Eastern Arizona. Now the Queen Creak Coalition is one of the most ardent cheerleaders for Resolution Mining Company and has signed a Recreational Use License with the company as the representative of the Rock Climbing community.
For those of you who haven't been following the issue on one side is Rio Tinto/Resolution Copper Mining, think of them as the mining company in the movie Avatar. On the other side was a loose coalition of Rock Climbers, Native Americans, and locals from the town of Superior Arizona.
Last month the Queen Creek Climbing Coalition said:
Smart outdoor recreation enthusiasts will look to forming partnerships with Resolution Copper to achieve mutually beneficial goals for themselves, as well as the “green” sustainable economy for Superior and the region.
Contrast this with the Queen Creek's May 28th 2009 letter to congress:
While Resolution has made serious and what appear to be good faith efforts to work out a reasonable compromise that is responsive to the rock climbers’ concerns about the land exchange legislation and proposed mine, QCC, on behalf of the rock climbing community, is not prepared to endorse legislation which authorizes the transfer, and makes possible the eventual destruction, of the unique resource that is Oak Flat. QCC believes that Resolution should furnish to the climbing community the elements offered by Resolution in their last draft without requiring QCC to endorse the land exchange (or any legislation contemplating such exchange).”
What brilliant reasoning Resolution Copper use to effect this change?
The answer below the orange,
First a couple of quotes:
Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
Sun Tzu
You have insulted forces beyond your comprehension...
Hades (Clash of the Titans)
In 2009 the Queen Creek Coalition (QCC) was a bunch of rock climbing enthusiasts. They posted stuff about going out into the desert and hugging rocks.
This forum records the diligent efforts to protect the site from June 9, 2009 thru June 2010. The discussion is detailed, informed, and balanced. Fred AmRhein a leader in the QCC strenuous efforts to protect Oak Flat and Apache Leap must have consumed much of his life during 2009/2010.
From August 24, 2009:
Related to this, while it’s obviously not the climbing community’s place to speak directly for Native Americans with their deep history, it must be acknowledged that many in the climbing community feel for their cause. Furthermore, and maybe more importantly, the Native American concerns affect things greatly for the climbing community due to our obvious overlapping desires to visit and be present on the same land that in some cases they hold sacred and house their religious spirits.
Another post from December 2009:
To some degree it probably doesn't matter whether the subsidence associated with Resolution's mine creates the ugly result Fred's picture depicts, or that perhaps it will be a gentle sinking. Once Oak Flat is transferred and after climbing is eliminated (the timing of which is a matter of current negotiations), the Mining regulatory authorities (MSHA) probably would never let the public recreate on it given any mining technique that would eventually create surface instability.
June 2010 everything
changed for the Queen Creek Coalition. They had been a fairly loose organization. This gave a faction in the QCC an opening with the apparent help of Resolution a chance to flip it from a voice of the climbers to an advocate for mining. Members who did not support Rio Tinto were pushed out of the organization, it formally incorporated as a nonprofit incorporation capable of taking tax deductible donations, adopted a new mission statement, closed it's meetings, instituted a non disclosure agreement, and as the official representative of the recreational public entered into an agreement with Resolution Copper that was fully acceptable to the company. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I thought I saw something about twenty four dollars worth of beads.
San Carlos Apache chairman Wendsler Nosie, Sr had written this statement starting out:
The San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona has strongly been opposed to S.409 as this bill negatively impacts our historic cultural activity as well as our sacred and religious site. The San Carlos Apache Tribe has taken a strong and courageous stance opposing this legislation and our voice opposing this bill has been echoed across this country and will remain steadfast for the people of the San Carlos and surrounding communities.
Now he is former Tribal Chairman.
Superior Arizona city council had issued this resolution:
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Council of the Town of Superior hereby declare their opposition to the enactment of the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2013.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the Town Council of Superior this 15th day of March, 2013.
Town Council member Soyla Kiki Peralta had entered this
statement in the Congressional Record.
Later that fall she was removed by a recall funded mostly from outside Superior. "The majority of these individuals [recall funders] do not live in Superior, BUT they are also closely affiliated with the Resolution Copper project." stated a local article.
That is the state of political power in the Citizens United America. Oppose the powerful and they will take your little club and its website. If want to keep your council seat on a town of 2,900 be respectful of your betters. Resolution Copper Mining will take the water, make a giant whole in the ground, and then the company will cease to exist and give the mess back to the little people to take care of.
Below Naelyn Pike offers up hope and youthful optimism for which I envy her.
View on YouTube
Sign this White House petition if you haven't already.
Another background source on the Land Exchange here.