Top Conservation Stories of 2014

Here are a few of the most important conservation stories from 2014:

--Gila River Proposed Diversion approved by ISC

--Mexican Gray Wolf critical habitat expanded to include most of NM and AZ south of I-40

Zone 1 is where Mexican wolves may be initially released or translocated.  Zone 2 is where Mexican wolves will be allowed to naturally disperse into and occupy, and where Mexican wolves may be translocated.  Zone 3 is where neither initial releases nor translocations will occur, but Mexican wolves will be allowed to disperse into and occupy....where Mexican wolves will be more actively managed...to reduce conflict with the potentially affected public.  However, in AZ east of Highway 87 there will be a "phased approach" to managing wolf populations.

--U.S. Congress Omnibus spending bill approves the Resolution mine landswap in AZ, grazing lease terms expanded to 20 years, and Valles Caldera becomes newest National Park

--Drought in CA (7% snowpack) ... and NM.  (e.g. Heron Lake resevoir levels fall, fail to make San Juan-Chame deliveries to Rio Grande)

-- US EPA and NRCS try to regulate agriculture under CWA....and fail.  The problem of increasing toxic algae problem in Ohio lakes came to a head in 2014 when Cleveland had to turn off their city water intake from Lake Eerie due to a toxic algal bloom. The proposed rule would have allowed EPA to regulate "non-point source" water pollution from farms that did not have a NRCS-approved conservation practices in place.  But apparently the outcry was too much, and early in 2015 the rule was amended.  Note that the final rule, even though it no longer contained this provision, was still vehemently protested in 2015.

--  Gunnison Sage Grouse listed as "Threatened" under the ESA, Colorado appeals.

-- Colorado River Pulse....mostly just grows more tamarisk.

--  Pleistocene megafauna extinction due to meteor impact, new study finds.  

-- Wilderness turns 50 years old

-- New "stacked trait" GMO potatoes and soybeans approved in the U.S.

And a random tidbit:  rabbits eat more forage in utah than bison...leading ranchers to question the state's continued bounty for coyote skins.

Resolution Mine gets Go-Ahead

The Resolution mine has been proposed on land between the small towns of Superior and Globe, Arizona, in an area already famous for its Grand Canyon-esque copper mines.  Unfortunately for the Rio Tinto-owned Resolution mining company, the proposed mine was directly underneath a popular campground on National Forest land.  Fortunately for the company, the U.S. Congress has just passed a spending bill with provision to transfer the land from the National Forest to the company, so it looks like the mine will move ahead.

A placemark shows the location of the Oak Flat Campground, the approximate location of the proposed Resolution Mine.

Watch this surreal video highlighting how Resolution plans to mine the ore deposit more than a mile and half below the ground.

 The video reminds me, somehow, of the giant alien mine in Total Recall:

BEFORE and AFTER views of the proposed Rosemont Mine

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Rosemont Mine was released Nov. 29th.  In addition to containing thousands of pages detailing the effects of this open pit copper mine on the ecology of the Santa Rita mountains, the report also contains a number of simulated "before-and-after" images of the mine.  

BEFORE:

This view shows the Santa Rita mountains as they appear today.

AFTER:

This view shows the Santa Rita mountains after the Rosemont open-pit mine ("preferred alternative").

BEFORE:

This is another view of the Santa Rita mountains as they appear today.

AFTER:

This is the same view after the construction of the Rosemont open pit mine ("barrel alternative").

BEFORE:

This satellite image shows the site of the proposed Rosemont mine, situated in undisturbed rolling hills on National Forest land.  Grasslands on south- and west-facing slopes give way to oak woodlands on north- and east-facing slopes.  This view is about 5 miles on a side.

AFTER:

This satellite image (taken at the same scale) shows the nearby Sierrita Mine sprawling over the foothills of the Sierrita mountains.  The proposed Rosemont mine would not cover the entire footprint of the gargantuan Sierrita Mine because of the proposed use of compressed tailings piles.  However, in both mines, the main  "pit" is about a mile on a side.