Protect the Peaks – Action Camp!

UPDATE! Action camp postponed! Stay tuned for new dates!

Tempe Police and Arizona Anti-Terror Unit are targeting anarchists and indigenous projects in Arizona

From Fires Never Extinguished:

A campaign of political repression is under way against anarchist and indigenous projects in Arizona, spearheaded by the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center and the Tempe Police Department Homeland Defense Unit. The Tempe police department’s anti-terror division preemptively shut down the Protect the Peaks solidarity benefit show that was planned for Friday night, using the threat of a fire code violation to ensure that the venue would have to cancel the event.  The Homeland Defense Unit acted on an alert they received from Arizona’s main counter terrorism information gathering hub, also known as a fusion center, that a benefit show to raise money for the struggle to save the San Francisco Peaks was scheduled to take place in Tempe on Friday night.

The benefit show organizers had contacted a DIY venue/space run out of a warehouse in west Tempe, a well regarded space that has hosted a number of shows over the last year, often receiving coverage in the Phoenix New Times and other media.  It is a labor of love for the person who runs it, who has a full time job in addition to hosting the occasional show at the venue.  The Protect the Peaks benefit show would have been the first political show to have been hosted at the space, it also put the venue on the radar of Arizona’s counter terrorism fusion center.

On Thursday, September 6^th the venue operator received an unannounced visit at his workplace from an officer assigned to the city’s Homeland Defense Unit.  The officer, Detective Derek Pittam, threatened to have the venue shut down for fire code violations if the Protect the Peaks show wasn’t canceled immediately.  Detective Pittam informed the person that he was aware that the venue regularly held shows and made it clear that under no circumstances would this benefit show be held at the venue.  The venue’s future is now up in the air due to the threats of the Homeland Defense Unit, even though Detective Pittam admitted to the venue operator that he was aware that there had never been one call to police or reports of any illegal activity at that location.

Detective Derek Pittam of the Tempe Police Homeland Defense Unit

At least one officer working in the Homeland Defense Unit spent last week locating the DIY venue, identifying the operator of the venue, finding his cell phone number, and where he works his full time job so that he could be harassed by Detective Pittam. They had also decided that their anti-terror unit was going to manufacture a fire code violation as pretext to shut down the show, unless the Homeland Defense unit is regularly enforcing code violations in Tempe.

I’ve learned that during the workplace visit, Pittam specifically identified support for the “Save the Peaks” as a concern for the authorities.  Throughout his visit Detective Pittam made it clear, the issue is with the benefit show not the venue, however the venue would face the consequences for allowing a radical, anarchist, and indigenous themed event.

I’ve also learned that the venue operator was again contacted on his cell phone Friday night by a Tempe police commander who wanted the venue’s permission as the primary property manager to arrest individuals (who may not even know the show was canceled) for trespass on site.  The venue operator declined, and was then asked by the commander for the landlord’s phone number, which he also declined to provide to the Tempe Police.   A friend who drove by the venue Friday evening observed one marked police vehicle on the property where the venue was located, and another vehicle parked near by.

In the short time since word got around about the show being canceled, many people involved with various projects are shocked and outraged over this show of state repression.  I was able to chat with Alex Soto, a Tohono O’odham MC from the hip hop group Shining Soul, one of the acts that was scheduled to perform on Friday.  In addition to his music, Alex has organized against border militarization on his traditional land,  the Tohono O’odham nation, a land divided by the US/Mexico border wall and militarized by the border patrol.

He had this to say about the cancelling of the show:

“The show itself is an example of the solidarity between indigenous people, the Diné and O’odham, and anarchist people who are supportive, it also means that the authorities are afraid of us acting in collaboration, collectively.  They’re afraid of all of us coming together, it’s not new, it’s happened before at past demonstrations where we’re targeted, we’re marked for oppression, mainly just by being ourselves and being there.

It doesn’t matter to them whether it’s an action or protest, or in this case with our talents and our musical gifts to bring people together, the state doesn’t respect that.  This act of repression by the police further motivates myself and everyone else involved to push forward and to have another benefit or show, because we know this will be effective, and all we’re doing now is picking up mics and guitars.

In addition, I’d like to express that as a Tohono O’odham person, I have solidarity with other indigenous people in this area, in this case it’s Diné people and the other 12 tribes that hold the San Francisco Peaks as a sacred site.   This act by Tempe police, and all the entities involved is an attack on who I am and who we are as indigenous people, it verifies to me that we’re doing our role, in this case by standing in solidarity with the peaks, or when we oppose the loop 202 freeway or oppose the border and militarization because this is what solidarity and healthy communities look like.   When we stand together, fight alongside each other, or in this case sing together to defend who we are and what we hold sacred, then fuck the Tempe PD, fuck Phoenix PD, fuck DPS, and any entity that tries to stop this energy that’s building here in Arizona.”

When the authorities act to intimidate or threaten dissident voices and movements, it causes a chilling effect, in this case the Tempe police were willing to let a fire inspector poke around in the venue until any little violation could be found that would shut the show down.  We also know that they wanted to arrest anyone who came to the property expecting to see a show. This is a direct attack on the ability of people to freely gather, communicate, and organize without the potential of arrest or physical injury by police, in addition to the potential for serious financial problems for the venue operator.

More information will be coming this week.

Tree-sit Halts Snowbowl Pipeline Construction

Snowbowl Employees Threaten Tree-sitter’s Life, Two Supporters Arrested as Tree-Sit Continues

Contact: Ariana Sauer (602) 388-3726
Xander Vautrin@ (847) 334-7212
protectpeaks@gmail.com
www.protectthepeaks.org

FLAGSTAFF, AZ — Tree-sitter James Kennedy watched from 80 feet above as 2 supporters, who had locked themselves to Snowbowl pipeline equipment to protect James’ “lifeline”, were arrested. At 7:00AM, Snowbowl workers began recklessly moving the line that tethers Snowbowl equipment to the tree-sit platform.

“Two supporters, Eric and Alex, have locked down on heavy construction equipment, where my lifeline is anchored,” stated James Kennedy,a student at NAU. “They did this after police and Snowbowl employees alongside Police Chief Treadway said they would attempt a dangerous relocation of my lifeline. I am NOT harnessed into the platform or tree. any movement will send me falling nearly 80ft.”

At 1:00PM both supporters were arrested by Flagstaff Police. The two community members who were arrested face trespassing charges. Donations can be made for jail support at: www.protectthepeaks.org.

At 4:00PM James started rain-proofing the tree-sit platform in preparation for his second night in the path of Snowbowl’s wastewater pipeline. “Thank you to Eric & Alex who placed readily available bicycle u-locks around their necks and connected them to Snowbowl’s pipeline trench machine. They acted quickly to prevent reckless Snowbowl workers and law enforcement officials from further threatening James’ life.” stated, Liza  Minno Bloom, a supporter on the ground at the tree-sit, “So many people have come out today offering support and have called the Flagstaff City Council urging them to ensure noone’s safety is compromised, they cannot ignore our concerns.”

A rally & march was held tonight starting at Flagstaff City Hall at 5:00 PM. Community members walked through Thorpe Park to the nearby tree-sit site to rally, drum, sing, and express support for the tree-sitter defending public health and the Peaks.

The tree-sit was initiated yesterday to block construction of pipeline that would transport 180 million gallons of sewage effluent from the City of Flagstaff to Arizona Snowbowl for snowmaking on the San Francisco Peaks. Arizona Snowbowl would be the only ski area in the world to use 100% wastewater for snowmaking. The treated sewage effleunt has been proven to contain pharmaceuticals and hormones and more recently to contain Antibacterial Resistant Genes.

The San Francisco Peaks are considered an ecological island and held holy by more than 13 Indigenous Nations.

We invite those of you who believe in the safety and health of our children, the sanctity of our environment, and the protection of public water to demand that:

– The City of Flagstaff rescind the wastewater contract with Snowbowl!
– An immediate moratorium on the City of Flagstaff’s use of treated sewage effluent in public spaces where any person may come in contact with reclaimed wastewater, until new research and technology is available to mitigate long-term environmental & community health risks.
-The use of public water in this desert climate of Flagstaff with only a projected 25-38 years of water left for people’s consumption, should be cleaned and used for people to drink, not for a private corporation to make a profit.
-President Obama fulfill campaign promises to protect human rights and sacred sites.

City of Flagstaff Mayor & Council:
PHONE: (928) 779-7600
EMAIL: council@flagstaffaz.gov

Directions & more info…

Teach-in for Protection of the San Francisco Peaks

Healthy Communities are a Human Right!:
Teach-in for Protection of the San Francisco Peaks

Panels, workshops, and small group sessions addressing:
Sacred Sites, Environmental Justice, Legal Cases, Water Issues, Legislative Action, Civil Disobedience, & more.

Join community & student activists to learn about the environmental & social justice struggle to protect the sacred San Francisco Peaks and how to get involved.

Free & open to the public. All ages welcome, limited childcare provided, wheelchair accessible.

Full program available at: www.ProtectThePeaks.org/teach-in
RSVP: protectpeaks@gmail.com

 When: Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012, 12pm-6pm

 Where: Native American Cultural Center on NAU Campus, Flagstaff, AZ.

More info: www.ProtectthePeaks.org

Full schedule coming soon!

Please consider donating for ads and/or outreach. Email: protectpeaks@gmail.com.

Printable flyers:

Read the Media Advisory here.

Construction Begins on San Francisco Peaks; Controversy Far From Over

This aerial photo is of the clear cutting that has begun on the San Francisco Peaks. The first step in converting sewage to artificial snow for the Arizona SnowBowls ski area. The Peaks are a sacred site to many Native American tribes.

By Anne Minard / Indian Country Today

The Arizona Snowbowl ski area, near Flagstaff, began construction this week on the infrastructure to deliver treated wastewater for snowmaking on its slopes.

Meanwhile, the controversial plan to make snow on the San Francisco Peaks is the subject of new talks between the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, following the discovery that it could threaten a federally endangered plant.

Tribal activists seemingly lost their last major stand against snowmaking on the San Francisco Peaks earlier this year, when Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court decision dismissing a lawsuit filed by the Save the Peaks Coalition against the Forest Service. But alongside the protracted court battles on behalf of more than a dozen tribes who hold the Peaks sacred, one of them – the Hopi Tribe – has been working quietly on another front.

Construction vehicles and piping are scene on the San Francisco Peaks.

Hopi tribal chairman LeRoy Shingoitewa hired the Phoenix-based SWCA Environmental Consultants to look for possible threats by the planned snowmaking to endangered species on the Peaks, which include the spotted owl and an alpine plant, the San Francisco Peaks Ragwort. The ragwort, also known as a groundsel, emerged as the most vulnerable.

“I started out this process being very doubtful that there were any particular environmental effects of using the treated wastewater to make snow,” said Steven Carothers, founder and senior scientist at SWCA. “After I had done all my due diligence, I became increasingly apprehensive about some of the long-term effects that could really happen to this plant.”

Carothers determined that the artificial snow is likely to blow into the plant’s critical habitat due to high winds on the Peaks – and the added nitrogen is likely to have harmful repercussions. This is a problem, he said, according to the Endangered Species Act.

“I really do realize that this plant is not being afforded the level of protection which it is due,” he said. He added that it’s incumbent on the Forest Service at this point to reopen the consultations with Fish and Wildlife that are required for impacts to endangered species.

Shingoitewa notified officials with both federal agencies about the findings in early April.

Logs stacked making room for the next phase of construction.

“By this letter, the Hopi Tribe requests that the U.S. Forest Service reinitiate consultation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act,” he wrote.

Carothers also sent his findings to a Phoenix-based U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service field supervisor, Steve Spangle, in a letter dated May 2.

“The letter does bring up some points we really need to mull over and consider,” Spangle said on May 9. “We’re certainly in discussions with the Forest Service on how best to proceed. Whether we reinitiate [consultation] will be a joint decision between our agencies.”

Shingoitewa’s office did not respond to numerous emails and phone calls requesting comment, but Klee Bennally, a Navajo tribal member and a longtime opponent of snowmaking on the Peaks, said the Hopi finding is just one reason he hasn’t given up hope.

“I believe the issue is not settled by any means,” he said. “It’s absurd that people think this is a dead issue or that it’s over. Our culture isn’t over.”

He said besides the courts, snowmaking opponents have been active from the city of Flagstaff all the way to Washington, D.C. and the United Nations to try to get it stopped.

The clear cutting has started on the San Francisco Peaks in preparation for the sewage that will be converted to artificial snow for the Arizona Snowbowl ski area.

“Even though the courts have failed us, even though the city representatives here in Flagstaff have failed us and the Forest Service, to some degree, has failed us, we’re still appealing to the Obama administration,” he said. “At this point, Snowbowl is proceeding at its own risk.”

Meanwhile, on May 11 the Arizona Snowbowl filed suit against Howard Shanker in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit is seeking $269,280 for legal fees from the latest round in court. Shanker was the attorney for the Navajo Nation, the Save the Peaks Coalition and other individuals opposed to the artificial snowmaking according to azdailysun.com.

“The Court has already found that Mr. Shanker acted in bad faith in bringing this appeal. It has concluded that Mr. Shanker undertook this appeal with the subjective intent of dragging out Snowbowl’s ‘legal nightmare,’” attorneys for Arizona Snowbowl wrote to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“This appears to me to be an attempt by Snowbowl to chill otherwise valid opposition to their plans to desecrate the mountain. Hopefully the court will see their motion for what it is. Unfortunately, it is my understanding that this goes back to the same three judge panel that issued the offensive language in its decision in the first place,” Howard Shanker said in an e-mail to Indian Country Today Media Network.

Ninth Circuit rules against Save the Peaks 2012

The Ninth Circuit Court insulted Native Americans of Save the Peaks in the decision, but we know who the real heroes are. This court decision reflects the total collapse of the justice system, mirrored in the collapse of governments and the media.

Read the court decision at Censored News

BOYCOTT ARIZONA SNOWBOWL. Skiers, please honor the sacred land of Native Americans on San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona: Tell Arizona Snowbowl you won’t ski there because they do not honor the land and ceremonies of Native Americans.

Direct Action halts ski resort construction on sacred site

By Kyle Boggs, Earth First! Journal

It was an especially beautiful morning on June 16, when at least 15 people participated in a direct action on the San Francisco Peaks that temporarily halted construction of a pipeline on the mountain. Six mainly indigenous youth were arrested during the coordinated action and another was cited for trespassing.

On December 1, 2010, Federal Judge Mary Murguia ruled in favor of Arizona Snowbowl Limited Partnership, approving the construction of a 14.8-mile reclaimed wastewater pipeline from Flagstaff to the ski resort, among other developments. The water is to be used at Snowbowl to make artificial snow. While many ski resorts around the world use a percentage of reclaimed wastewater to make snow, the resort would be the only one in the world that would use a 100% mixture of wastewater in this way. Prompted by concerns from the scientific community and others who assert the likelihood of health risks associated with the use of reclaimed wastewater, the Environmental Protection Agency is currently conducting a national multi-year study of the water to be completed in 2013.

The case itself, brought on by the Save the Peaks Coalition and nine concerned citizens, is currently under appeal in the Ninth Circuit. The Hopi Tribe has filed their own separate lawsuit citing a first amendment violation of their religious freedoms in association with further development.

The San Francisco Peaks are held sacred to at least 13 regional Native American tribes and the impact of construction has been emotional. A prayer gathering was held at the base of the San Francisco Peaks a few days after construction began, where Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly addressed the crowd declaring, “We have got to stop the construction.” Kelvin Long, director of ECHOES (Educating Communities while Healing and Offering Environmental Support) stated, “We’re going to protect our mountain, we’re not going to allow snowmaking to happen.” Steve Darden of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission and former Flagstaff City Council member added a specific message to youth. “In our Hogans and sweat lodges we are offering our prayers, we’re relying on you young ones to step up.”

And so they did.

On the morning of the action, as the full moon faded and the sun rose, two demonstrators chained themselves to the wheel well of a large excavator while two pairs of women sat back-to-back deep inside the six-foot-trench, bound to each other by the neck with U-locks. The action occurred a few miles up Snowbowl Road where construction had been in progress since May 25, 2011.

The first to respond on the scene was Snowbowl. The security vehicle, a blue Mercedes, screamed up and down Snowbowl Road apparently trying to locate those involved in the action. By 6 AM more than 15 armed agents arrived on the scene, as well as the Coconino County Sheriff’s Department, City of Flagstaff Police, and the FBI.

At the same time a group of at least eight demonstrators gathered at the bottom of Snowbowl road, blocking access. Five demonstrators wore white hazmat suites in a symbolic “quarantine” of the resort, stretching banners across the road that read, “Protect Sacred Sites” and “Danger! Health Hazard—Snowbowl.” Caution tape was stretched across the width of the road along with other objects, forming a makeshift blockade.

The demonstrators engaged in a multi-varied approach to what is very much considered a multi-layered issue. The complexity of the controversy was illustrated in the diversity of demonstrator’s chants, echoing from the base of the mountain, from those locked to construction equipment, and from voices deep from within the trenches. “Protect Sacred Sites, Defend Human Rights!” “No desecration for recreation!” “Stop the cultural genocide! Protect the Peaks!” “Human health over corporate wealth!” “Dook’o’osliid [the traditional Diné name of the San Francisco Peaks], we’ve got your back!”

Fire Department began aggressively cutting demonstrators from their various lockdown devices. Evan Hawbaker and Kristopher Barney were chained to the same excavator. “The police’s use of excessive force was in complete disregard for my safety. They pulled at my arms and forced my body and head further into the machine, all the while using heavy duty power saws within inches of my hand,” said Hawbaker.

Rather than negotiate, as the demonstrators were cut, it was clear that the police and firemen preferred to use scare tactics. “We don’t want to cut your arm off,” repeated one of the firemen several times to which Hawbaker finally responded, “I don’t want you to cut my arm off either.” Hawbaker said the fireman looked dead serious, “well, we will if we have to.”

The firefighters used a Sawzall to cut the PVC pipe lengthwise. When the blade hit the metal rod, it rattled the chain violently. Hawbaker depicts, “Those who cut us out endangered our well being ignoring the screams to stop. They treated our bodies the way they’re treating this holy mountain.”

One of the women in the trench described an action taken in which one police officer would attempt to stand them up while another officer moved the other demonstrator another way. Because U-locks bound the women by the neck, they were choked. “Nobody even bothered to ask what it would take to get us out voluntarily. Finally they just started hurting us,” said Ms. Del Callejo. “I’m here to protect the mountain, I said, and you’re hurting me. You’re choking me.” The police responded in a way that did not sugar coat their lack of experience in dealing with nonviolent demonstrators. “That’s your own fault.”

“Our safety was prioritized second to Snowbowl’s demands. I was not aggressive. My lock was sawed through, inches away from both of our heads, secured solely and recklessly by the hands of a deputy. The police’s response was hasty, taking about ten minutes in total—it was dehumanizing,” said Hailey Sherwood, one of the last demonstrators cut out.

One at a time, as demonstrators were removed from their locking devices, they were treated by paramedics, and arrested for trespassing. Those two demonstrators that were bound to minors were also charged with “contributing to the delinquency of a minor,” and another charged for “endangerment.”

On the Monday after the lockdown, the Arizona Daily Sun published an editorial reaction entitled, “Monkey-wrenchers Marginalize Cause of Native America.” Besides the fact that the term, “monkeywrenching,” is entirely misrepresented in the editorial, as it is well documented that demonstrators took great care not to damage any machinery, the editorial itself reads more like an attempt by the paper to, in fact, marginalize the history of social and environmental movements.

The editorial explained that demonstrators’ comparison of their actions to Rosa Parks is a false analogy on the grounds that when Ms. Parks refused to move to the back of the bus, segregation was illegal. Said the editorial, “civil rights activists were seeking to uphold the law.” Here it sounds like the writers of the editorial would not have found the actions of Ms. Parks to be meaningful, courageous, or ethically sound if she had acted before segregation laws were abolished. It would be a curious task for the writers to name one social movement in the history of the world that did not result in illegal actions and arrests.

“Throughout history, acts of resistance and civil disobedience have been taken by young and old against injustices such as this. This action is not isolated but part of a continued resistance to human rights violations, to colonialism, to corporate greed, and destruction of Mother Earth,” added Del Callejo.

The editorial goes on, “The Snowbowl protesters are focusing on a religious dispute and don’t have the law on their side.” If the last 40 years of lawsuits have revealed anything, it should be clear that confronting a Eurocentric court system that is structurally incapable of making connections between environmental and human rights concerns has been a challenge for native people from the get-go. If the Daily Sun thinks the only issue here is “a religious dispute” that has nothing to do with the environmental integrity of the mountain and is not connected to the cultural survival of our native neighbors, they have truly exposed how out of touch they are on this issue. “The Holy San Francisco Peaks is home, tradition, culture, and a sanctuary… and all this is being desecrated by the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort,” said one of the demonstrators.

In the city council meetings related to choosing a water source for Snowbowl last summer, at least three-fouths of those hundreds of people in attendance submitted pubic comments in opposition to development, most of which urged the council to cancel the water contract with Snowbowl all together.

Furthermore, early in the morning of the demonstrations, word got out on [public radio] KNAU about what was happening, folks from all over Flagstaff came by and offered their support. A demonstrator remarked, “One woman came by with her daughter. She gave us all a bunch of Gatorade and offered to cook us all meals if it went on throughout the day. Many other folks grabbed signs and joined in the rally at the bottom of the mountain.” Furthermore, activists began to call from all over the country, as far away as Hawaii. A group from New Mexico said they were on their way to Flagstaff.

“How can we be trespassers on our Holy Site?” questioned Barney. “I do not agree with these and the other charges; we will continue our resistance.”

[There have now been over 23 arrested for resisting construction of the pipeline which began along Snowbowl Road in late May of 2011]

Updates on the Struggle to Defend the San Francisco Peaks

Save the Peaks Awaits Court Decision:

While she’s not sure how the federal judges of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will rule after hearing arguments in the Arizona Snowbowl case Monday, musician and environmental activist Jeneda Benally said she was encouraged by what was going on outside the courtroom.

A caravan of indigenous youth from Arizona and New Mexico opposed to using reclaimed wastewater to make snow on Dook’o’oosláád was joined by local activists outside the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco, calling for more investigation into the health effects of close contact with treated sewage.

Read more…

Native Americans optimistic after Peaks appeal in federal court:

SAN FRANCISCO – Five plaintiffs and representatives of The Save The Peaks Coalition, with their attorney and supporters, optimistically exited the James R. Browning United States Courthouse today following oral arguments in the Ninth Circuit appeal of The Save the Peaks Coalition, et al. v. U.S. Forest Service.

The San Francisco Peaks is in imminent danger of becoming a toxic recreation area, exposing people to dangerous contaminants as the US Forest Service allows treated sewer water at the ski resort and proposed snow play area. The Save the Peaks Coalition v. US Forest Service is a crucial legal battle to protect the public and the environment from hazardous pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds that can negatively impact public health. The case asserted that under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act, the Forest Service failed to adequately consider the impacts associated with ingestion of snow made from reclaimed sewer water in its federally mandated environmental review process.

Read more…

Save the Peaks Caravan and Rally Jan. 2012

Forest Service risks safety of children’s health by allowing sewage effluent snow on San Francisco Peaks !

Human health impacts of wastewater snowmaking to be heard at 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, CA

From: Jeneda Benally

What: COURT DATE, CARAVAN, PRESS CONFERENCE, RALLY

When: Saturday, January 7^th, 2012 Caravan launches from Flagstaff.

Monday, January 9, 2012 – Court Hearing (see schedule of events below)

Where: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal
95 Seventh Street, San Francisco, CA

Who:   The Save The Peaks Coalition

Why:   The San Francisco Peaks, a holy mountain near Flagstaff AZ, are in danger of  being used as a toxic recreation area exposing citizens to hazardous contaminants!

Citizens are fighting the United States Forest Service in a legal battle to protect children from hazardous endocrine disruptors and to protect this sacred site from desecration. On January 9th, 2012 The Save the Peaks Coalition et al vs. the United States Forest Service will be heard by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, CA. The case argues that under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, the Forest Service failed to adequately consider the impacts associated with ingestion of snow made from reclaimed sewer water in its Environmental Impact Statement.

The Forest Service approved reclaimed sewer water for the use of snowmaking at a local Northern Arizona ski resort in 2004. The reclaimed sewer water in question is from Flagstaff’s Rio de Flag Sewage Plant. Since May, the owners of Arizona Snowbowl, with the support of the  U.S. Forest Service and the Flagstaff City Council, have already laid 7 miles of a 14.8 mile wastewater pipeline and have clear-cut over 50 acres of rare alpine forest.

According to Howard Shanker, attorney for the Save the Peaks Coalition and the other plaintiffs, “The Forest Service failed to adequately consider the impacts of potential human ingestion of snow made from reclaimed sewer water as required by applicable law. Our government should not be approving such projects without some sort of understanding of the anticipated impacts. By approving treated sewage effluent for snow making without adequate analysis, the government essentially turns the ski area into a test facility with our children as the laboratory rats. That is unconscionable.” Mr. Shanker, a former congressional candidate in Arizona Congressional District 1, represented a number of tribes and environmental organizations in prior litigation over Snowbowl’s proposed expansion and threatened use of treated sewage effluent.

“It is deplorable that the United States Forest Service would allow known endocrine disruptors to come in to contact with our most vulnerable citizens, our children”, states Berta Benally, a plaintiff in the case. “At one point DDT, BPA and asbestos were all considered safe. Years later, after many people have suffered, we now sadly know that they are hazardous!”

The Save the Peaks Coalition is planning a caravan to the San Francisco Court of Appeals on January 9th. Anyone interested in participating can email savethepeakscaravan@yahoo.com.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

January 9th

7:00  AM,  Sunrise Gathering/Ceremony *Photo Opportunity*

To Be Determined, San Francisco

8:00 AM,  March to Courthouse *Photo Opportunity*

95 Seventh Street, San Francisco

9:00 AM,  Prayer Vigil at Courthouse *Photo Opportunity*

95 Seventh Street, San Francisco

More info: TrueSnow.org

(Also on Facebook)

VIDEO: Albuquerque Protest: Protect the Peaks 2011

Albuquerque Forest Service Protest, Protect the Peaks. Video by Krystal Curley, Dine’.