Salazar protects 1M acres from mining

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- More than 1 million acres of public lands near the Grand Canyon will be protected from new mining claims for 20 years, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.

The decision will provide adequate time for monitoring to allow for better land-use decisions in the future while allowing the continuation of currently approved mining operations as well as the start-up of new operations on valid existing mining claims, Salazar said Monday in a release.

"A withdrawal is the right approach for this priceless American landscape," Salazar said. "We have been entrusted to care for and protect our precious environmental and cultural resources, and we have chosen a responsible path that makes sense for this and future generations."

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, called out the Obama administration ahead of the decision.

Before Salazar's announcement, Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson called the action an example of "the administration playing politics in siding with environmental extremists over local residents and economic common sense," The Wall Street Journal reported.

He said his state had "years of experience" with uranium mining in northern Arizona, "where mining operations have been conducted responsibly and in accordance with federal and state oversight."

The Interior Department decision doesn't bar previously approved uranium mining, new projects that could be approved on claims and sites with valid existing rights. Salazar said the withdrawal would allow other natural resource development in the area, including mineral leasing, geothermal leasing and mineral materials sales.

Approximately 3,200 mining claims are in the withdrawal area.

"The withdrawal maintains the pace of hardrock mining, particularly uranium, near the Grand Canyon," Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey said, adding, "but also gives the department a chance to monitor the impacts associated with uranium mining in this area. It preserves the ability of future decision-makers to make thoughtful decisions about managing this area of national environmental and cultural significance based on the best information available."

During the withdrawal period, the BLM projects up to 11 uranium mines, including four already approved, could be developed based on valid pre-existing rights. Without the withdrawal, up to 30 uranium mines could be in the area over the next 20 years.