Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff and a Coalition of Citizens and Organizations Present Congressman Tom O’Halleran with Request for Congressional Field Hearings on Regulatory Compliance Issues around Arizona Snowbowl

Flagstaff, AZ (March 11, 2021) – On Monday, March 8, U.S. Representative Tom O’Halleran was presented with a strong request to hold Congressional field hearings to examine compliance with federal laws and regulations on the part of Arizona Snowbowl and its landlord, the U.S. National Forest Service.

Congressman O’Halleran is a member of the Forestry Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee; we propose that these hearings be held jointly with the House Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Representative Raul Grijalva.

Indigenous community members, Flagstaff citizens, tribal officials from Hopi and Havasupai, and representatives from Sierra Club and Friends of Flagstaff’s Future, were all present to support this request. Elders Bucky Preston from Hopi, Dianna Uqualla from Havasupai, and Viki Blackgoat, Diné, along with Makaius Marks, representing Indigenous youth, Hilary Giovale, representing settler-descended supporters, and Shawn Mulford, Diné, longtime advocate and researcher for the mountain, presented on the historical, spiritual, social, environmental, and legal dimensions of the proposal.

Congressional oversight is necessary because of a long history in which a private business built on public land has been allowed to push aside and harm the relationships of 13 Indigenous nations to this mountain and the beings who live upon and within it. Tangible harm to plants and animals, as well as our families and communities, has resulted.

Arizona Snowbowl’s recently announced expansion plan goes far beyond anything they have attempted until now. In response, assessment and repair of damages must come first. Protections for the future must follow. Tribal co-management with the Forest Service of this Traditional Cultural Property is our preferred model, one that has already been proposed. This time around, Indigenous nations, spiritual authorities, youth and elders, must be full partners in any decision-making that affects our beloved Peaks.

Congressman O’Halleran responded with a prepared statement in which he recognized Congressional responsibility in this matter and proposed a follow-up meeting later this month. O’Halleran related this issue to the struggle of San Carlos Apaches and their allies to protect sacred grounds at Oak Flat from being destroyed as a result of a 2015 land exchange authorized by Congress.

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Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff ⬧ FB: Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff ⬧ indigenouscf@gmail.com

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Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff is an Indigenous-led community-based organization founded in 2015, dedicated to continuing the work of previous generations to improve the lives of Native people in Flagstaff. We held a series of six Indigenous Community Forums in 2016-17 that informed our current priorities, which include respect for sacred lands and an Indigenous Community Cultural Center. Our membership represents many sectors of the Flagstaff community and includes members of regional and distant Native nations as well as settler-descendants.

STATEMENT

The Indigenous thought has always begun with, “earth is life,” and was never to be viewed as only material resources to be extracted, wasted, destroyed or polluted. Today, we’re faced with a “superiority” mentality to conquer and defeat for profits with the AZ Snow Bowl owners, who willingly tamper with the laws of nature, using reclaimed water on a sacred site. We’re caught up in the fallacies of a presumed glittering world and at a crossroads, where we need to revisit the universal truths of life. Many generations to come will pay the more we rob them of their future. May they find it in their hearts to forgive us.

Cora Maxx-Phillips, Diné
Member, Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff
Commissioner, Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission

Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff ⬧ FB: Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff ⬧ indigenouscf@gmail.com

Request to Congressman Tom O’Halleran to convene Field Hearings of the Forestry Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee, regarding Arizona Snowbowl—March 8, 2021—FINAL VERSION

Presented by Indigenous Circle of Flagstaff (ICF)

Whereas:

1. Arizona Snowbowl (AS) is located on traditional Indigenous lands held sacred by thirteen distinct Indigenous nations and peoples, operating by means of a Special Use Permit issued by the U.S. Forest Service (FS), which is responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations;
2. FS is obligated under NHPA and Executive Order 13007 to consult with Native spiritual authorities in the management of Native American sacred sites over which it has assumed stewardship;
3. AS is a private business entirely dependent on public resources for its operation, yet for decades FS has supported its expansion plans with the least possible restrictions;
4. Evidence has come to ICF’s attention calling into question FS and AS performance of their responsibilities in specific areas listed below; and
5. AS’s recently announced expansion plan, far more ambitious than anything it has proposed in the past, creates an imperative to identify and repair any damages and areas of mismanagement to date, before any consideration of the new expansion plan,

Therefore, ICF proposes Congressional oversight/field hearings to investigate and address the following issues related to past and recent actions and inactions by FS and other entities:

1. Inadequate ADEQ monitoring of health hazards caused by increased concentration of treated wastewater on the slopes; failure to recognize skiing as a full-contact activity; inadequate monitoring of runoff which appears to have reached beyond the permit area.
2. Failure to respect and protect the threatened endemic San Francisco ragwort, a rare and sacred medicinal plant to Indigenous people, in the construction of the new chairlift;
3. Supplemental Information Reports (SIRs) being used as decision making tools to expand construction activities and visitor capacities beyond those permitted in the 2005 Record of Decision for Arizona Snowbowl Facilities Improvements (2005 ROD), avoiding tribal consultation, public awareness, public participation, and environmental scrutiny;
4. Reports of AS staff ignoring pandemic public health protection requirements;
5. Parking lot expansion in direct violation of the 2005 ROD, along with approximately eight acres of waste fill deposited on Hart Prairie for an unspecified future use, with no environmental analysis, public notification, or Tribal consultation;

ICF further proposes that these hearings consider evidence supporting the following proactive measures:

6. Immediate serious review of the biological impacts of increased use of treated wastewater, including support for research being developed by Dr. Cathy Propper of NAU, regarding the effects of increased concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus on plant and soil communities due to runoff from AS operations;
7. Staying any further development approvals for under NEPA until Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) designation is complete for the Peaks and a TCP Management Plan is in place. Indigenous people are the senior citizens of this land; it is unjust to make them wait while business interests get waived onto the fast lane;
8. Ensuring that decision-making regarding any future AS development plan complies not only with TCP Management but also with EO 13007, NHPA, and UNDRIP. In light of the history and seniority of Indigenous people here, adhering only to minimum legal requirements constitutes insult and injustice.