ICYMI: Canadian Firm Stakes Claims in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

In an inevitable development, a mining company has laid claim to public lands within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  The claims for copper and other minerals sit on lands President Trump illegally tried to strip of national monument protections - an action that Sierra Club and a coalition of other groups have challenged in court.  As the Huffington Post details, the company, Glacier Lake Resources, hopes to buy full mineral rights and begin exploration this summer.

In addition to being located within the original national monument, and therefore likely illegal, the claims at Colt Mesa are close to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Capitol Reef National Park.

This development is part of a rush to lease and develop public lands across the country, including those near beloved parks and public lands, that clearly illustrates the motivations of the Trump administration and Interior Secretary Zinke in stripping lands of protection.

Responses from interested parties:

"Colt Mesa is a terrible place for a mine – there’s little water, no power, and no rail service. Boulder, Utah, is 35 miles away by low-standard roads, and it is doing very well with agriculture and tourism. Boulder is not about to re-imagine itself to serve the mining industry," said Tim Peterson, Utah Wildlands Program Director for Grand Canyon Trust. "Colt Mesa is not just a part of the real Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, it’s right next to Capitol Reef National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and it’s gorgeous. The place is best suited to permanent protection, not extraction. The Canadian company that intends to dig for copper and cobalt in Grand Staircase has already struck a public relations disaster before they’ve even turned a shovel of earth."

“Opening the world’s most spectacular landscapes to industrial ruin is immoral and illegal,” said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s disturbing, but not surprising, that corporate polluters are behind Trump’s monument attacks. We won’t rest until those attacks end.”

“Developing a copper mine on public lands that have been lawfully protected within the Grand-Staircase-Escalante National Monument is an affront to all Americans and the values we share,” said Peter Nelson with Defenders of Wildlife. “Industrial mining operations are certain to scar this spectacular landscape for generations while posing significant threats to prized wildlife and water resources.”

“Utah's public lands are awe-inspiring. People from all over the world marvel at our unmatched landscapes and find solace in our wild spaces. The recreation and tourism industry is a driving force for our local economies and is a gateway for a future that prioritizes healthy communities and a healthy environment,” said Ashley Soltysiak with the Utah Sierra Club. “Protection for these lands is critical to retain Utah's vast natural heritage. These absurd and illegal claims would not only infringe on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument but continue the disturbing trend of encroachments on Capitol Reef National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.”