By Luke Koenig, Gila Grassroots Organizer
Recently, and as you may have heard, our community learned about a new mining threat near the village of Pinos Altos.
Ivanhoe Electric has recently obtained hundreds of mining claims that surround Pinos Altos and encompass over 13,000 acres on public land administered by both the Forest Service and BLM. In addition to their staggering proximity to both a beloved historic village and a Benedictine monastery, these claims overlap with not one, but two Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs), the internationally famous Continental Divide National Scenic Trail ( CDT), and are either directly on top of or just next to some of the Silver City community’s most cherished local hiking trails. Not to mention covering both sides of the main road leading to the Gila Wilderness—the “Gateway to the World’s First Wilderness.”
In short, these mining interests couldn’t have picked a more inappropriate area for mining. But they couldn’t have possibly picked a better area had they tried, if their goal was to ensure outrage and fierce resistance by the local community.
Fortunately, it’s still early in the game, with a proposal for initial exploratory mining activities still in the works.
We have time to mount our opposition, and we’re working with our partners to ensure that our voices are heard as we oppose this threat together.
These new mining claims surrounding Pinos Altos come quickly on the heels of a slate of recent Trump Administration Executive Orders and policy statements that seek to further prioritize mining.
To add insult to injury, in the Trump Administration’s quest to dismantle democratic processes, traditional levers of power, and access to public engagement opportunities—such as the National Environmental Policy Act—are being simultaneously attacked and eroded. Meaning we might now have to work much, much more creatively to make our voices heard.
The Gila region is storied for its legendary conservationists and dazzling conservation successes. It’s this very landscape where the whole story of wilderness protection began, and it’s this community that fended off numerous serious attempts to dam one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Southwest. Just to name a few.
This will be no different. Time and time again, this landscape and the people who love it have made the impossible possible. We’re going to do everything we can to protect the Pinos Altos landscape for generations to come. And we need your help.
Stay tuned for updates as we monitor and respond to this new threat.
