‘Native Unity’ In The Wall Street Journal

December 10th, 2009 by admin

By Kathy Helms

WINDOW ROCK – Thomas Walker Jr. failed to get enough support Thursday from the Navajo Nation Council for legislation expressing strong opposition to a proposed expansion of the Arizona Snowbowl because, as delegate Ervin Keeswood, pointed out, it wasn’t clear what aspect the Nation is opposing.

Meantime, U.S. Sens. John McCain, and John Kyl, both R-Ariz., and U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., have sent a second letter to the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture asking for a briefing on why the Forest Service is delaying moving forward with the expansion.

McCain sent a letter Oct. 14 asking USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack for a meeting to discuss implementation of the May 2005 Record of Decision issued by the Forest Service for the Arizona Snowbowl Facilities Improvement Project.

McCain said the record of decision was successfully upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and a petition for a writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court was subsequently denied.

“The Justice Department has devoted considerable taxpayer resources defending Forest Service actions in Navajo Nation vs. Forest Service. Arizona Snowbowl has spent an estimated $5 million over the past eight years working through Forest Service procedures and the legal and administrative appeals process,” McCain said.

“Nevertheless, it appears that the department is seeking to indefinitely delay or outright cancel the ROD, which would be disastrous for Arizona Snowbowl and would establish sweeping precedence for all other permittees on federal lands who pursue the administrative process for project approvals.”

The administration’s continued reluctance to implement the record of decision is perplexing, he said, and necessitates a briefing on the project at the earliest possible date.

Thomas Walker Jr., sponsor of the resolution to oppose the expansion, told Council, “The legislation is an emergency one. I think the situation right now warrants attention at this level.”

The legislation is basically to reaffirm an earlier position of Council taken in April.

“We took a strong position to send a message to all concerned, especially to the federal government … that this Nation and the Council, the leadership here, strongly oppose any expansion proposals on the San Francisco Peaks,” Walker said. “We want to sit down and talk to our congressional representatives.”

Owners of the Arizona Snowbowl have proposed expanding the ski area and using reclaimed sewer water from the city of Flagstaff to make artificial snow at the ski resort, located on a mountain considered sacred and holy by 13 Arizona tribes, including the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe. The tribes have battled the Forest Service decision all the way to the Supreme Court and even sought President Obama’s assistance in protecting the sacred mountain.

The Save the Peaks Coalition and nine citizens filed suit in September in federal district court in Arizona against the Forest Service over potential health risks associated with using the treated sewage effluent, alleging that the Final Environmental Impact Statement ignores the possibility of human ingestion of snow made from treated sewer water.

Keeswood said he could find no documents attached to the legislation pertaining to the expansion. “There’s nothing that details what the expansion is. We have a reference to legislation CAP-16-09, which doesn’t oppose expansion. Rather, that document speaks to the issue of desecration of the Peaks. So there’s two different subject matters in front of us almost in the same legislation.”

In order to make it a good statement and position by the Council, he said they would need further documentation that indicates why Council on behalf of the Navajo Nation, opposes the expansion. “Without knowing the totality of the expansion, it’s difficult,” he said. “We need clarity.”

Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan said Council had a choice to table the proposed legislation and wait on attachments or vote it down and ask for a new legislation.

Delegate Amos Johnson said he supported the resolution and urged Council to take a strong position to oppose any expansion, but motioned to table it until they received more documentation. The motion was seconded by Curran Hannon and the resolution tabled, 37-22, with a request for the sponsor to bring it back to Council as soon as possible.