PHOENIX — It was more than a year ago when Resolution Copper submitted its “Plan of Operations for Pre-Feasibility Activities” to the Tonto National Forest headquarters in Phoenix, outlining increased mineral exploration site work proposed by the company on federal lands in the Oak Flat area.

Teams were set up by the Forest Service to begin “scoping’’ the Resolution proposal, which calls for 22 new drill sites east of Superior along with the continuation of previously authorized exploratory work and monitoring activities on U.S. Forest Service Land.

In the fall of 2009, the Phoenix office of the Tonto Forest said it expected the environmental assessment process involved to be complete and its Decision Notice/Finding of No Significant Impact, or FONSI, to be issued in January 2010.

But in January, the federal agency said the environmental assessment work was still ongoing and officials were in discussions with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the company’s proposed exploration activities. Therefore, we were told a Decision Notice, containing a brief summary of the environmental analysis of this project, was not expected to be made until sometime in March.

It is now more than midway through the month of March.

On Monday of this week, Karyn Bronson Harbour, a geologist with the Tonto National Forest and Team Leader for those studying the Resolution Copper plan told the Arizona Silver Belt it now looks like the Decision Notice won’t be issued for about two more months. The reason: Talks with the Fish and Wildlife Service were still on going as well as the environmental assessment process.

Whenever the Forest Service does issue its FONSI statement, this document is expected to briefly outline why an action will not have a significant effect on the environment. There are usually alternatives listed on the findings to be considered, such as No Action, the Original Proposed Action or Modified Action.

Last April, the Tonto’s headquarters in Phoenix received 21 written comments pertaining to the proposed increased exploration activities by the Superior based copper company needed in the development of its new proposed $4 billion 7,000 foot underground copper mine at Oak Flat. About half of the comments were supportive to the proposed additional exploration work while the remainder of written comments made were negative to the present an any increased activities.

San Carlos Apache Tribal Leaders, who have been the major opponent of the new underground mine 30 miles from the community of San Carlos and who have been successful in blocking company’s land exchange proposal now before Congress, submitted a three page statement against any on going or new exploration in the Oak Flat area.

Signed by San Carlos Tribal Chairman Wendsler Nosie Senior and Vernelda Grant, Director of San Carlos Historic Preservation and Archeology Department, their statement said in part:

“We believe that the proposal Pre-feasibility Plan of Operations EA and any previous attempts to collect traditional Apache perspectives regarding mining activities in the area of Oak Flat and Apache Leap did not involve a meaning full government to government consultation. Therefore, we are providing information on how these proposed activities will seriously harm Apaches.’

“Apaches have traditionally opposed large-scale mining, and the Tribe opposes large-scale mining to this day...........Mining is inconsistent with our conservative, traditional Apache values. We have been taught to respect the natural world, and to keep it clean and natural. Our traditional relationship with the land is deep and personal. We depend on the natural world for our survival, and our survival depends on maintaining our personal relationships with all livings things.”

Chairman Nosie and Director Grant went to tell Tonto National Forest officials in their objections to Resolution’s Plan of Operations for Pre-Feasibility Activities including 22 new drill sites East of Superior that:

“Our word for this earth is Nigosdzan, “ Earth is Woman.” We were taught never to desecrate her by digging deep in her veins.”

“When our ancestors saw disrespectful miners raping Nigosdzan, they responded harshly in a proper, traditional manner. They viewed many of the early White settlers, especially miners, as filthy savages who destroyed the natural world where ever they went through mining, overgrazing, over-hunting or by dirtying the land with their garbage and indiscriminate human waste. Our ancestors found these activities shocking and dangerous”.

San Carlos Apache Tribal leaders have been opposing the Resolution Copper land exchange since 2005 . The land swap presently in its third attempt to try and get Congressional approval for a 2,500 acre land exchange of Tonto Forest lands at Oak Flat with some 5,000 of private lands located elsewhere in Arizona to pave the way for the new mine which would employ from 1,200 to 1,400 workers. There are no manufacturing or mining industries on the San Carlos Reservation even though there is a known coal deposit on the southern part of the reservation. The tribe is in the gaming business owning and operating a casino near Globe. The Apaches rely heavily on grants from the U.S. Government for such projects as building a new hospital, a radio station, new schools, etc.

Ted Lake can be reached at teddlake@yahoo.com.