Contact your Senators today to remove the Oak Flat land exchange from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
In a highly controversial move last week, the US House of Representatives buried the Oak Flat land exchange deep in the House version of the NDAA. For 10 years, the land exchange has failed to be become law for very good reasons:
- It is the only bill before the US Congress that would give a Native American Sacred site on public land to a foreign mining company;
- It would mean the largest loss of recreational rock climbing opportunities on public land
- And it bypasses the normal process of permitting mines on public land.
President Eisenhower placed Oak Flat off limits to mining 60 year ago and it remains an ecological, spiritual and recreational haven.
In spite of the will of Congress not to pass the Oak Flat land exchange, its supporters snuck the bill into the defense bill (Section 3003 on page 1103 of a 1,600 page bill). The language of the bill was changed, but is still completely unacceptable.
Please contact your Senator immediately and ask him/her to remove Section 3003, (the new number for the Oak Flat land exchange) and to pass a clean Defense bill.