Environmental

Department of Interior Approves Wind Project Despite Objection of Tribes

Adrea Korthase

From  U~T San Diego here:

Native American tribal officials remain concerned about artifacts as well as the basic visual intrusion on a landscape tied to the creation stories of several nearby tribes.

“That’s part of these people’s spiritual identity, and yet they want to put up turbines and destroy and interfere with that reverence and the serenity of what the creator gave them,” said John Bathke, a historic preservation officer for the Quechan Indian Tribe.

And

“We understand that they have those concerns with regard to consultation,” said Erin Curtis, a spokeswoman for the BLM in Sacramento. Federal policy on tribal consultation, she said, “doesn’t necessarily require agreement all of the time.”

The Bureau of Land Management Press Release is here.

The Record of Decision, Final EIS, and other information from the BLM can be found here.

Update in Lower Elwha Fish Hatchery Suit

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here are the additional materials in Wild Fish Conservancy v. National Park Service (W.D. Wash.):

34 Fed Defs’ Reply in Support ofMot to Dismiss FILED 5-4-2012

34-1 Fed Defs’ Ex 7 FILED 5-4-2012

35 Elwha Defs’ Reply in Supportof Mot to Dismiss FILED 5-4-2012

37 Pls’ Surreply to Feds’ Reply re Motion for Partial Dismissal FILED 5-9-2012

Prior posts were here and here and here.

New Scholarship on Energy Development in Indian Country

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Heather J. Tanana and John C. Ruple have published “Energy Development in Indian Country: Working within the Realm of Indian Law and Moving Towards Collaboration” in the Utah Environmental Law Review.

Federal Court Suit Filed to Stop Mining Activities in Northern Michigan/Upper Peninsula Mine

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in Huron Mountain Club v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (W.D. Mich.):

Huron Mountain Club Complaint

Huron Mountain Club Brief in Support of PI Motion

Here is the Interlochen Public Radio coverage of the suit. An excerpt:

A private club in the Upper Peninsula has filed a federal lawsuit suit to stop the construction of a new mine in Marquette County. The nickel and copper mine, owned by Kennecott Eagle Minerals, has received permits from the state. But the Huron Mountain Club says the U.S. Army Corps needs to review the project to make sure it doesn’t violate the Clean Water Act.

The club owns nearly 20,000 acres of forest downstream from the mine on the Salmon Trout River. The lawsuit says sulfuric acid produced by sulfide mining could pollute the river. And the club is “horror-struck” by the prospect of the watershed collapsing because part of the mine will be dug directly underneath it. The lawsuit also says the federal government needs to consider the potential for damage to Eagle Rock, a site near the entrance to the mine that is sacred to American Indians.

Kennecott says the mine has been extensively reviewed and survived multiple legal challenges going back to 2006. Eagle Mine has been under construction since 2010 and the company says it is 75 percent built.

IPR on KBIC/Bad River Letter to UN Special Rapporteur re: Mining

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

A tribe in the Upper Peninsula is appealing to the United Nations in an effort to restrain sulfide mining. The tribe hopes to strengthen its position through an international agreement signed by the Obama Administration.

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community says mines that produce sulfuric acid can pollute the water and threaten places sacred to tribes in the Great Lakes. The Keweenaw tribe fought the Eagle Mine, a new copper and nickel mine under construction in Marquette County.

The owner, Kennecott Eagle Minerals says it is leading a resurgence of mining in the Upper Peninsula.

One of the issues raised was the mine’s proximity to Eagle Rock, a rock outcropping that has been used for sacred ceremonies. Eagle Rock is prominently cited in a document sent to the United Nations. It says tribes are overwhelmed by the development of new mines and the State of Michigan does not consider their cultures when issuing permits.

Many American Indian tribes are raising issues like these with the U.N. now because the U.S. endorsed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People in 2010. A U.N. official is visiting this week to gather information about implementing the declaration.

An attorney for the Keweenaw tribe says the declaration is not law, it’s a political document that sets out principles. But she says it could lead to new laws that would help tribes in the Great Lakes region oppose sulfide mining.

Eastern Shoshone Moves to Enter N. Arapaho Eagle Suit against FWS as Amicus in Opposition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here:

Eastern Shoshone Motion for Amicus Status

Keweenaw Bay and Bad River Chippewa Media Release on Report on Mining to UN Special Rapporteur

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here (Media release. Bad River 5.2.2012):

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa recently collaborated on a Statement of Information submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples documenting concerns about the activities of multinational mining corporations in Anishinabe territories.  The Statement of Information is available here http://www.badriver-nsn.gov/images/stories/docs/activities_anishinaabeg.pdf.

Today, members of the Bad River Band Council are attending a consultation with the UN Special Rapporteur in Mission, South Dakota.  Representatives from Keweenaw Bay Indian Community plan to attend another consultation with the UN Special Rapporteur later this month.

Update in Wild Fish Conservancy v. National Park Service (Lower Elwha Fish Hatchery)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

Here are some additional briefs:

31 Pls’ Reponse to Fed’s Mot forPartial Dismissal FILED 4-30-2012

32 Pls’ Reponse to Tribal Mot to Dismiss FILED 4-30-2012

31 Pls’ Reponse to Fed’s Mot forPartial Dismissal FILED 4-30-2012

Our previous posts on this case are here and here.

First Tribal National Park Proposed in the Badlands

Kate Fort

From the press release:

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis today announced the release of the final General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement for the South Unit of Badlands National Park, recommending the establishment of the nation’s first tribal national park in partnership with the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

***

The South Unit of Badlands National Park is entirely within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota. The Park Service and the Tribe have worked together to manage the South Unit’s 133,000 acres for almost 40 years. If a tribal national park is enabled by Congress through legislation, the Oglala Sioux people could manage and operate their lands for the educational and recreational benefit of the general public, including a new Lakota Heritage and Education Center.

Tribal Friend of the Court Brief Filed in Support of Killing Sea Lions Near Bonneville Dam

Adrea Korthase

Link to the story and brief via OPB here.