Conglomerate Mesa, a wild landscape on the western doorstep of Death Valley National Park boasts expansive views, rare plants, diverse wildlife and cultural importance. A cyanide open-pit gold mine proposal has resurfaced in this region which could threaten:
- Scarce water in the region
- Joshua tree woodlands
- The imperiled Inyo rock daisy which is found nowhere else on Earth
- Red ochre clay, integral to the identity and traditions of the Timbisha Tribe
- Burrowing owls and other birds and wildlife that attempt to drink or bathe in cyanide-laced water
The Bureau of Land Managment is collecting input on exploratory drilling that would take place before the damaging mine can move forward. Please submit a personalized comment opposing exploratory drilling.
In order to make sure comments are considered unique, please select from two or three points from the list included below as part of your comment.
Photo credit: Neal Nurmi
INCLUDE SOME OF THE FOLLOWING REASONS YOU OPPOSE DRILLING AT CONGLOMERATE MESA IN ORDER TO MAKE YOUR COMMENT MORE UNIQUE.
Things that are wrong with the proposed project proposal:
- The project proposal fails to adequately prioritize the protection of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) in this region, as mandated by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
- The project proposal fails to adequately analyze the potential impacts to the nationally significant scientific, ecological, and cultural values of the California Desert National Conservation that overlap with the proposed project boundary.
- The project proposal fails to adequately protect the Lands with Wilderness Characteristics within the proposed project boundary, especially the potential impacts to the naturalness of these lands.
- The project proposal fails to comply with the Desert Renewable Energy and Conservation Plan’s protections for vegetation in the Conglomerate Mesa area, including Western Joshua trees and the rare and endemic Inyo rock daisy. It also fails to adequately analyze the impacts from the proposed roadbuilding on these imperiled plants.
- The project proposal fails to analyze reasonably foreseeable adverse environmental effects of the proposed project, especially effects from drill sumps, on wildlife such as Nelson’s bighorn desert sheep and Inyo mule deer, at least 5 species of bats, Le Conte’s Thrasher, and northern sagebrush lizard.
- The project proposal fails to adequately analyze the surface disturbance impacts (e.g., fugitive dust, erosion, and introduction of non-native plant species) that would be caused by road building and repetitive driving of large vehicles with equipment up and down the mesa.
- The project proposal states that Tribal consultation is on-going but fails to mention any evidence that tribal input has been meaningfully incorporated into the agency’s environmental analysis or the shaping of project alternatives. The BLM must engage in meaningful consultation with the Tribes with cultural ties to the Conglomerate Mesa region, including the Timbisha Shoshone and other Paiute-Shoshone peoples.
Alternatives that the BLM should have considered but did not:
- BLM should consider and analyze an alternative that only allows 60 exploration drill holes instead of 120.
- BLM should consider and analyze an alternative that only allows drill holes to about half the depth to protect groundwater resources (i.e., 450 feet instead of 984 feet).
- BLM should consider and analyze an alternative that calls for reduced work hours (i.e., no operations between sunset and sunrise).
- BLM should consider and analyze an alternative that excludes drill sites in the “Dragonfly”. Since all of the Dragonfly area drill sites are in an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), this would allow BLM to balance the perceived need for mineral exploration with the prioritization of protecting ACECs that the Federal Land Management and Policy Act mandates BLM to do.
- BLM should consider and analyze an alternative the requires the project proponent to use potable water trucks in order to better protect the plants and wildlife from potential toxins.
- BLM should consider and analyze the use of settling tanks instead of sump pits, which would allow the proponent to recycle the water and thus use less water.
