Legislative Information

See H.R.1351 - 118th Congress (2023-2024) for current status on the Save Oak Flat Act. 

See Becket Law for case information regarding Apache Stronghold v. United States | Case Media

See Apache Stronghold Press Releases

See Project Update for Resolution Copper Project and Land Exchange, Environmental Impact Statement

March 6, 2023 | Ranking Democrat Raul Grijalva Introduces Save Oak Flat From Foreign Mining Act to Protect Sacred Site in Central Arizona 

October 7, 2021 | RE: Freedom of Information Act Tracking Number 2021-FS-R3-05821-F | Final determination letter to Center For Biological Diversity from USDA Forest Service, Southwestern Regional Office regarding FOIA request. | Apache Stronghold response "This shows that the decision to swap the land was made prior to the completion of an appraisal of the value of the land(Oak Flat) to be traded. How can anyone accept this? Congressional leaders never had the best intention for anyone. Let's stand together to stop this. This sets the precedent that all places will be destroyed no matter what faith and without any care for the environment." Wendsler Nosie Sr."
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September 2021 | Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-AZ, introduced the H.R. 1884 Save Oak Flat Act (SOFA) earlier this year. It is now included in the House’s $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill. H.R. 1884 will repeal Section 3003 land exchange of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, introduced an identical bill (S 915) in the Senate. The Save Oak Flat Act (SOFA) would protect a 2,422-acre site known as Chí’chil Biłdagoteel (Oak Flat), the foundation of traditional Western Apache culture and religion. Congress now has a historic opportunity to protect American Indian cultural and religious resources by enacting the Save Oak Flat Act, which is currently included in the House version of the budget reconciliation legislation in  Subtitle B—Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands 3 SEC. 70201. OAK FLAT WITHDRAWAL on page 10.
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April 13, 2021 | Legislative Hearing | Natural Resources Committee, The Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States (SCIP) will host a virtual, fully remote legislative hearing on the following tribal-related legislation: H.R. 1884 (Rep. Raúl Grijalva), To repeal section 3003 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, and for other purposes. MORE INFORMATION: https://naturalresources.house.gov/hearings/legislative-hearing-on-save-oak-flat-act. WATCH HEARING LIVE:  Tuesday, April 13, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. (EDT). Watch https://youtu.be/07lQnARcxZU (YouTube)
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03/15/2021 | News Release  House Bill Introduced to Save Sacred Oak Flat, in Arizona, From Massive Copper Mine | Center for Biological Diversity
 
03/01/2021 | US Forest Service Rescinds Resolution Copper Final Impact Statement | Arizona Mining Oversight, Oak Flat Mining | See Forest Service Statement
 
01/15/2021 | Tonto National Forest releases final Environmental Impact Statement, draft decision for Resolution Copper Project and Land Exchange  The public may access the FEIS and draft ROD along with related documents on the project website at https://www.resolutionmineeis.us/. 
 
 
 
12/15/2020 | Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Blasts Forest Service on Rushed Resolution Copper Process | The President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), the Federal Government overseers of agency compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), sent a letter to Acting Tonto National Forest Supervisor, Tom Torres, critiquing the Tonto National Forest’s (Tonto or TNF) failure to comply with United States cultural preservation laws. The letter was prompted by a request from the San Carlos Apache Tribe that the Council look into the review process Tonto has used for the proposed Resolution Copper project. The ACHP rebuke also reflected analyses provided in letters from the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, Archaeology Southwest, and Tom Wright.
 

2019 RESOLUTION COPPER PROJECT DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (DEIS) 

08/09/2019 | DRAFT EIS RELEASED - The DEIS for the Resolution Copper Project and Land Exchange. PROJECT UPDATE
See Public Hearing Comments Transcripts from the public scoping period on the Draft EIS.
10/09/2020 | Apache Stronghold Comments on the Resolution Copper Project Draft EIS |   Download (PDF; 38 MB)  Please be patient for download. This is a very large file. 

March 12, 2020 HEARING TO REPEAL THE OAK FLAT LAND EXCHANGE Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States