Five tribes seek to protect Mount Taylor from development
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6/12/2008 - 6/13/08
The state Cultural Properties Review Committee will reconsider a decision to temporarily list Mount Taylor as a cultural resource at a public hearing Saturday in Grants.In February, the committee approved a temporary listing of 422,840 acres including and around Mount Taylor at the request of five tribes — Navajo, Hopi, Acoma, Laguna and Zuni.
"The tribes were concerned over the years with the unimpeded development" in the area, said Theresa Pasqual, director of the Acoma Pueblo Historic Preservation Office.
The temporary listing gives the tribes and the state Historic Preservation Division one year to gather evidence to get the mountain permanently listed.
The new public hearing was prompted by a recent state attorney general finding that the committee had failed to properly advertise the February meeting and some impacted landowners weren't notified.
The listing is a hot-button issue in the region right now, and the hearing is expected to draw an overflow crowd. The hearing will be held at the Grants Community Center at 1 p.m.
State Sen. David Ulibarri, D-Grants, said the listing was "another ploy to stop uranium mining." He said other sites listed as cultural resources, like El Malpais, have essentially been closed to traditional uses like grazing.
"This issue is dividing our community, and I don't like that," said Ulibarri, the Cibola County manager. "The decision was premature. They didn't think this out."
Mount Taylor is a sacred mountain to many tribes and pueblos along the Rio Grande, Pasqual said. It is one of the four sacred mountains of the Navajo Nation, which has banned uranium mining on its tribal lands.
In a 95-page application, the tribes said without the cultural properties listing, they would not be able to protect sacred sites from ongoing development.
"The tribes don't want to shut access to the mountain," said Pasqual. "They know many of our neighbors love to utilize the mountain, just as we do. They don't want to shut out development near the mountain because we understand the need for economic development. But they want to be consulted when projects are proposed."
Katherine Slick, the state's historic preservation officer, said listing Mount Taylor wouldn't stop mining, but opens up the mining permit process to broader public review. It also would require state agencies like the mining division to consult with her office.
Slick said she was surprised by the attorney general's opinion, "only in that we followed the same process we have used for years and not had a review. But we took the recommendations to heart."
Bill Brancard, director of the state's Mining and Minerals Division, said the agency notifies tribes when an energy company has applied for a drilling or exploratory permit and asks for comments. But with Mount Taylor, the division didn't know about all the tribes that have cultural and sacred ties to the area, he said.
If Mount Taylor was listed on the cultural properties list, mining companies wanting to drill within listed boundaries would be unable to seek a minimal impact permit, which has a speeded-up review process. They would have to apply for a regular permit, which requires a more extensive review.
While the federal government and some state agencies have a process in place for consulting with tribes regarding projects, the mining division is still developing one, Brancard said. "This is new for the state working with private landowners and tribes," he said.
Contact Staci Matlock at 470-9843 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.