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AZ Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Protect Oak Flat From Copper Mine

The Oak Flat campground on the Tonto National Forest
Ryan Heinsius/KNAU
The Oak Flat campground on the Tonto National Forest

Democratic Representative Raul Grijalva has introduced legislation to protect a sacred Indigenous site in central Arizona from being developed into what would be the largest copper mine in the country.

The Save Oak Flat Act would overturn 2014 legislation that authorized the land to be traded to the multinational mining company Rio Tinto. Oak Flat is considered sacred by Apache, and other native people, and holds religious and cultural significance. Legislation to authorize the exchange failed many times in Congress before it was inserted as a rider into a defense spending bill by the late Arizona Senator John McCain. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is expected to introduce a companion protection bill in the Senate.