Background

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San Francisco Peaks

Photo by Cy Wagner

From many places in northern Arizona, the horizon is dramatically marked by three 12,000-foot volcanic peaks that rise out of the Colorado Plateau south of the Grand Canyon and north of Flagstaff. The San Francisco Peaks are sacred to 13 tribes. For the Navajo, the Peaks are the sacred mountain of the west, Doko’oo’sliid, “Shining On Top,” a key boundary marker and a place where medicine men collect herbs for healing ceremonies. To the Hopi, the Peaks are Nuvatukaovi, “The Place of Snow on the Very Top,” home for half of the year to the ancestral kachina spirits who live among the clouds around the summit. When properly honored through song and ceremony, the kachinas bring gentle rains to thirsty corn plants. The peaks are one of the “sacred places where the Earth brushes up against the unseen world,” in the words of Yavapai-Apache Chairman Vincent Randall.

History of the Conflict

The San Francisco Peaks, part of the Coconino National Forest, have long been the source of land-use conflicts. Starting in the late 1800s, the area was extensively logged and grazed. At the same time, the area’s dramatic beauty attracted tourists and the pull for recreational use has not ceased. The area is under the domain of the U.S. Forest Service, which has a mandate to allow multiple uses on its lands. Consequently, the Forest Service allowed the construction of a ski lodge and access road on its northern slopes in the 1930s. Full-scale development—with shops, restaurants and lodges—was first proposed in 1969, but the opposition of several tribes and community groups prevented this initial project.

However, in 1979, the Forest Service approved a new lodge, a paved road and expanded parking, four new lifts and fifty acres of trails to be added to the existing ski area, which would grow to 777 acres. The Native people in the area protested that this invasion imperiled their religious freedom. As the chairman of the Hopi tribe warned, “If the ski resort remains or is expanded, our people will not accept the view that this is the sacred home of the Kachinas. The basis of our existence will become a mere fairy tale.” Despite Hopi and Navajo protests, the Forest Service regional supervisor in 1980 approved the paving of an access road into the Peaks. The Hopi and Navajo filed separate lawsuits to stop the development, while the Forest Service argued that religious rights would be unimpeded, and even facilitated, by the ski lifts. Three years later (the suits having been consolidated into one case, Wilson v. Block), the Hopi and Navajo were unable to convince the District of Columbia Circuit Court that the Peaks were "indispensable" to their religions, and the suit was denied. According to the judge, permitting the Ski Bowl expansion may have "offended" their beliefs, but the Forest Service had faithfully met all the provisions of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978.

In the 1980s, the fashion for “stone-washed” denim jeans added another layer to the jumble of land use claims at the San Francisco Peaks. The White Vulcan Pumice Mine, 7500 feet up on the eastern slopes of the mountain, supplied pumice, which is used to create the “stone-washed” denim effect, and is also used in cement and agriculture. Pumice mining is a destructive process which involves completely removing all vegetation and topsoil. The 90 acre mine was operated by Tufflite until August 28th, 2000 when the federal government brokered an agreement with the company. The process was spurred by Tufflite’s proposal to expand the mine and a Forest Service lawsuit which alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and destruction or damage of archaeological sites. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt was a key player in the process, advocating for the closure of the mine. Tufflite agreed to shut the mine in 6 months, and restore the site within 5 years. The company also gave up its other 49 mining claims and its effort to sell some of the mine to a private buyer. In return the government dropped the lawsuit and paid Tufflite $1 million.

Current Status

The Forest Service went further when it recommended to Secretary Babbitt that 74,000 acres of the Peaks be protected from all new mining claims for 20 years. It has also petitioned to have the area designated a Traditional Cultural Property under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. As a Traditional Cultural Property, the San Francisco Peaks would be permanently shielded from mining.

The present-day Arizona Snow Bowl ski area hosts 30,000 to 180,000 visitors per year. Visitor numbers fluctuate according to the snowfall; hence the resort is seeking to manufacture extra snow using wastewater from the city of Flagstaff. Once again, area tribes and community members are working together to fight this proposal. Because the natural melting snow goes into an aquifer within the mountain which is then piped to provide water for Flagstaff, they fear the waste water in the manufactured snow will pollute the pure mountain water.

The Snowbowl Resort also stated in 1997 that it wanted to add another 66 acres of trails and a major upgrade of existing ski runs, relying on the precedent of the 1979 Forest Service decision. The snow-making proposal and expansion plans are now being considered by the Coconino National Forest, subject to a full environmental investigation as stipulated in the National Environmental Policy Act. The first step in this process occurred in September 2002 when the Forest released a Proposed Action in response to the Arizona Snowbowl’s proposal. This will be followed by an Environmental Impact Statement, an investigation of alternatives and public hearings.

Lessons Learned

The history and ongoing conflict at the San Francisco Peaks is a good example of the sometimes contradictory positions taken by a single government agency, and the potential influence of community pressure. The Forest Service has gone from encouraging skiing outright to nominating the area for permanent protected status to considering resort expansions. By subjecting the new proposal to full environmental review, the Forest Service is at least giving room for public comment on the future of the mountain. The story highlights the effectiveness of local coalitions of tribal groups, activists, and ordinary citizens. This coalition is also active in the fight to stop Peabody Coal Company’s depletion of the aquifer beneath Black Mesa.

However, it also illustrates the limitations of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. AIRFA’s wording has been interpreted narrowly by the courts; in the example of the San Francisco Peaks, because the ski resort did not prevent the tribes from practicing their religion, the court found that the legislation did not apply. There is no provision for a substantial negative impact on religious practices. In addition, AIRFA is more effective when a specific site can be designated, such as a shrine, but the act is unable to take into account situations which involve an entire landscape, as is often the case with sacred places. The Peaks are a classic example of a large area—the center of a 100 mile radius landscape—which has been used by more than a dozen tribes over centuries, including foot trails, shrines, and view sheds. Due to the weaknesses of AIRFA, the Section 106 process of National Historic Preservation Act may be the best protection at the moment. In the long term, it points to the need for a new, stronger sacred law to protect sacred landscapes.

Finally, the mining at the San Francisco Peaks is another example of the urgent need for a revision of the antiquated 1872 Mining Law, which allows companies to mine on public land for minimal or no fees.

Reprinted from www.sacredland.org

Resources

* Northern Arizona University’s website provides a Land Use History of North America, Colorado Plateau, with 26 entries including the San Francisco Peaks

* “Coalition Ushers a Mine off Sacred Ground,” by Christopher McLeod, High Country News, September 11, 2000

* Arizona Snowbowl Upgrade Proposed Action