Today the US House of Representatives passed HR 1904, the Oak Flat Land Exchange with a 235 – 186 vote.  The House also voted several amendments to the bill that wOak Flat Campgroundere offered by Representatives, Grijalva, (D-AZ), Markey (D-MA), and Lujan (D-NM).  This is the first time the land exchange bill has made it through the House in the 6 years it has been introduced.  The bill has never made it through the Senate and the House version of the bill is so bad, it will have tough going in the Senate.  The bill continues to face opposition from both the Forest Service and the Department of Interior.

While the vote is disappointing, it was hardly unexpected given the anti-environmental make up of the House.  Still, it was rewarding to see a great deal of pressure put on the House from all walks of life opposing the Oak Flat land exchange.

We Love Oak Flat

The House Natural Resource Committee will be voting tomorrow, Wednesday, July 13th, on H.R, 1904, the Oak Flat land exchange bill.

Please call Members of the House Natural Resources Commitee today!

This bill is not only an unnecessary piece of special interest legislation that would severely impact precious water, natural resources, and religious freedom, but also would abrogate our nation’s environmental laws and short-circuit the normal process for approving mines on public land.

For more information about the bill see our fact sheet and for additional information see our written testimony submitted to the Natural Resources Committee about the bill.