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March 26, 2007
Update: Save the Peaks
The 2006 National MEChA action hosted at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ was in support of the Save the Peaks coalition. The slopes of the San Francisco Peaks, located in Northern Arizona, have been at the center of a historical and lengthy battle that has pitted economic interests on public lands against environmental integrity, public health and cultural survival. A local ski resort planned to expand and use treated waste effluent to make snow.
MEChA de NAU reported that on Monday, March 12th the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling to protect a mountain held holy by more than 13 Native American Nations.
The federal court appeals panel issued the unanimous decision written by Judge William A. Fletcher. "We reverse the decision of the district court in part. We hold that the Forest Service’s approval of the Snowbowl’s use of recycled sewage effluent to make artificial snow on the San Francisco Peaks violates [Religious Freedom Restoration Act] RFRA, and that in one respect the Final Environmental Impact Statement prepared in this case does not comply with NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act]."
