Comment period closed May 4th.
Thanks to the hundreds of thousands who sent comments to President Obama.

The Grand Canyon, the crown jewel of our National Park system, is threatened by mining.

Most of the mining claims are for uranium.

Unfortunately, uranium mining can and often does harm soil, ground and surface water. It also leaves radioactive wastes that last for years -- wastes that can and have made people sick.

The Grand Canyon is threatened because uranium mining, like other metals on public lands, is governed by the antiquated 1872 Mining Law -- a law which has no environmental standards; a law which makes mining a priority over all other uses of public lands.

Mining moratorium ending

In 2009, over 100,000 public comments caused the Department of Interior to create a two-year moratorium on mining around the Grand Canyon -- a moratorium that is about to end.

TAKE ACTION: Tell President Obama  -- "Don't Undermine the Grand Canyon"

The Obama administration is poised to issue a decision that will determine whether or not the sensitive ecosystems around the Grand Canyon will be protected for another 20 years.

We need your help to make sure that President Obama protects the treasured landscapes around the Grand Canyon by putting roughly one million acres of national forests and other public lands around its boundaries off limits to new mining claims.

Please send a message today to the President on behalf of the Grand Canyon -- and all Americans, present and future, who hope to experience it without uranium mining pollution.

The comment period ends May 4th, 2011.

Instructions:

• Read the sample letter at page bottom that appears and edit it if possible. Customized letters have greater impact.
• Click "Send My Message" to send your letter to President Obama and the Bureau of Land Management.

More information:

• Bureau of Land Management: Proposed mineral withdrawal near Grand Canyon
• EARTHWORKS fact sheet: Uranium mining 101
• EARTHWORKS: 1872 Mining Law
• New York Times editorial: The Grand Canyon Gold Rush
• Arizona Daily Star: Board supports plan to limit Canyon mining, aid wildlife
• Change.org: Razing Arizona? Citizens Fight to Protect the Grand Canyon from Uranium Mining