Pinto Creek, Arizona

As the fifth largest forest in the United States, Arizona's Tonto National Forest occupies nearly three million acres of land and is one of the most visited forests in the US with approximately 5.8 million visitors annually. The forest has outstanding recreational opportunities year round.  Its scenic landscapes range from cactus-studded desert to pine-forested mountain.  The elevation ranges from 1,300 to 8,000 feet providing varied temperatures and ecosystem types, from lake beaches to cool pine forests (Tonto National Forest- USFS).

The Carlota Copper Project

Pinto Creek. Credit: Earthworks

The Carlota Copper Project threatens this national treasure.  Cambior, Inc., a Canadian mining company sold the project to another Canadian Junior mining company called Quadra who is poised to begin construction of an open pit sulfuric heap leach copper mine which will take up 1,400 acres of Tonto National Forest in June, 2007. The mine will be located in the middle of Pinto Creek, a free-flowing desert stream that is one of the last intact river systems in the Sonora desert.  In both 1996 and 1997, American Rivers, a national environmental group, designated Pinto Creek as one of the nation's ten most endangered rivers.  This mining operation poses a significant threat to the aquatic and riparian habitats of Pinto Creek.  A wide variety of wildlife species and migratory birds are supported by the riparian ecosystem along Pinto Creek.  The proposed operations for Carlota call for significant dewatering and diversion of Pinto Creek.  These activities, along with acidic and metal laden mine pollution, present a serious and potentially irreparable harm to the ecological sustainability of the treasured oasis that is Pinto Creek.  The mine will also potentially harm the Superstition Wilderness Area, which is only 2.5 miles away from the proposed site.

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