Empire-Fagan Public Town Hall Meeting

Empire Mountains and Limestone Cliffs in Davidson Canyon
(photo by Kathie Brown 8-13-08)

Empire-Fagan Coalition

Public Town Hall

Objective:
Rally public support in opposition to CalPortland's proposed mining operations in Davidson Canyon. Specifically, we are facilitating a public response to the Clean Water Act "404 Permit" that CalPortland has applied for. CalPortland must have this permit to be able to build a haul road across the biologically sensitive canyon.

Date/Time:
Wednesday, August 26th, 6:00 pm

Venue:
Corona de Tucson Fire Station 99 Tallahassee Street Corona de Tucson

Program:

6:00 pm - Opening

6:05 pm - Welcome and Opening Remarks
Mike Carson, President, Empire-Fagan Coalition

6:15 pm - Speakers
- Gayle Hartman, President, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas
- Roger Featherstone, Arizona Mining Reform Coalition
- Ray Carroll, Pima County Supervisor

6:45 pm - Expert Panel / Q&A
- Lainie Levick, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas
- Claire Zucker, Pima Association of Governments
- Trevor Hare, Sky Island Alliance

7:30 - Music compliments of Fire Chief Whitehouse and his band

For more information: Empire Fagan Coalition

Tucson Weekly: Save Davidson Canyon/Fight CalPortland

A Hike Through Davidson Canyon

(Charlie, Charlotte, Mike, Jean and Sandra prepare to go birding.)

Click on photos to enlarge for better viewing

It is Wednesday morning and I am rushing to get out of the house for another birding adventure. This time I am meeting a group of people at Andrada Ranch to bird part of the Davidson Canyon Wash. While I have birded Cienega Creek a few months ago, I have yet to bird Davidson Canyon which runs between Mt. Fagan and the Santa Rita Mountains on the West and the Empire Mountains on the East. The north end of Davidson Canyon flows into Cienega Creek Preserve while the south end begins near the Rosemont Junction and the proposed Rosemont Mine. It is here that the Rosemont Mine wants to dump all of their mine tailings if their mining plan is ever approved. The Scenic Sonoita Highway runs through this canyon past Las Cienegas on the east, and The Greaterville Rd, Box Canyon and Gardner Canyon, all sensitive environmental areas and the locations of some of the most important birding areas around the Tucson area.

When I arrive at the ranch I am greeted graciously by my hosts. A table is set under tall pines and mesquite with a steaming pot of coffee and homemade pastries to boot. It is some of the best coffee I have ever had, but I only take a few sips as I don't know how long we will be gone, I don't know these people, and I don't want to have to go find a cactus halfway through the hike to relieve myself! We grab our gear and head south down the wash from Andrada Ranch. Gray skies provide some relief from the desert sun as we enter the wash. Desert broom brushes up against us as we pad along the sandy bottom. People engage in friendly chatter as we walk. It is strangely quiet at first, but there is still a lot to see.

Charlie is the caretaker of Andrada Ranch and besides being an excellent cook, he is a wealth of knowledge. He points out this beautiful wild morning glory blooming alongside the wash. I have to say that I am astonished since I have never seen a wild morning glory in the west. I have seen its cousin, bind weed up in Utah, but this is new to me. I feel I can fall into the depths of that blue.

Next Charlie points out this wild gourd growing alongside the wash.

And then we find a spider waiting in its nest. Do you know what kind this is?

We round a slight bend with some mesquite trees. I feel so responsible to find birds for these people, but so far we are not seeing much. Then, I see a shape like a thick stick on a branch of this mesquite tree that shouldn't have such a thick stump. To my delight I've spotted a barn owl and this time I am prepared! Everyone gathers around for a look before the bird flies off.

Charlotte and Mike in deep conversation as they hike past one of the canyon's cliffs.

Devil's Claw Blossom.

Devil's Claw seed pod which will dry and become the devil's claw.

Yellow wildflower. Do you see the face in the blooms?

We've been hearing birdsong for awhile now but they all seem to be off in the brush and hiding behind leaves. Suddenly this male flies out to sing from the bent stem of a last year's agave bloom. These flowers can grow to over 15 feet high with stems like tree trunks. Their silhouette's dot the desert landscape.

A bit farther up ahead Charlie is the one to spot this bird atop a hackberry tree. When the bird comes into focus with my binoculars my excitement grows for if it is what I think it is, it will be a new life bird for me. I quickly switch to my camera and start snapping photos. I inch a little closer, for the bird is across the wash and up on the bank, but I do get close enough to get these shots, and though I had to crop and enlarge the photo quite a bit, you can see the characteristic bunting shape and the slight red on the back of the head, along with the bluish body. This is a Varied Bunting and a rare find indeed. For me, it is yet another lifer making this hike well worth it.

Next we find a Velvet Ant, which I am told is not an ant at all, but a wing-less wasp. And yes, I am told it does sting, so I keep my distance as I take this picture.

We leave the wash now heading up an old dirt road to the west. A flock of Lark Sparrows flies up from the grass and one lands on an ocatillo high above on the canyon's slope where I am able to finally get a decent picture with the soft filtered light from the still overcast skies. It certainly looks and feels like rain.


In the middle of the dirt road we find a hornworm. those are charlie's fingertips to give you an idea of the size. It's munching on the tiniest bit of greenery and hanging on for dear life. It doesn't look like much of a meal to me.

As we ascend the west hill we look back to the spine of the Empire Mountains to the east. The silver ribbon of a road you see here will turn into a wide gravel track that will carry monster trucks from the proposed SEEL Limestone mine. If this mine goes through these hills will become rubble that will be seen from the once Scenic Sonoita Highway and huge mining trucks will rumble up and down this narrow and winding canyon road on a regular basis.



Before us I see the remnants of the previous limestone mining operation. The stone itself is beautiful, but the scar on the landscape is not. This scar is left over from a small mom and pop mining operation. I can't help but wonder what it will look like if a big corporation takes over and brings heavy machinery in here.

This rock squirrel has no idea it may loose this lookout spot and its home, perhaps even its life.

The evidence of past mining attempts are left to litter the hillside.

This is just part of the limestone cliff created by the previous mine. I gaze down into a white hole 20 feet deep and 75 feet or more across. Mark Winkleman from the Arizona State Land Trust says it is okay to mine in this area, since it has been mined before, but though these scars are ugly and dangerous, they are nothing compared to the proposed mining operations they have planned now.


Here you see a view of the existing former limestone mine in relation to the Empire Mountains behind it, but if the Cal-Portland Mine and the SEEL Mine go in, you will never see these hills and mountain slopes this way again. Where will the Varied Buntings, barn owls, blue grosbeaks and Lark Sparrows go then? Where will the rock squirrels live? And where will we find such a peaceful place to hike, for the canyon will ring with the sounds of blasting and our lovely dark skies will be flooded with the high powered lights needed to run the mines 24 hours a day. And perhaps the biggest issue of all will be the water. Where will the water come from to run these mines and what will happen to Davidson Canyon when the rains come and the runoff flows downhill to Ceinega Creek Preserve?

We end our hike back at Andrada Ranch where I am served lemonade and scones. We review the birds we have seen today and discuss another possible birding expedition in the fall when the Autumn migrants will be passing through. Then I bid my gracious hosts good-bye and drive up across the Davidson Canyon wash, to old Sonoita Highway. As I drive home I wonder if I am seeing the end of a lifestyle here in Davidson Canyon, or the beginning of a new wave of conservation, where wildlife and nature take precedent over the quick buck. It is my hope that the preservation of this beautiful and sensitive area will prevail. This is truly a unique natural area unlike any other place in Arizona or the United states. I believe it should be preserved now, and for the generations to come.

To Learn More visit the Empire Fagan Coalition Website or view the short Arizona Illustrated Video from KUAT TV: Collisions on the Frontier.

Other Links:

Limestone Madness/Tucson Weekly

Sahuarita Residents Hear Mine Talk/Vail Sun

One Man's Stance Against Rosemont/ Tucson Citizen

Birds Seen:

Location: Andrada Ranch
Observation
date: 8/13/08
Notes: Andrada
Ranch/Davidson Canyon South from Ranch to Limestone Mine.
2 hummingbird sp.

Number of species: 12

Gambel's Quail 1
White-winged Dove 8
Greater Roadrunner 1
Barn Owl 1
Verdin 2
Cactus Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Lark Sparrow 10
Northern Cardinal 2
Black-headed Grosbeak 1
Blue Grosbeak 2
Varied Bunting 3

This report
was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/)

Note: All of today's photography is by Kathie with the Nikon D80, 70-300mm lens set in sports mode for birds, bugs, and buds, and landscape mode for all other shots.

Wednesday Morning Wake Up

(Mt. Fagan)

I wipe my groggy eyes and roll over in bed. The room is dark and cozy with a soft gray light. I wonder what time it is since it feels later but the room is still so dark. It’s 7:45 a.m., long past the time when the sun should have illuminated my room like the high beams of a truck parked outside. I snuggle into the covers, enjoying this overcast morning. Breezy Boy, my cat, curls up into the hollow of my body and purrs away. I am thinking that maybe I will stay in bed and enjoy this luxury just a few moments longer but suddenly I hear scratching on the patio door. Gus had let the dog out just before he left and now Blossom wants to come in.

I trundle out of bed and open the door. Blossom prances in like she owns the world. I pop my head out to feel the day and catch a whiff of rain in the air. Dark clouds are mounting over the Santa Ritas. Mount Fagan looks dark and broody. It looks like a curtain of rain is falling on the Rincons, but still the slopes are sending smoky plumes into the sky, and mixed with the smell of wet desert I can also smell the smoke. There are 8 fires burning now in Southern Arizona and the Distillery Fire in the Rincons has grown to over 5,000 acres.

(Rincon Mountains)

The cats follow me out to the kitchen winding around my legs and begging for breakfast. I step out this patio door to see the thermometer. It is 83 degrees and comfortable with a strong breeze gusting sometimes to a full wind. Off to the west, however, the sky is blue and clear. Sunlight beaming out from beneath the edge of the cloud bank illumines the mine tailings of Green Valley into a golden table land. It cuts a sharp edge against the pale blue sky.

(Green Valley Mine Tailings)

Once I shut the door the birds return to feasting in the backyard. Once again the finch feeder is covered in Lesser Goldfinches.

(Lesser Goldfinches on thistle seed feeder)

Mourning Doves are gleaning the seeds from the ground while flickers, Gila Woodpeckers and thrashers all vie for the peanut feeder. Out the den window a lone juvenile Gambel’s Quail pecks beneath my globe shaped feeder. His bland gray color blends in with the mourning doves but his shape and the plume atop his head betrays his true species. Over on this side of the house the house finches mob the globe shaped feeder while house sparrows pick at the quail block. A Canyon Towhee joins the fray and grabs whatever seeds it can. Then a feisty Cactus Wren flies in and chases away a thrasher to grab a peanut that was dropped on the stony ground. It’s just another day for Kathie’s Birds here in Sycamore Canyon, but the Monsoon is creeping ever closer and we may get storms this afternoon.

(Canyon Towhee at seed cake)

For now, I leave you with this peaceful scene of a potted dove. She has built her nest in this pot on a neighbor’s front porch. The family can sit in their bench and she does not flinch or fly away. My neighbor says she has seen the eggs when the mother flies off to feed in the evening. The male hangs around on nearby rooftops, waiting for the hatching and his job to begin of feeding the little brood. For me, the question arises: does the mother actually trust my neighbor and her children, or is her mother’s instinct so strong that she will not abandon the nest in spite of great fear? If the latter is true, I can’t help but wonder if I could confront my own fears in the same way.

Note: All of today's photography is by Kathiesbirds with the Nikon D80 and the 70-300mm lens except for the morning dove which was photographed Saturday, June 21, with the 18-70mm lens.

The Name of My Mountain

I have discovered the name of my mountain. Behind me like a sentinel stands Mt Fagan. My house nestles with others on his broad shoulders. It is his face I see each morning as the sun rises in the east. In the evenings the gray-green slopes blush in the light of the setting sun. During the monsoon his face was shrouded in clouds or veiled by a curtain of rain. But when the rain passed the craggy face emerged once again, reflecting golden light.

However, perhaps Mt. Fagan will not be smiling for much longer. Even now plans are underway to deface his slopes. The W.R. Henderson Company wants to extract limestone from a site near Wentworth and Sahuarita Rd. according to the Empire-Fagan Coalition, while farther to the south and east Augusta Resource Corporation, a Canadian Company with no mining experience, wants to start an open pit copper mine that will be a mile across and 3,000 feet deep! This mine will be visible from Scenic Highway 83. It will destroy critical wildlife habitat as well as beautiful recreational areas. These mines will add pollution to our air, land and water. These plans will make a mountain weep poisonous tears upon the desert. Mt Fagan will be scarred forever. These companies will take their money and leave their mess for the residents of Pima County.

Questions

How much can our fragile ecosystem take?
Where will the Gila monsters go?
Will vultures rise on dusty thermals?
Will raptors hunt the fleeing mammals?
Will songbirds lose their voice in clouds of mining dust?
Will Mt. Fagan shudder with the blasting mines?
and when the Monsoon comes
will poison rain fall on the desert and run
down the washes to your house and mine?

If you want to help please contact http://www.scenicsantaritas.org/ or http://www.empirefagan.org/

Mining companies don't understand the voice of the Mountains, so we must speak for them. They don't care for the creatures that fly, hop or crawl. It is not their back yard that will be destroyed, it is ours, and it is not too late to stop them.