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Two-Hundred-Year-Old
Emory Oak At Risk
Ancient Occupant of the Santa Rita Mountains at Risk from Proposed Open Pit Mining Operations!
The twenty-six square mile Hudbay/Copper World open pit mine requested to be constructed in the beautiful Santa Rita Mountains will be an environmental disaster on many levels if the permit is approved.
Not only will it contaminate the areas land, air, and water, but it will kill countless native plants and trees as equipment and mining operations suck thousands of gallons of water each day from underground aquifers.
One tree exemplifies the need to raise our voices in protest. It's the two-hundred-year-old Emory Oak pictured above. Estimated to be between 40ft. to 45ft. tall (maximin height for this species is 50ft.), this grand master has grown to a circumference of 20 ft at ground level as it drinks from a healthy aquifer 25-35 ft. below ground.
Critical to the flora and fauna of this area, the tree provides a shaded refuge for birds and produces healthy acorns in season that are immediately eaten by deer, livestock, javelina, squirrels, quail, and wild turkey, all of which have been observed in this area.
This ancient occupant of the Santa Ritas sits on recently purchased Hudbay-owned land at Rosemont Junction, and has survived floods, droughts, fires, insects, and mankind throughout its entire existence. Now it faces the biggest challenge of its noble life, a thirsty open pit mining operation that, if approved, will drink the aquifers below its reach causing the trees slow death from lack of fresh available water.
We can’t let this happen!
This tree, and all the plants and animals living in this area, need a spokesperson. Let that be you. Contact Governor Hobbs and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). Ask them to stop this operation from moving forward and to protect and preserve the beautiful Santa Rita Mountains and its inhabitants.
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