Uranium Mining
second uranium project threatens craven canyon
comments due to forest service by March 3rd
“Clean” Nuclear Energy Corp. (CNEC), a subsidiary of Basin Uranium, has applied to the Forest Service to explore for radioactive uranium in Fall River County, north of Edgemont in an area along the rim of Craven Canyon. This project, called “October Jinx” is part of a larger plan to drill on both state and federal lands in the Craven Canyon area.
What’s so special about Craven Canyon? Craven Canyon and surrounding areas contain rock art and other artifacts that are up to seven thousand years old, and are of inestimable cultural, archeological, and scientific value. A small mineral claims withdrawal (+/-160 acres) protects some sites, but many more artifacts and sites of interest have been found in unprotected areas in and around the Canyon.
CNEC’s project on federal lands would involve 17 drill platforms (in addition to the 50 platforms planned on state lands) near the rim of the canyon, with drilling depths up to 700 feet. Each hole could take up to two weeks to drill, and the activities would be seen and heard within the Canyon, where ceremony and study continue to this day.
SUBMIT A COMMENT–SAY NO TO DRILLING NEAR CRAVEN CANYON
Comments are due to the Forest Service by March 3rd.
You can comment by clicking the button above, or mail your comment to:
Jonathan Manning 1019 N 5th Street Custer, SD 57730
Tell them who you are, where you’re from, and why you care about protecting the Craven Canyon area.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CRAVEN CANYON AND EFFORTS TO PROTECT ITS "IRREPLACEABLE" SIGNIFICANCE
Craven Canyon—including the areas of canyon rim where this project is sited—is an area that Black Hills National Forest staff spent years planning to protect. That painstaking work was wiped out by a Regional Forester from Colorado, who abruptly cancelled the plan without notifying local officials.
The need to protect Craven Canyon remains.
A June 2011 assessment from the Hell Canyon Ranger District asserts, “Archaeological investigations, consultation with Native Americans, and oral histories of local ranchers have established that Craven Canyon is an irreplaceable element of the plains Native American cultural fabric.”
The report recommended halting mining activities in the canyon AND rim areas, stating that, “Mining activities such as exploratory drilling, mining, blasting and the operation of heavy equipment, by their very nature, can be destructive to surface resources.”
Need more information? Contact DRA Organizer Rebecca Terk at: rebeccat@dakotarural.org
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