CALL TO ACTION: Save the Peaks Looking for Support

Native News Network Staff in Native Challenges. Discussion »

SAN FRANCISCO - Supporters of the Save the Peaks have a "Call to Action" out to assist them in their campaign march on Monday, January 9.

San Francisco Peaks Mountain Near Flagstaff, Arizona held sacred by over 13 American Indian Nations

Environmental justice groups are specifically asked to come aboard to educate their followers about the grave impacts of this situation.

On January 9 The Save the Peaks Coalition et al vs. the United States Forest Service will be heard by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California. The court will hear arguments in a legal battle that may decide the ecological integrity of Arizona's San Francisco Peaks, a mountain near Flagstaff, Arizona held sacred by over 13 American Indian nations.

The Save the Peaks Coalition is planning a caravan from Flagstaff, Arizona to San Francisco where they will be contesting the environmental and human health impacts of wastewater snowmaking.

The Save the Peaks Coalition are fighting the United States Forest Service in a legal battle to protect children from hazardous endocrine disruptors and to protect this sacred site from desecration.

The case argues that under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, the Forest Service failed to adequately consider the impacts associated with ingestion of snow made from reclaimed sewer water in its Environmental Impact Statement.

The Forest Service approved reclaimed sewer water for the use of snowmaking at a local Northern Arizona ski resort in 2004. The reclaimed sewer water in question is from Flagstaff's Rio de Flag Sewage Plant that has proven to contain harmful bacteria, and endocrine disruptors such as pharmaceuticals and hormones amongst other known toxins.

Schedule of Events:

Sunday, January 8

6:00 - 9:00 pm - Evening dinner, welcoming reception, and discussion on environmental injustice impacts and how they affect sacred sites.

The Women's Building; San Francisco
to RSVP through Save the Peaks facebook page

Monday January 9

7:00 am - Sunrise Prayer Vigil Ceremonial gathering at a park located near the courthouse in downtown San Francisco. - Specific location to be announced.

8:00 am - Protect Sacred Sites, Defend Human Rights March from the nearby park going to the James R. Browning US Courthouse - 9th Circuit; 95 Seventh Street; San Francisco.

9:00 am - Rally and Prayers outside the Courthouse.

9:30 am - Court Hearing. The Save the Peaks Coalition et al vs. the United States Forest Service.

posted January 4, 2011 6:00 am est