Grand Canyon decision protects tourism, water supply
This week gave us some great news for Southern Nevada and the entire Southwest: President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a 20-year moratorium on new uranium mining claims near the Colorado River, upstream from Lake Mead, which supplies nearly all of Southern Nevada’s drinking water.
The decision protects the health of our communities and the $700-million tourism economy centered on Grand Canyon National Park and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, so the decision was an important one for Nevada. You can read more about the decision here, and if you’d like to see the rundown of winners and losers from this decision, you can read about that here.
This may not be the end of the issue. Congressional lawmakers from Arizona and Utah (who don’t depend on the Colorado River for drinking water, natch) are trying to overturn the Obama administration decision. Nevada’s congressional delegation from both sides of the aisle should work against it. We can’t gamble with our drinking water.
If you agree, consider writing a letter to the editor of the Las Vegas Sun or Review-Journal thanking the Obama team for their decision.
