JOIN THE FIGHT TO SAVE ASH MEADOWS!
Letter will be sent as follows:
Dear Secretary Haaland and Director Stone-Manning,
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, one of the most critical and vibrant biodiversity hotspots in the United States, is under threat.
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is a protected wildlife refuge located in Amargosa Valley, Nevada, directly east of Death Valley National Park and 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The refuge consists of a network of natural springs fed by the free-flowing Amargosa River. These springs act as oases in one of the hottest, driest places on Earth, providing critical habitat for more than 25 rare plants and animal species that exist nowhere else, 12 of which are protected under the Endangered Species Act as threatened or endangered.
A mining company called Rover Metals has notified the Bureau of Land Management of its plans to do exploratory drilling for lithium on public lands right up against the boundary of the refuge and the Ash Meadows Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Exploration would consist of drilling holes at a depth of 250-300 feet where Amargosa River groundwater will be encountered. Drilling will occur within a few hundred feet of springs in Ash Meadows. Potential impacts of drilling include:
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Impacts to nearby Fairbanks and Roger Springs, critical habitat for the endangered Ash Meadows amargosa pupfish and Ash Meadows speckled dace
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Alteration of crucial groundwater flows, including the risk of dewatering through a puncture in the aquifer
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Impacts to rare plants and other sensitive species in the Ash Meadows ACEC
[Your personal concerns or connection to Ash Meadows will go here!]
For these reasons, we find the exploratory drilling proposed by Rover Metals to be inappropriate and ill-suited to the public’s interest in supporting wildlife and conservation values. Therefore, we are calling on the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management to place a moratorium on all exploration and extraction activities in areas with known hydrological and ecological connectivity to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
And please, consider donating to the Amargosa Conservancy today. Your support empowers us to lead the fight against this project and other threats to lands, waters, wildlife, and people of the Amargosa Basin.
Be advised: the use of aerial drones is prohibited within Ash Meadows NWR. Please follow all applicable regulations when operating aerial drones.
