Voices of the Great Basin Listening Tour: September 2010

In early September, I completed the first ever GBRW Voices of the Great Basin Listening Tour. We wanted to connect with people in rural communities of the Great Basin to better understand the issues concerning them around industrial development and resource extraction projects such as mining. Terry Dempsey, a photojournalism student at the University of Nevada, Reno, accompanied me on the weeklong journey, and photographed the areas we visited in Nevada and Utah and some of the people living there.

Our itinerary included mine sites, ranches, Great Basin National Park and other public land destinations. We met with Native Americans (Western Shoshone), ranchers, current and retired land management personnel, GBRW members, and rural citizens. Topics raised included wind energy, water transportation, wilderness and wildlife conservation, mine dewatering and the associated effects on water resources, and Native American cultural issues, to name a few this diverse group brought to our attention. As we now understand concretely from the lands we visited, more issues confront the rural Great Basin than ever.

The West Pequop Exploration Project
We met with Kem Kough, a concerned rancher, and Mike Miller, a Western Shoshone, and toured Six-Mile Canyon within the West Pequop Mountain Range, approximately 30 miles east of Wells. Kem wants to see this beautiful, pristine area protected from the effects of gold mining explorations currently planned by AuEx Ventures (49%), Inc. and Agnico-Eagle Limited (51%). Mike Miller shared his insights into the cultural significance of the area. As we discovered, numerous cultural artifacts are clearly visible throughout the landscape. Stay up to date on this project by visiting our West Pequop Exploration page.

Robinson Mine Dewatering and Potential Impacts on Ely's Water Source
We visited with several people in Ely who are concerned that Murry Springs, the source of Ely's water, is being compromised as a result of increased dewatering at nearby Robinson Mine. Stay informed on this issue by visiting our "Ely's water at risk?" page.

Protecting the Water in Snake Valley
Snake Valley straddles the border of Nevada and Utah. Its aquifers supply precious water to local communities, ranches and wildlife. However this beautiful valley and its way of life, as well as the health of Great Basin National Park, are threatened by the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) applications to pump and transport over 50,000 acre feet per year of Snake Valley's water to the Las Vegas area. We met with concerned ranchers, community members, and Great Basin National Park representatives and were apprised of many more details regarding this threat. GBRW supports this battle to protect the Snake Valley's water and prevent its basin-to-basin transfer. To learn more about this issue and what you can do to help, visit www.protectsnakevalley.com and www.greatbasinwater.net.

GBRW will be collaborating with Terry Dempsey to produce a photojournalistic publication picturing how industrial development and resource extraction have both negative (i.e. environmental and cultural) and positive (i.e. economic) impacts on rural communities. So, watch for the release of this publication in the year ahead. I want to thank everyone that I spoke to and met with for sharing his or her concerns. There is nothing like firsthand knowledge of what is happening on the ground to better enable GBRW to serve our rural friends and communities!

GBRW will be planning another Voices of the Great Basin Listening Tour in early 2011. Please let me know if you are interested in meeting and/or talking. We update our website and FaceBook as to the details of the trip as they unfold. So, stay tuned.....