The Colorado Independent online newspaper says Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar received 100,000 public comments last week calling for the permanent withdrawal of a million acres public lands in northern Arizona from new mining claims.
I know some of the news reports imply that mining would occur in the Grand Canyon, thus raising public concerns, but I was perplexed by the story. They don't provide any source for the number they quote. And BLM was soliciting comments on the scope of the 2-year long EIS, not on the decision about withdrawal itself, which is not supposed to be made until after the study is complete. Another confusing point is that the EIS is supposed to examine a 20-year withdrawal not a permanent one. [right, former uranium mine in northern Arizona. Credit, VANE Minerals]
Maybe the paper is reporting on some other public comment process than the one I know about.