Cites community-wide campaign to halt mining
Methow Valley residents and the Methow Headwaters Campaign, a local grassroots organization that led the successful effort to protect the upper Methow Valley from future mining, were honored last week with a resolution presented in the Washington state Senate by Sen. Brad Hawkins (R-East Wenatchee).
Hawkins represents the state’s 12th legislative district, which includes the Methow Valley. He presented his resolution honoring the accomplishments of the Methow Headwaters Campaign and Methow Valley citizens to the Senate on April 9.
Hawkins’ resolution described the Methow Valley as “a hub of outdoor recreation for all of Washington state” that attracts nearly one million visitors per year and contributes more than $150 million to the economy of Okanogan County.
The valley is home to the nation’s largest Nordic ski area and is a gateway to the North Cascades National Park and vast wilderness areas. The Methow River watershed plays a critical role in salmon recovery and supports a rich diversity of wildlife, including federally protected fish and wildlife species, the resolution said.
“A coalition of local Methow Valley businesses, area residents, civic leaders, and local organizations who were concerned about the threat an industrial-scale copper mine presented to the region’s economy, waters, and rural character came together to form the Methow Headwaters Campaign. This coalition focused on broad community support to ensure the upper headwaters of the Methow River were permanently protected from mining,” Hawkins’ resolution said.
The resolution calls for the state Senate to “honor the accomplishments of the members of the Methow Headwaters Campaign and the efforts of every citizen in the Methow Valley and beyond who worked to protect the Methow Headwaters through the passage of … federal legislation.”
The Methow Headwaters Campaign was formed more than three years ago after a Canadian mining company began pursuing plans to drill exploratory holes on U.S. Forest Service land near Flagg Mountain in Mazama, to assess the prospects for future copper mining in the area.
After a three-year effort to gain protections for the upper Methow Valley, the campaign achieved its goal when legislation providing permanent protection to 340,079 acres of Forest Service land was included in a large public lands conservation bill passed by Congress and signed into law last month.
Hawkins was among local, county, state and federal elected representatives who gave bipartisan support to the campaign and its effort to ban mining forever in the rugged and mountainous land in the upper Methow River watershed.
“Very few grassroots efforts have garnered the nearly universal support that we have experienced for protecting the Methow Valley. It is a testament of what can be accomplished when we all work together,” Hawkins said last week. “Throughout this process, I have admired the community spirit of Methow Valley residents and the tireless work of the Methow Headwaters Campaign.”
