Project Notice (as of April 22, 2025)
The Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act (the “Act”), Public Law 113-291 authorizes and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into a land exchange with Resolution Copper Mining, LLC. The United States Forest Service hereby provides notice and availability of Appraisal Summaries for the Resolution Copper and Land Exchange Project. A “summary thereof” each land parcel is available on this website under Related Documents / Land Exchange.
Project Notice (as of April 17, 2025)
The United States Forest Service hereby provides notice that it intends to publish a Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (“FEIS”) and Draft Record of Decision (“DROD”) for the Resolution Copper Mining, LLC Land Exchange and Project in the Federal Register no earlier than 60 days from the date of this notice. The project is the subject of three lawsuits in district court in the District of Arizona, Apache Stronghold v. United States et al, No. 2:21-cv-00050-SPL; Arizona Mining Reform Coalition v. United States, et al, No. 2:21-cv-122-DLR: and San Carlos Apache Tribe v. United States, No. 2:21-cv-00068-DWL. Pursuant to court orders in those cases, the Forest Service is also providing notice to the parties through court filings in each of the three cases. The Supreme Court is presently considering a petition for a writ of certiorari in Apache Stronghold v. United States, No. 24-291. The disposition of that petition may affect the timing of when Federal Defendants proceed with publication of any FEIS and DROD. If the petition is denied within the 60-day period following the publication of this notice, Federal Defendants anticipate proceeding with publication of the FEIS and DROD consistent with this notice. If the petition remains pending or has been granted, Federal Defendants may reevaluate how to proceed.
Project Update (as of February 21, 2023)
As directed by USDA, the Forest Service has completed its review of the tribal consultation record for the Resolution Copper Land Exchange Final Environmental Impact Statement. On September 10, 2021, the Forest Service proceeded with re-initiating government-to-government consultation with Tribal Nations to fully understand concerns raised by the Tribes and the project’s impact to tribally important and sacred resources within the project area. The Forest Service distributed letters to 15 Arizona tribes, requesting to re-initiate Tribal Consultation, focusing on water quality and mining techniques to consider further measures that may be discussed with Resolution Copper in subsequent Company Consultation. Further consultation with Resolution Copper concerning water quality and mining techniques may be productive in addressing concerns of the land exchange on affected Tribes.
Barnie Gyant, Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System, was appointed by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack as the Consulting Official for government-to-government consultation with Tribal Nations for the Resolution Copper Land Exchange project and consultation efforts on matters related to the NDAA. In October 2022, Under Secretary Homer Wilkes appointed ADC Troy Heithecker to replace Gyant after he retired earlier in the year. Consultation is currently ongoing.
On March 1, 2021, USDA directed the Forest Service to withdraw the Notice of Availability and rescind the Final Environmental Impact Statement and draft Record of Decision. USDA took this step to provide an opportunity for the agency to conduct a thorough review, to ensure regulatory compliance of environmental, cultural, and archaeological analyses, and to provide time for the Forest Service to fully understand concerns raised by Tribes and the public and the project’s impact to these important resources.