Access Fund is headed back to court on August 6, joining Tribal and conservation partners in a critical legal push to stop the transfer of Oak Flat—a sacred Apache site and world-class climbing area on US Forest Service land—to foreign-owned mining giant Resolution Copper. If unsuccessful, the U.S. government could hand over more than 2,000 acres of public land as soon as August 19.

Access Fund and our coplaintiffs are asking the judge to extend the current injunction and prevent the land transfer until the merits of the lawsuit are considered. Our legal team filed an amended complaint, a motion for an injunction, and an opposition to the inadequate Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Resolution mining project—arguing that the proposed Final Environmental Impact Statement is not in compliance with American environmental laws.

Resolution Copper, owned by Rio Tinto whose largest shareholder is China, plans to extract 35 million tons of copper ore—reaping billions in profits while permanently destroying sacred land and public climbing access. Rio Tinto has a well-documented history of cultural destruction, including the 2014 demolition of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site in Australia.

If the judge denies the injunction, Access Fund will continue to fight but the clock is ticking. If the land is transferred on August 19th, the damage will cause irreparable harm. 

Over two decades of advocacy is coming to a head. We’re fighting for public land, for America’s climbing, and for environmental justice. Stay tuned, and thank you for your support. 

For more information on this history of Access Fund’s work at Oak Flat, read more here.