WASHINGTON, D.C. – National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn today applauded the decision by Interior Secretary Zinke to review federal land use plans and their potential for blocking multiple-use management required by federal law:
“Secretary Zinke made a responsible decision today to review federal land use plans that have minimized the value of mineral mining and ignored state, local and private contributions to wildlife habitat protection. These plans now impose significant restrictions on valuable resource development – including mineral and mining-related activities – on 67 million acres of federal lands in a half-dozen states. Nor did the environmental assessment accompanying these plans provide any justification for a proposal to ban new mineral exploration from 10 million acres with potentially valuable mineral reserves.