Gila waters are fragile and need protection.
About The Awesome Gila River
“The Gila River has a sweet song for you. Listen deeply and your soul will stir”
The Gila River is a marvel of nature over 600 miles long. From its beginning in the Gila Wilderness to its confluence with the Colorado River in Yuma, Arizona, it collects water from tributaries amounting to 60,000 square miles of watershed. The Gila River spreads precious water from New Mexico to the arid lands of Arizona. On its way, it boasts a dazzling array of notable river tributaries including the San Francisco, Blue, Salt, Verde, San Pedro, and Santa Cruz.
The Gila River and its many tributaries lovingly provides us with acres of irrigated land and a water supply for more than five million people. Thirty-six fish species inhabit this watery home including largemouth bass, sunfish, channel catfish, and Gila trout. Whitewater rafting, hot springs soaking, canoeing, riverside hiking, hunting, and just plain gorgeous natural beauty satiate the souls, hearts, and eyes of so many seeking a connection to nature’s fun and solitude.
With all of these amazing attributes, this is a river that beckons urgent protection and that is what we are aiming to do!
The Silver47 Exploration Corp. Mining Threat
Near the charming ghost town of Mogollon high up in the beauteous mountains a very serious threat to the Gila River is unfolding. Imagine if a hotshot junior mining company from another country invaded a large area bordering America’s first wilderness and started drilling. Well it’s happening now and the company Silver47 is responsible.
Silver47 currently has three drilling rigs in full-scale operation and their current grand plan is to drill on 2,640 acres with nearly 50 km of veins and structure to explore on lands bordering and inside the Gila National Forest. The company’s website states this about the Mogollon drilling… “Under the radar opportunity with potential to be one of the last great vein fields in the US”. Once Silver47 is done with their drilling the next plausible step would be to hand this mineral extraction off to an international mining company like Angold thus creating a full-scale mining district.
Silver47 is already seriously threatening the local water supply of Mogollon and the close by Gila tributaries Mineral Creek, Whitewater Creek, along with the cherished Catwalk waters. According to Southwest geologist Dr. Carolina Londono Michel, the “environmental impacts caused by mining include soil destruction, erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and/or surface water by chemicals released during the mining processes. In some cases, miners log the forests near mines to create space to store the created debris and soil. Often, miners need to use adjacent water sources to process the ore. Contamination from leakage of chemicals can also affect the health of the local population, if not properly controlled.” This current mining is an act of environmental injustice and could contaminate our precious Gila River for ages to come.
What can you do now?
Support the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.