Arizona lawmakers object to Oak Flat historic designation near Resolution Copper mine
By Bill Theobald | Republic Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Paul Gosar and Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick say a request to include property near Superior in a list of historic places is an end run intended to stop a controversial copper mine.
The two U.S. House members from Arizona sent a letter to the National Park Service on Monday asking that the property in Pinal County be withdrawn from consideration for the National Register of Historic Places.
A Jan. 21 notice in the Federal Register lists the site for the proposed designation as Chi’chil Bildagoteel Historic District, Superior.
The name refers to an area known as Oak Flat that apparently is covered by the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act, which allowed for the exchange of 5,300 acres owned by Resolution Copper to get access to 2,400 acres owned by the federal government.
