From power lines to copper mines, tribal leaders are raising concerns about projects essential to President Biden’s climate goals
By Maxine Joselow
March 4, 2024
TUCSON, Ariz. — Verlon Jose recalls climbing a hill here to see the majestic peaks of the Santa Rita Mountains in one direction and the cactus-studded San Pedro Valley, where his ancestors lived hundreds of years ago, in the other.
But looking out from that same vista in February, Jose saw only unwelcome development. To the south, bulldozers were carving roads and clearing land for a massive copper mine on the western slope of the Santa Ritas. To the east, construction was underway on a 550-mile power line that would cut through a 50-mile portion of the valley.