An Obama administration ban on new uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, the second most-visited U.S. national park, has touched off a argue over jobs from mining and tourism in a state that relies on both industries.The ban “comes at the cost of hundreds of high-paying jobs and approximately $10 billion worth of bustle for the Arizona economy,” Arizona Governor Janice K. Brewer, a Republican, said in a statement.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who sign the 20-year ban yesterday at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, said it was part of an effort to maintain the $3.5 billion spent by guests to the national park each year.
“Tourism, leisure are extremely much a part of job creation of the United States,” Salazar said. “The jobs associated to the Grand Canyon are not jobs that can be export anywhere, those are truly American jobs.”The ban will avoid new uranium and other hard-rock mining on about 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon National Park, which was visited by 4.5 million people in 2010, second to the Great Smoky Mountains. Previously accepted mining and new projects on claims and sites with accessible rights will be allowed, potentially leading to development of as many as 11 uranium mines, according to a declaration from the Interior Department.
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