The Grand Canyon is at risk from a 1872 mining law. The ancient law signed by President Ulysses S. Grant, allows mining companies to take without paying a royalty around $1 billion worth of gold and other metals from public lands. The law was reported by the non-profit Pew Environment Group.
The environment protection group said that as claims on public lands grew for mining several national treasures were threatened including the Grand Canyon National Park. The law is from the pick and shovel days of the wild west and allowed mining companies on the frontier to extract metal ore without paying any taxes.
With almost 8,000 mining claims being staked in national forest and public lands since the year 2004 there are a number of national parks which are endangered. Those affected include the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Arches, Canyonlands and Joshua Tree National Parks; Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota; Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington; Siskiyou Wild Rivers in Oregon; Gila Wilderness in New Mexico; and Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah.
The Pew Environment Group has called upon the Obama administration to overhaul the antiquated laws and offer protection to the national landmarks. Obama has already called for a two year ban on mining in sensitive areas and now interior secretary Ken Salazar must decide if the ban needs to be extended.