Since 1996, we have been fighting to protect the Santa Rita Mountains from the devastating effects of industrial, open-pit mining. Through legal action, outreach, and education, we defend the biological and cultural diversity of the Santa Rita Mountains from being destroyed by mining.

Our mission is to prevent Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals Inc. from constructing the Copper World mining complex in the Santa Rita Mountains 30 miles south of Tucson. Hudbay intends to construct one of the largest open-pit copper mines in North America that would destroy the northern half of the range that lies within the Coronado National Forest.

The mine would severely damage regional groundwater aquifers and surface water flows in two Outstanding Arizona Waters that are protected by state law from any degradation. Damage from the series of open-pit mines will radiate in all directions and leave the region ecologically devastated and economically poorer. The copper is destined for export.

The Santa Rita Mountains host endangered species, including jaguars and ocelots. The mountains encompass sacred Indigenous land and provide recreation, sanctuary, renewal and solitude. The range is the heart of a rare Sonoran Desert ecological corridor with the federally-protected 45,000-acre Las Cienegas National Conservation Area to the east and the state-protected 52,000-acre Santa Rita Experimental Range to the west. The entire area should be a National Park.

Please join our more than 3,000 supporters today. Working together, we can save an iconic Southwestern landscape for future generations, preserve critical water supplies, protect threatened and endangered species and honor Indigenous culture.