Calabasas Alliance - In Defense of Land, Air & Water

10/03/2026

Let Governor Hobbs' know your thoughts on this appointment.

Many are asking "Who is looking out for the people? It is another clear message to Communities impacted by mining.

09/05/2026

Rep. Adelita Grijalva condemned the Coronado National Forest’s Sept. 3, 2026 approval of South32’s Hermosa Critical Minerals Project in the Patagonia Mountains, saying the FAST-41 fast-track process rushed review and ignored risks to groundwater, public health, and a fragile biodiversity hotspot.

She pointed to her earlier letter to Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz and a Patagonia Regional Times op-ed raising those issues, and warned that a House bill passed the day before — making all mining and mineral-processing projects eligible for FAST-41, not just critical-minerals ones — would export that “failed” model used by South32 nationwide and put millions of acres of public land at risk.

She also noted that “once the harm is inflicted, it cannot be undone.” We see that here in Arizona and all over the world.

There are pros and cons of each project that need to be planned and managed slong with the impacted Community members - and not rubber-stamped by local, State and Federal entities. What are the tradeoffs - and who is looking out for the people?

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Adelita S. Grijalva released the following statement after the Coronado National Forest approved South32 Hermosa Inc.

05/05/2026

Good info

Most people think Arizona is just desert, cactus, heat, and endless highways… but the real story is hiding underground. 🌵💧

Beneath Phoenix, Tucson, the Sonoran Desert, dry washes, highways, farms, and neighborhoods lies one of Arizona’s most important hidden lifelines — **groundwater.**

While everything above the surface feels dry, hot, and wide open… water is quietly stored below in layers of **sand, gravel, sediment, clay, and fractured rock.** It doesn’t look dramatic from the road, but underground, Arizona has entire aquifer systems that help support cities, rural communities, farms, springs, and desert ecosystems.

That’s the part most people never think about.

You can drive past saguaros, mountains, and dry desert washes and assume there’s nothing there but dust and rock… but below your feet, water may be moving slowly through basin-fill aquifers that have been collecting and storing water for years.

Arizona’s water story is different from places like Florida.

Florida has limestone, springs, and wetlands.
Arizona has desert basins, mountain recharge, dry washes, deep wells, and groundwater hidden under some of the driest-looking land in America.

That’s why Arizona has:

• Wells that reach deep underground 💧
• Springs and seeps in canyons 🌄
• Desert plants surviving where water is closer than it looks 🌵
• Dry washes that can suddenly come alive after monsoon storms ⛈️
• Huge water debates that are really about what’s happening below the surface 👀

Even in a place known for heat and drought, water is still moving — just slower, deeper, and quieter than most people realize.

And that’s what makes Arizona so fascinating.

Because the desert may look empty…
but underneath it, there’s a hidden system working every single day.

In Arizona, the real story isn’t just in the Grand Canyon, the cactus, the sunsets, or the highways…

It’s flowing silently beneath the desert —
right under your feet. 🌵💧

04/25/2026

Exciting news today in the world of rare Sky Island kitties. Recently, Sky Island Alliance and Phoenix Zoo published a study describing the remarkable journey of a male ocelot across four mountain ranges in the Sky Islands of Arizona, the longest-known trek by a single member of the species.

This ocelot — recently named “Himdam” or “Traveler” by the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation — covered at least 111 miles and crossed I-19, AZ-82, and AZ-83 (at least twice) as it moved among the Atascosa Highlands, Whetstone Mountains, Patagonia Mountains, and Santa Rita Mountains. It also did so in the shadow of border wall construction, mine expansion, and I-11 corridor exploration, underscoring the fragility of our region and the threats wildlife face.

One of the more fascinating aspects of this story is that the ocelot was detected in four separate ranges by four organizations (Phoenix Zoo, Center for Biological Diversity, Sky Island Alliance, and The Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center), who then collaborated to tell the story.

Get that full story with photos and videos in our blog: https://ow.ly/Zyae50YJ6lo

Then sign up for our virtual Coffee Break on May 14, where we’ll be joined by our partners to discuss this intrepid cat and what’s next for ocelot conservation: https://ow.ly/OslP50YJ6lj

Learn more in this press release: https://ow.ly/Muew50YMQjO

Map showing the four locations where Himdam was spotted in 2024-2025 courtesy Sky Island Alliance and Phoenix Zoo. At right, a collage from the four organizations’ footage, showing the rosettes that helped scientists know it was the same cat.

/ Phoenix Zoo / Center for Biological Diversity / Sky Island Alliance / The Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center / Tohono O'odham Nation

04/20/2026

What this article really means for Arizona is that the Colorado River system is now being kept functioning through emergency “water shuffling,” not stable supply. Federal officials are draining up to ~1 million acre-feet from upstream reservoirs like Flaming Gorge just to keep Lake Powell high enough to avoid losing hydropower—or even risking structural problems at Glen Canyon Dam.

That water ultimately feeds Arizona through the Colorado River and the Central Arizona Project, so in the short term it helps prevent sudden delivery cuts and keeps the system from crashing; but it doesn’t create new water — it borrows from future reserves and leaves less backup for the next drought year.

So what does this mean for larger water users like South32 Hermosa and others?

Flaming Gorge release = “move water around to keep the whole system alive.” Hermosa pumping = “new extraction from a local aquifer that doesn’t get replaced quickly.”

The real connection (this is the important part)
Where they intersect is "risk stacking:"
1. The Colorado River system is already being propped up with emergency actions
2. Arizona will likely face deeper shortages and reduced recharge water
3. At the same time, projects like Hermosa rely on groundwater as a backstop - adding to risk

So, as river water becomes less reliable, groundwater becomes more valuable — and more stressed. That makes any large new groundwater use (like a mine) more consequential than it would have been 20 years ago.

Bottom line: The Flaming Gorge move matters, but it’s a temporary life-support measure for Arizona’s main water supply. It does not solve scarcity — it signals it’s getting worse. We need planning to help make better water use decisions.

Record-breaking heat and historically low snowpack have reduced water storage on the Colorado River system to 36%, officials say.

04/10/2026