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The Peaks rise from the flat Colorado Plateau up timbered slopes to alpine heights hosting year-round snow. The Peaks can be seen from points all across northern Arizona, and is the prominent scenic backdrop for the city of Flagstaff.

The forested slopes attract tourists and outdoor recreationists throughout the year. The Peaks are an area where residents and visitors enjoy day hikes, overnight camping and hunting. The area hosts Black bear, goshawks, deer and elk, prairie dogs, peregrine falcon and the endangered Mexican spotted owl.

The mountain's Inner Basin also serves as watershed for the city of Flagstaff and provides a clean municipal water supply. Finally, the Peaks are still used for traditional religious ceremonies by Native Americans. The San Francisco Peaks is threatened by a proposal, just approved by the Forest Service, to expand the Arizona Snow Bowl. The Snow Bowl will open additional ski runs, which will mean cutting thousands of ponderosa pine and aspen trees.

Moreover, the proposal will allow the installation of equipment to spray reclaimed sewage water on the ski runs to allow snowmaking during the winter. There are unregulated chemicals in this water which could contaminate the underground aquifers used by water users in the area. Developing the mountain at all is anathema to Native American tribes who view the Peaks as a sacred site to be respected in its natural condition. It is especially offensive to them if human waste, even if treated, is spread across this sacred landscape.

Sierra Club is working with the Navajo Nation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, White Mountain Apache Tribe and Dr. Paul Torrence, Professor of Chemistry at Northern Arizona University, to stop the proposed expansion of the Arizona Snow Bowl and to prevent the use of reclaimed water to be sprayed on the ski slopes.

We are urging the Chief of the Forest Service to reject the proposal to expand the Snow Bowl and to support the nomination of the Peaks as a National Historic Site through the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office.

To learn more, please contact Robert Tohe at Robert.tohe@sierraclub.org or 928-774-6103.