Summary Sheet on Mt. Graham, Telescopes, the Environment, &
Cultural Issues
Mt. Graham and Telescopes
Mt. Graham is a large mountain on public land in southeastern Arizona that
has had multiple uses for many decades. Mt. Graham is part of the Coronado
National Forest. Mt. Graham covers about 200,000 acres (roughly the area
of Columbus and Franklin County inside I-270). The LBT itself will occupy
1.2 acres, about the size of a football field, and the total present area
for the Mt. Graham International Observatory, of which the LBT is a part,
is 8.6 acres. Mt. Graham has over 40 miles of roads, recreational lakes, a
Bible camp, a commercial apple orchard, and about 100 residences. It has
about 280,000 recreational visitor days of use per year. In the past,
several thousand acres of trees have been logged on Mt. Graham. Because of
its high altitude and dark skies, Mt. Graham is probably the best site
remaining in the continental U.S. for large telescopes that is practical
for the construction of the LBT. Because it has existing roads and
multiple public uses, the impact of the observatory on Mt. Graham will be
very small.
Environmental Issues
Extensive biological and environmental studies have been carried out on
Mt. Graham to ensure that the observatory does not have an adverse impact.
Concerns have been raised about possible threat to the Mt. Graham red
squirrel. The approved plan for the observatory includes a 1750-acre
Refugium around the telescope site to protect the squirrel. Furthermore,
60 acres of existing roads and firebreaks are to be reforested (compared to
the 8.6 acres that will be used for the observatory). It should also be
noted that prior to 1985, the red squirrel could be hunted during a
five-week season with a daily bag limit of 5 squirrels! Thus, the
environment around the telescope site is now more protected than it was
before.
Cultural Issues
In parallel with the biological and environmental studies mentioned above,
and in compliance with the National Historical Preservation Act, the Forest
Service carried out cultural surveys on Mt. Graham at the beginning of the
project in the mid-1980s. Two shrines were located on Hawk and High Peaks.
Additional surveys in conjunction with the Arizona Historical Preservation
Office were carried out on Emerald and Plainview Peaks, and nineteen local
tribes were contacted to see if they had concerns. Four tribes, the
Ak-Chin, Hopi, Zuni, and the San Carlos Apache eventually responded but
raised no objections to the proposed plans for the telescopes. In the end,
the shrines were protected and the telescopes were located near Emerald
Peak on a site with no known adverse cultural impact. Only in 1990, two
years after the completion of the final environmental impact statement, did
some members of the San Carlos Apache tribe raise objections to the site.
The cultural issues are complex, but the project is being carried out with
sensitivity and respect. Furthermore, note again that the telescopes and
all of Mt. Graham are on federal land, which has many uses, as described
above.