U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) recently protested the lack of public input prior to a proposed federal land grab and demanded that the National Park Service (NPS) void the controversial proposal usurping Arizona’s Resolution Copper mine site.

In a letter to the National Park Service director and the keeper of National Register of Historic Places, Gosar and Kirkpatrick condemned a manipulative move by anti-mining groups to interfere with a law originally enacted in 2014 - the bipartisan Southeast Arizona Land Exchange - in an effort to designate the land as a National Historic place. The letter also requested that NPS formally withdraw the nomination.

Gosar and Kirkpatrick said the action could be illegal as well as deceptive and instigated by mine opponents to negate a "bipartisan bill that is estimated to create approximately 3,700 new jobs."

“(W)e are … concerned that the Jan. 21 notice does not provide adequate information about the area … and may not comply with Administrative Procedure Act,” Gosar and Kirkpatrick wrote. "Given the lack of detail in the filing, it is virtually impossible for our constituents who may be affected to participate in the public comment process."

Gosar and Kirkpatrick objected to the narrow time window, lack of maps and generally substandard communication with the public and asked for a 60-day extension to allow feedback from constituents.