April 08, 2026
The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday issued an amended opinion in its ruling to allow a 2,500-acre land exchange within Arizona's Tonto National Forest, which includes a partial dissent from U.S. Circuit Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson, who said the decision will "completely annihilate sacred Native lands."
March 18, 2026
Native American rights groups are backing four Apache women's bid to have the Supreme Court halt a 2,500-acre Arizona land transfer, arguing an Indigenous worship site on the property is there because of U.S. policies designed to strip tribal nations of their homelands and suppress their religions.
March 16, 2026
A group of Apache women are asking Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to block the federal government's transfer of a sacred Apache worship site within Arizona's Tonto National Forest to a copper mining company, arguing that this could be the last chance to prevent a generational tragedy.
February 23, 2026
The San Carlos Apache Tribe says a poll released by the Center for Biological Diversity shows that Arizona voters oppose Resolution Copper Mining LLC's proposed mine, which would transfer approximately 2,500 acres within the state's Tonto National Forest to the company.
November 03, 2025
An Apache tribe and conservation groups are fighting a Ninth Circuit bid to dismiss their efforts to block a 2,500-acre land exchange within Tonto National Forest, saying the federal government and mining company's arguments inaccurately center on a sentence in the 2014 Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act.
October 08, 2025
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a slew of mining associations are backing the federal government's efforts to nix a Ninth Circuit appeal that looks to block the transfer of more than 2,500 acres within Arizona's Tonto National Forest to a copper mining company.
October 01, 2025
The U.S. government and a copper company have asked the Ninth Circuit to dismiss conservation groups' and an Apache tribe's appeal of an Arizona federal judge's decision to uphold a federal law authorizing a land exchange.
September 24, 2025
Two tribal advocacy groups are backing a Ninth Circuit bid to block a 2,400-acre federal land exchange in Arizona to make way for a billion-dollar copper mining project they say will destroy an ancient worship site, arguing that federal policies are systematically stripping Indigenous nations of their homelands.
September 09, 2025
The U.S. and a copper mining company can't defend a federal law authorizing a land exchange in Arizona's Tonto National Forest, conservation groups and an Apache tribe told the Ninth Circuit on Monday, arguing that requirements for mining the site are unmet due to an inadequate final environmental impact statement.
August 19, 2025
A Ninth Circuit panel has hit pause on the federal government's scheduled transfer of a centuries-old Indigenous worship site within Arizona's Tonto National Forest to a copper mining company while challenges to a multibillion-dollar proposed project play out in the appellate court.