Take Action
What you can do
We are here to protect Thacker Pass and the broader McDermitt Caldera region from lithium mining. Construction on Lithium Nevada’s Thacker Pass Lithium Mine Project began in March 2023. We continue to fight for this land, and we’re asking for your help.
We need you!
TAKE DIRECT ACTION
We have spent the past two years emailing, calling, and writing decision makers, media, and environmental groups, telling them all about why Thacker Pass is so important, and why we should protect this land. None of these actions has worked, in part because the 1872 U.S. Mining Law privileges mining above other uses of the land, and in part because the Trump Administration, then the Biden Administration and then Congress ensured “critical minerals” development on public lands in the name of national security. These critical minerals include lithium.
Will Falk, co-founder of Protect Thacker Pass has been working hard representing the Reno Sparks Indian Colony and the Burns Paiute tribes in the combined lawsuit (with four environmental organizations and rancher Ed Bartell) against Lithium Nevada and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
We can’t rely on the courts or government to protect the land; we have to protect it ourselves. That means direct action. Contact Us for more information.
WHAT WE NEED
As we broaden our mission to protect the entire McDermitt Caldera from lithium and uranium mining, here is what we need help with next:
- Research into Jindalee Resources Limited, the company that owns mining claims in southern Oregon, and their US subsidiary, HiTech Minerals.
- Submit your comment on HiTech Minerals’ proposed exploration plan during the BLM public scoping period — comments are open until September 15, 2023.
- Talk to Oregon politicians and officials who have the power to do something about the Jindalee/HiTech Minerals project.
- Continue pressuring decision makers up the chain, including at the federal level (e.g. Raul Grijalva and Deb Haaland, see below).
- Visit the HiTech Minerals’ exploration site regularly to document the impacts from exploration activities.
TAKE ACTION IN SOLIDARITY
You don’t need to coordinate with us or formally join any working groups to take action for Thacker Pass and the McDermitt Caldera—there are many ways you can take action on your own, or organize action in your own community. Here’s a list of ideas to get you started:
- Write a letters to your local newspaper
- Call in to your local radio station
- Make banners and signs
- Talk to your friends and neighbors about Thacker Pass and McDermitt Caldera
- Stage a demonstration in your community, at local government offices, car dealerships, or other locations
- Hang a banner from an overpass at rush hour
- Create a fundraiser for our campaign
- Share information widely through social media (see below)
- Find ways to bring what we’re doing to the public at large, not just like-minded folks
PRESSURE DECISION MAKERS
Express your opposition to this project and demand the permits be rescinded.
- Call Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and ask her to revoke the permits for the Thacker Pass lithium mine. Ask that the Department of the Interior order the Bureau of Land Management to stop any disturbance of cultural sites in Thacker Pass so that meaningful, government-to-government consultation can happen with local tribes. And finally, request that Secretary Haaland personally meet with representatives of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Burns Paiute Tribe, and Winnemucca Indian Colony to hear their concerns about the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine Project. Call 202-208-3100, then Press 3, then press 0 to leave a comment, or email feedback@ios.doi.gov (and copy your email to contact at protectthackerpass.org)
- Call Raul Grijalva, Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee at (202) 225-2435 (web contact) and ask him to investigate the crimes being committed at Thacker Pass against Native American Tribes.
- Call your representatives in Congress and the Senate and ask them to pressure Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Raul Grijalva, and the BLM to revoke the permits for the Thacker Pass lithium mine.
- Call Wayne Monger, BLM District Manager at the Malheur Field Office and tell him to stop Jindalee/HiTech Minerals’ mine exploration activities in southern Oregon. 541-473-3144 or dmonger@blm.gov (and copy your email to contact at protectthackerpass dot org).
- Call Oregon Senators Ron Wyden ((202) 224-5244) and Jeff Merkley ((202) 224-3753) and tell them to stop the Jindalee/HiTech Minerals mine plan from proceeding any further.
- Call Kathleen Rehberg, BLM Field Manager at Humboldt River Field Office and tell her the illegal Thacker Pass Mine Project will not stand! 775-623-1739 or krehberg@blm.gov (and copy your email to contact at protectthackerpass.org).
- Call Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen and tell her the illegal Thacker Pass Mine Project will not stand! Ask her to meet with her constitutents who are against the mine to learn more about the harms the mine will bring to Nevada citizens. Call 775-337-0110 or email.
- Call Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and tell them to rescind the Air Pollution Control permit and Water Quality permits for Thacker Pass Mining Project.
TALKING POINTS
Express your opposition to the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine Project and demand the permits be rescinded.
- Introduce yourself. If you’re a tribal member, or have relevant qualifications, say so.
- Say “I am concerned about the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Northern Nevada.”
- Tell them that “Three federally-recognized tribes have sued the BLM over this project, alleging there was NO consultation with native tribes. This is illegal!”
- Use facts from our factsheet
- Say “Thank you.”
Find your Senators and Representatives at https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm and https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
WRITE LETTERS
Time is running short! Write as many letters as you can to the editor and op-eds to local and regional papers in Nevada, surrounding states, and globally.
Sample letter to the editor of Elko Daily, by Alex Eisenberg
In this letter to the editor, directed to the Governor of Nevada, Alex identifies an article the letter is in response to, and what she is asking the governor to do (divest from lithium mining). She describes exactly what the article gets wrong, asks several pointed questions urging the Governor to consider not supporting lithium mining in Nevada, and outlines why with data she learned from the Protect Thacker Pass website.
Sample op-ed to the Sierra Nevada Ally, by Max Wilbert
Max submitted this op-ed in response to a letter by the CEO of Lithium Nevada, which made several claims about the benefits of lithium mining and electric cars in reducing greenhouse gas pollution. He first outlines why readers should care about Thacker Pass, and the wildlife and plants who live there, and articulates how he values the land and the Paiute Shoshone people who depend on the land. He then rebuts the CEO’s points with hard data making a clear case for why Thacker Pass Lithium Mine will not help reduce emissions, will destroy critical habitat, and will lead to more pollution, not less. He includes powerful quotes from James Baldwin to help make his point.
Sample response to the NDEP permits, by Max Wilbert, published on Protect Thacker Pass
Protect Thacker Pass published this response to the permits issued by NDEP on February 25, 2022. These permits permit the pollution of the air, water, and land at Thacker Pass, and allow the Lithium Nevada corporation to escape liability for inflicting these harms. Late 2021 at the public hearings about these permits, we predicted the permits would be issued because an NDEP employee has said that NDEP “never denies permits”. In our response we write about how the regulatory agencies in the United States are designed to permit harm by corporations, rather than to protect the environment. We quote Jane Anne Morris to help make our point about regulatory capture by industry, and back this up with public information about the results of the lobbying Lithium Nevada has done to ensure access to these public lands for mining.
POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Post frequently on social media about Thacker Pass to spread the word about what is happening to this sacred and wild place.
Use hashtags: #ProtectThackerPass #ProtectPeeheeMuhuh #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #LoyaltyToLandAndLife #KeepItInTheGround #DefendTheSacred #EVs are #BrightGreenLies
Tag officials and the media:
Thacker Pass specific: @BLMNV, @LithiumAmericas
Jindalee/HiTech Minerals specific: @BLMOregon, @JindaleeL
All: @BLMnational, @SecDebHaaland, @Interior, @BBCEnvironment, @BBCJustinR, @maddow, @NBCNews, @NBCNightlyNews, @ABC, @CBSNews, @AP, @thedailybeast, @washingtonpost, @Nightline, @CNN, @andersoncooper, @TheAtlantic, @60Minutes, @EconUS, @USAToday, @NPR, @Marketplace, @business
and any others you read, watch, and listen to.
Repost, share, retweet, and tag posts on:
Facebook: https://www.
Instagram: https://www.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProtectThPass
Blog: https://www.
ADD YOUR NAME
Join those who stand opposed to the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine by adding the name of your organization, to our growing list of supporters.
Want to get involved?
As a movement for the health of our earth, the people that live here, and the health of the ecosystems necessary for life of any kind on this planet, we are always expanding, growing, learning, and resisting. If you feel called to help Thacker Pass and/or help with related actions, we would love to hear from you!