• Listen to this segment

GUESTS: Klee Benally, volunteer with The Save the Peaks Coalition, Rudy Preston, a litigant with the Flagstaff Activist Network

A coalition of indigenous leaders and environmental groups has caravaned to Southern California ahead of a court hearing on Arizona’s San Francisco Peaks. In a follow up to a story we covered on Uprising, the legal battle over the mountain centers around expansion plans for a private ski resort and the use of fake snow made from reclaimed wastewater. Earlier this year, the ninth circuit court overruled a district court decision and stated that expansion of the private ski resort on the peaks violated religious freedom and did not comply with federal environmental standards. The San Francisco Peaks, located north of Flagstaff, are considered sacred by thirteen indigenous nations. The coalition caravan has arrived here in Los Angeles as the Ninth Circuit court has allowed the U.S. Forest Service and the private ski resort a review of their decision. Prior to the court hearings scheduled on December 11th, the Save the Peaks coalition will spend the weekend in Southern California raising awareness of their cause. There will be a march to the appeals court in Pasadena on Tuesday where a prayer vigil and rally will take place.

For more information, visitwww.savethepeaks.org