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elevations. If levels of nutrients are increased, even to a threshold thought “beneficial” to plant life in lower altitudes, what may result is shock to the delicate ecosystem, followed by death to an array of sensitive species.
SWCA’s report, which concentrated on re- claimed wastewater’s Nitrogen levels, found “in the long term, the increasing availability of soil Nitrogen may result in the competitive
exclusion of slow-growing species charac- teristic of the natural ecosystem by relatively fast-growing nitrophillic species ... grasses, sedges, and exotics are the ‘winners’ and less nitrophillic species such as forbs of small stat- ure, dwarf shrubs, lichens, and mosses are the ‘losers.’”
Sonoma Technology Inc., retained by SWCA, modeled Nitrogen distribution on the Peaks from both atmospheric sources and snow made from reclaimed wastewater. It found wind currents, as are typically found on frequently blustery days in the winter months on the Peaks, would carry the snow- drift of reclaimed wastewater beyond the area currently leased by Arizona Snowbowl. Using four water use scenarios — wet, dry, average, and maximum permitted usage
— STI reports the prevailing rotating winds would disperse reclaimed wastewater, and its increased levels of chemistry, throughout the habitat of the Groundsel and its family of alpine-specific vegetation.
Beginning less than 1⁄4 mile from Snow- bowl, the “critical habitat” spans 15 acres to the north and west of the ski resort. As STI’s modeling suggests, a vast majority of the ecosystem would be contaminated with the
remnants of reclaimed wastewater. “Background Nitrogen deposition on the San Francisco Peaks is already very
near the critical load,” asserts the report. “As a result, relatively small increases in de- position would result in excedence of the critical load. The use of treated effluent
for snowmaking at Snowbowl would re- sult in total Nitrogen depositions greater than 4 kg/ha/year on 48 to 99% of the crit- ical habitat and 53 to 91% of the known P. franciscana distribution. Further the maximum deposition of Nitrogen in the critical habitat would ... increase 3 to 8 times current background deposition.”
Interestingly, the 2005 Environmental Impact Statement the USFS used to ap- prove snowmaking with reclaimed waste- water at Arizona Snowbowl included no data on the substance’s effects upon na- tive vegetation.
* University of Arizona’s Ursula Schuch, PhD, found these increases in the elemen- tal chemical composition of Tucson’s A+ reclaimed wastewater: Phosphorous (21,000%); Nitrogen (46%); Calcium (67%); Magnesium (550%); Potassium (500%); So- dium (417%); Chlorine (558%).
| Charles Seiverd is a native Arizonan who has reported on Ponderosa Pines since his days as a cub reporter. charles@thenoise.us
hold religious ceremonies on the property in question. He needs to apply for a Religious Use Permit and have the land assessed for the development criteria for that use. Then he would also need to request permits for any structures, including the sweat lodge, that he wishes to erect on the property.
Mr. Macdonald stated that this is not a re- ligious freedom issue. “It’s about the health, safety, and welfare of the people involved,” he said. Mr. DeArmon says that the county is infringing on his First Amendment rights to engage in his religious practices free from government intrusion or intervention.
Mr. DeArmon has been criticized by some because he is not of Native blood. His name has appeared on Internet “plastic shaman” lists and he has been accused of improperly hosting high ticket events featuring indig- enous elders from around the world. He has been accused by some Native American or- ganizations of practicing sacred ceremonies without authorization and charging a fee for religious and spiritual practices which are against the very tenets of Native spiritual culture.
In his defense, Mr. DeArmon says he grew up on an Indian reservation and was ex- posed to the sweat lodge and related cer- emonies as a child. In his 20s, after venturing down an unhealthy path in life, he returned to the Standing Rock Reservation, home to people of the Lakota and Dakota nations. It was here that he began participating in Inipi ceremonies which gave his life new direction. He said it was then that he began to learn the ways of the Inipi and other ceremonies. He worked with elders on the reservation and received the proper training and initia-
tions to become a recognized facilitator, or “pourer,” of the Inipi.
Mr. DeArmon says that on at least one oc- casion county officials went onto his prop- erty to perform inspections without his per- mission and when he was not at home. He also claims that other unknown individuals have trespassed on the property to secretly photograph the structures and gatherings that have taken place.
Mr. DeArmon also says there is no actual county ordinance that covers sweat lodges. He states the county wants him to create the necessary documentation – including archi- tectural designs, developmental plans, and information about how many people attend lodges and who facilitates them – so that the county can begin requiring structural permits for sweat lodges.
Mr. DeArmon states “they want me to teach them how a lodge should be done so they can start requiring these things from others. It is not my place to work with the county in this way.” He is afraid that any re- quirements the county places on him could be later expanded to others who want to gather on private land for religious purposes and erect temporary structures to celebrate and worship.
Perhaps there is simply too much emo- tional charge here in Yavapai County, both with county officials and with first respond- ers, in the aftermath of the James Arthur Ray tragedy.
| Cindy J. Cole is a well- rounded researcher residing in Sedona. cindycole@live.com
thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • NOVEMBER 2012 • 9