Just in case anyone is interested in the plans to mine granite near Sequoia. These granite quarry companies will say anything and wait as long as they need to for an okay from the cities involved.
Planned Mine near Sequoia We have the same thing happening here in Temecula. The Granite quarry company gives the same reasons why they should mine at the location. They talk about jobs and local money to the economy. The problem with the planned mine is that it is DIRECTLY over the Santa Margarita River Reserve. Anything and everything that escapes their dynamiting, demolition, truck debris, etc, will fall directly down a steep slope into the river, one of the last remaining free flowing rivers in Southern California. The company says we won't here the dynamite blasts (though we can here the blasts from Camp Pendleton, may more miles away than the mine.) My wife whom is a wildlife biologist drew up a map of prevailing winds that show that dust from the mine WILL blow directly into Temecula and Murrieta and the air will be more polluted, not less as claimed by the company. I could go on and on. We've been fighting this one here for years. If you want to fight the destruction of areas that are near critical ecological areas, check out the links. And, remember how the cities and companies lied about how much they needed the Hetch Hetchy Dam.
Here's a link to the SM River:
http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FORCalRiversSantaMargaritaAs a note, Temecula annexed much of the land around the quarry site to try and keep this quarry from proceeding. The mine still owns the land and uses "fairy tale" interpretations to try and justify mining in this location. The University of California San Diego who runs the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve says that their lawyers are ready and are prepared to sue Granite Construction, the planners of the mine as soon as they proceed with their plans. But, granite quarries are big money and they have the ability to wait for years to find the right politicians to buy off.
