Chapter 1. Purpose of and Need for Action

Land managers for the Coronado National Forest (the Coronado), an administrative unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (Forest Service), prepared this draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) in response to a preliminary mine plan of operations (MPO) submitted by Augusta Resource Corporation (Augusta Resource), the parent company of Rosemont Copper Company (Rosemont Copper), for development of the Rosemont ore deposit. The same preliminary MPO (WestLand Resources Inc. 2007a) was also submitted to the Bureau of Land Management for concurrent consideration. The preliminary MPO presented in this document addresses activities proposed on lands administered by both the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, for which Federal decisions are required.