An Arizona Republican Congressman has condemned the National Park Service for adding the Oak Flat campground to the National Registry of Historic Places.
U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar called the campgrounds a "bogus" historic site that's meant to sabotage a mining company's efforts to reach a 1.7 billion-ton copper ore deposit that sits deep underneath the area.
The National Park Service declared the Oak Flat campgrounds outside Superior, Arizona, as a historic place to be included in the registry last week. The park service was required to determine its eligibility as part of an environmental review process.
Gosar said in a written statement he believes the mine would benefit the nearby towns.