Navajos are appealing a court decision that allows Arizona Snowbowl to engage in wastewater snowmaking on their sacred mountain. The San Francisco Peaks, which are located on drought-beleaguered public forest, have gotten less than two feet of snow this year, most of which has melted.

In the Albuquerque Journal, the tribes say that wastewater snowmaking on the San Francisco Peaks “would probably destroy our people, our way of life. Our prayers are not going to be strong.” Meanwhile Arizona Snowbowl officials take the stance that “the ski area occupies only 1 percent of the peaks and that snowmaking would occur on one-fourth of that area.”

This looks like an opportunity for collaboration and consensus. Snow Bowl officials could give tribal members permission to pee in the corner of Snowbowl officials’ houses — agreeing to cover no more than .25 percent of the floor area with urine (in an average 2000 sq. foot house, this would only amount to 5 sq. feet) — and Snowbowl could have its snowmaking. Surely everyone would consider such an arrangement fair?

For background on the issue check out the High Country News story Sacred claims in the free archive. View the source article at the Albuquerque Journal: Navajos Appeal Arizona Snowmaking Decision (subscription required). Also view this article on Snowbowl’s record-breaking lack of snow from the Arizona Republic.