The Continental Divide Trail Coalition has joined a chorus of local opposition to a Canadian company’s effort to mine uranium in the Carson National Forest, noting that the 3,100-mile trail runs directly through a proposed mining site.

In a news release Monday, the coalition said Gamma Resources, Ltd.’s “Mesa Arc Project” south of Canjilon threatens the integrity of the trail as it winds its way through northern New Mexico.

“The Mesa Arc Project represents a severe threat to the scenic views and solitude of the Continental Divide Trail,” CDTC Executive Director Teresa Martinez said in a statement. “But beyond that, it represents an even bigger threat to the waters that are so vital to the communities, economies, and cultures of the entire Chama watershed.”

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The company first filed an exploratory uranium mine permit application to Carson National Forest officials in February to dig between 10 and 12 boreholes up to 500 feet deep, plus build roads and drill pads. According to the company, previous exploration identified nearly 3 million pounds of “yellowcake” uranium in the area it seeks to drill.

In a presentation to potential investors late last month, Connor Messler, the newly appointed Gamma Resources president, said the company hopes to “drill the project” as early as April of next year.

But first, the company needs approval from the Carson National Forest and also state officials, who conduct their own review in a parallel permitting process.

The state has not yet received a permit application from Gamma Resources, Ltd., said George Ducker, a spokesperson for the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, in an email Tuesday afternoon.

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According to a statewide database, the company has recently applied for a permit from the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division, though the database does not specify when the company submitted the application. State officials did not immediately respond to Source New Mexico’s request for comment.

The Continental Divide Trail Coalition sent a “letter of concern” in late May to the Carson National Forest supervisor that identified potential impacts from mining on the trail and asked the Forest Service to complete as full an environment review as possible under the National Environmental Policy Act. The review should include a review of potential harm to the trail itself and on hikers’ access to clean drinking water, according to the letter.

In addition to the coalition, members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation have said they are working on federal legislation that would prohibit mineral extraction from the Chama basin. Local government entities, like the Rio Arriba County Commission and the Upper Chama Soil and Water Conservation District, have passed resolutions in opposition to the project.

The trail continues south from the Chama Basin and ends at New Mexico’s shared border with Mexico. New federal border wall construction at the trail’s terminus has also degraded the hiking experience, coalition leaders have said.