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From left, Arman Esai and R.J. Smith, both of Chicago, and Edwin Rodriguez Big Bear of Cleveland protest on Tuesday outside the Oil-Dri shareholders meeting in Chicago. Oil-Dri plans to develop open pit mines and a processing plant near a residential community north of Reno. Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wednesday, December 05, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CAT LITTER MINE: Protesters crash Oil-Dri's meeting

Opponents go to Chicago to address shareholders

RENO -- Opponents of Oil-Dri Corp.'s plans to dig a cat litter mine just north of Reno took their case to the company's shareholders with a protest at its annual meeting Tuesday in Chicago.

Three members of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, which borders the proposed mine and processing facility, and three members of Citizens for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods said they each purchased a $7 share of Oil-Dri's stock in October to gain access to the meeting.

"We want shareholders to know that we will not allow Oil-Dri to pollute our neighborhoods and our community," said Diana Crutcher-Smith, a colony resident who spoke at the meeting.

Officials for Oil-Dri Corp., the biggest manufacturer of cat litter in the world, did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

About 50 shareholders attended the meeting at the Standard Club in downtown Chicago, said Bob Fulkerson, who attended the meeting as executive director of the Progressive Leadership of Nevada Alliance, part of the coalition opposed to the mine.

About 30 American Indians and other supporters in the Chicago area joined the Nevada protesters in picketing and chanting in a drum circle outside the meeting, he said.

"It went exceptionally well. They had no idea we were going to be there," Fulkerson said by telephone from Chicago.

"The Oil-Dri people talked about the project in the `Nevada desert,' " Fulkerson said.

"We had to tell them it was not in the middle of nowhere," he said.

The site is in Hungry Valley about 10 miles north of downtown Reno, just beyond a fast-growing residential area bordering the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and its 550 residents.

Oil-Dri staked a claim to the Bureau of Land Management property under the 1872 Mining Law.

"They are taking advantage of the 1872 mining law and Native Americans in our state in a desperate attempt to boost profits," said Kaitlin Backlund, executive director of Citizen Alert, who also attended the meeting.

Fulkerson said Oil-Dri's stock price has dropped from $15 a share to $7 a share in the past two years.

"Is Oil-Dri trying to prop up their sagging shares on the back of an Indian reservation?" he said.

Oil-Dri is seeking approval for two open pit mines to pull nearly 7 million tons of clay out of the ground. Company officials say the operation could pump $12 million annually into the local economy.