Gold mining is an important activity for rural workers in Northwestern Sonora, Mexico. Mining is one of the top ten occupations with the greatest number of employees and income, but no data is available indicating what workers think about mining activities impact on the regions natural resources (rangelands and water). This study was conducted during 2014 in Estacion Llano Sonora, Mexico located at the San Francisco Mine. The objective was to understand what employees think about mining and its impact on society and surrounding natural resources. Three hundred surveys were sent to employees selected at random from the official list of the local mine. The number of surveys where determined to provide a 95% of confidence (P<0.05). Data obtained suggests that: Fifty five percent of the workers are 31 to 50 years old and employment from the mine was the main source of income in 68% of the household. The average income they get from the mine varies from $4,000 to $12,000.00 pesos a month. Income from other employment made up from $2,000 to $3,200 a month. All mine employees surveyed agreed that natural resources could be used for a livelihood, responding to: 26% water, 17% soils, 17% plants, 14% animals, 14% wood and charcoal and 12% seeds and fruits. Eighty percent of the workers received some type of natural resource training from the mine. Seventy percent recognize the company has invested money and efforts to train employees and their family members in range management for natural resource conservation. Examples of training they cited in the survey included water harvesting and conservation along with seed harvesting for range improvement practices, proper grazing strategies for cattle and reforestation. In conclusion, the training provided by the mine has improved the awareness of the local people for proper natural resource management.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.