Tribal leaders and environmentalists are asking the Bureau of Land Management to reverse course on a southern Arizona mining project it green-lit at the end of June. The Copper Creek Exploration Project is the beginning stage of what could become an open-pit copper mine across a roughly 25 square mile stretch near a portion of the San Pedro River in the Galiuro mountain range northeast of Tucson. … The groups argue the BLM’s Safford Office, which conducted the assessment, didn’t fully consider the project’s impacts on surface water, groundwater, and wildlife habitat as is required by federal laws like the National Environmental Protection Act.