I call Tucson little Berkeley.  Politically, it has become more like CA than AZ, and this extends to the changes in attitudes coming from press in the last couple of decades, particularly at the Star.  Tucson even has a form of an emergency alert system so volunteers can show up at the site of an Immigreation Enforcement activity just to interfere with it. 

I've been in Ironwood quite a number of times.  The roads sometimes are not passable without 4WD.  It is not heavily visited, so I would guess that a lot of those in Tucson who want to keep it as a National Monument don't really have an interest beyond seeing the Silverbell Mountains at some distance from US Hwy 10.  That said, mining and recreational activities can co-exist, as is being planned for at Superior/Resolution Mining NNE of there.

Thanks, LR.