Protecting and advancing air and water quality standards to ensure a clean and healthy climate for future generations
Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels through an equitable transition to renewable and clean energy sources
MEIC has worked for almost 50 years to keep Montana’s air and water clean. We have stopped dirty acid mines and helped pass and defend strong pollution control laws. And it’s all made possible by our members.
MEIC is made up of thousands of Montanans who care deeply about this state – our home. This strong membership has allowed MEIC to remain independent and to always fight for what is right. We would love to have you as a member too.
Montana is our home – and it’s worth fighting for. The land, lakes, rivers, and skies are what make Montana The Last Best Place.
MEIC is known as the heavy hitter for Montana’s environment. We take polluters to court when they break the law, we challenge government agencies when they put polluters over people, and we stalk the halls of the legislature to put a stop to bad laws. We fight for this special place like its our home – because it is.
Montana’s Smith River is renowned worldwide for its clean water, rugged canyon scenery, and blue ribbon trout fishery. The Smith is Montana’s only permitted recreational river. The permitted section of the Smith River winds 59 miles through a remote canyon in the Big Belt Mountains. Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks classifies the Smith River’s fishery as high-value, owing to its bountiful population of rainbow, brown, westslope cutthroat, and brook trout. The canyon walls of the Smith also boast some of the best examples of Native American pictographs in Montana.
Montana’s Smith River is an extraordinary resource, and deserves our most rigorous effort to protect it from mine pollution and dewatering. Montana Governor Steve Bullock and Department of Environmental Quality Director Tom Livers will make critical decisions that will determine the future of the Smith River and the Sheep Creek Mine.
Please contact Governor Bullock and Director Livers by signing the petition. Let them know that the Smith River is an incredibly important place for the people of Montana and across the country and world, and should not be sacrificed for temporary and risky mining activities.
The Smith River and its tributaries provide crucial habitat and spawning grounds for regional trout fisheries. The Sheep Creek drainage accounts for over half of tributary spawning of rainbow trout in the Smith River drainage, and rainbow trout have been known to travel nearly 200 miles round-trip from the Missouri River to spawn!
The Smith River depends on clean cold water from its tributaries to sustain the aquatic life within its banks and the agricultural operations along it. Demands on the river’s waters already often exceed available flows in many years, creating challenges for downstream water users.
P: (406) 443-2520 | meic@meic.org
107 W. Lawrence St., #N-6
Helena, MT 59601
Mailing addresses:
P.O. Box 1184, Helena, MT, 59624
P.O. Box 1375, Missoula, MT, 59806