By Derf Johnson
A diverse coalition delivered nearly 10,000 signatures to the Forest Service in May. Photo by Cari Kimball.
For over a decade, MEIC and our partners have engaged in a prolonged fight to prevent the Smith River Mine (aka the Black Butte Copper Mine) from ever moving forward and threatening the water quality and natural values of the Smith River watershed. From courtrooms to legislative committee meetings to public hearings, we’ve tried every tool in the shed to prevent the worst impacts of the mine. To date, the mine hasn’t begun any real mining, and the long-term efficacy of the project continues to remain in doubt. However, should the mine be permitted and production is actually established, it will gain a foothold in the Smith River valley that will likely be impossible to slow or stop. Such has been the tactic of mining companies in the past in Montana: proposing small projects with relatively small footprints, getting permits, opening up shop, and then dramatically expanding. Sandfire has made such inferences when one of its previous executives was caught on tape suggesting that the mine had an enormous opportunity to expand and to create a “50-year mining district.”
Part of Sandfire’s plan to create the 50-year mining district is to expand onto adjacent public lands. To date, the company has acquired close to 700 acres of public land mining claims on U.S. Forest Service lands that would allow for the company to expand onto federal lands. These claims are directly adjacent to the Smith River, include numerous tributaries of the river, and are some of the most unparalleled, wild, and dramatic lands you can find in Montana. The idea of this landscape turning into an industrialized wasteland and impacting the Smith River — Montana’s only permitted recreational river — is simply appalling.
Recognizing the threat, MEIC and our partners have pushed for years for the federal government to execute a “mineral withdrawal,” which would remove the lands from potential mining activity. Recently, a number of partner organizations, including MEIC, Montana Trout Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, Montana Mountain Mamas, the Montana Wildlife Federation, and Wild Montana, launched the Smith River Public Lands Coalition in the effort to withdraw the lands permanently from mineral exploitation. More information on the coalition, including a petition to the U.S. Forest Service, can be found at www.smithrivercoalition.com.
Needless to say, the idea of protecting the Smith River is incredibly popular across Montana. Both the Fort Belknap Indian Community and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have passed resolutions in support of the withdrawal. In addition, a recent poll by the University of Montana found that 73% of Montanans said they support a public process by the U.S. Forest Service before allowing any new hardrock mining at the headwaters of the Smith River. On May 21, several Montanans and organizations held an event outside the Lewis and Clark National Forest’s Office in Helena, where close to 10,000 petition signatures were delivered in support of the withdrawal.
Building broad coalitions to protect Montana’s landscape takes people and time. We urge you to not just sign the petition, but to get engaged in support of a mineral withdrawal for the public lands surrounding the Smith River watershed. You can reach out to MEIC Deputy Director Derf Johnson for more information: djohnson@MEIC.org. There’s going to be plenty to do over the next year in order to see that the Smith is protected for generations to come, so it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
This article was published in the July 2024 issue of Down To Earth.
