For Immediate Release: June 17, 2026
Contact:
Derf Johnson, MEIC | (406) 443-2520, Ext. 103 | djohnson@meic.org
Andrew Gorder, Clark Fork Coalition | andrew@clarkfork.org
Walker Conyngham, Trout Unlimited | (406) 529-5754 | walker.conyngham@tu.org
David Brooks, Montana Trout Unlimited | (406) 543-0054 | david@montanatu.org
Lizzy Pennock, WildEarth Guardians | lpennock@wildearthguardians.
Conservation groups request more time, information about massive mining project on public lands near Helena
HELENA – Conservation groups* this week submitted a letter to the Helena Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service decrying a large new proposed mining exploration project, primarily on public lands west of Helena. The project covers nearly 11,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. The groups contest that the 30-day comment period – and no public hearing – is just one of many deficiencies in the proposal that requires more time for public input and response.
“An exploration project of this scale – impacting thousands of acres of public lands, sensitive species and several imperiled waterways – deserves the highest level of scrutiny from our federal regulators,” said Andrew Gorder, Legal Director for the Clark Fork Coalition. “Rather than rushing to approve this sweeping exploration, the Forest Service should slow down and ensure that project information is transparent and fully accessible to the public.”
The Blue Copper Project, proposed by Falcon Copper Corporation, is a large-scale copper, gold, silver, and tungsten exploration operation on federal public lands approximately 20 miles west of Helena, Montana. The project has been given federal FAST-41 designation, a program that expedites permitting for certain infrastructure projects including mining proposals. The proposed operating timeline is 2027-2032. The U.S. Forest Service shared the draft environmental assessment (EA) on June 2, with a public comment period that closes on July 2. As of this press release, no public meeting has been scheduled.
The proposed project spans an approximately 10,816-acre footprint across Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest and BLM lands in Powell and Lewis and Clark Counties. Falcon Copper is proposing up to 127 drill pads and up to 5 drill rigs that would operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The company is also proposing approximately 41 miles of road use — including 2.87 miles of new road construction. The project overlaps with an eight-acre corridor of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, and trail 708-T1 is used as a direct equipment access route during operations.
“This mining exploration proposal is very extensive and will result in significant impacts to a large chunk of country in Montana,” said Derf Johnson, Deputy Director of the Montana Environmental Information Center. “It’s really alarming that the Forest Service is trying to sneak this through with a 30-day comment period and no public hearing. These activities won’t just harm public lands and waters, but have the potential to also impact adjacent private landowners living in the vicinity of the proposal. The Forest Service should slow down and make sure that the process is adequate for a project of this size.”
The project sits entirely within the Little Blackfoot River watershed, directly affecting Ophir Creek, Carpenter Creek, and Snowshoe Creek. Two of these streams (Snowshoe Creek and Carpenter Creek) are already listed as impaired for sedimentation, nutrient loading, substrate alteration, and habitat loss. The project proposes extraction up to 24,000 gallons per day from these already stressed, impaired systems.
In addition, the draft EA failed to consider potential project impacts for species protected under the Endangered Species Act and other species of concern, including grizzly bear, Canada lynx, wolverine, bull trout, whitebark pine, monarch butterfly, and Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee.
“This massive project would sit in the heart of habitat that grizzly bears, Canada lynx, and wolverine depend on,” said Lizzy Pennock, carnivore coexistence attorney at WildEarth Guardians. “Not only does the public care deeply about these species, but the government is legally charged with protecting them. The public deserves more than thirty days to weigh in on a project that could further jeopardize the recovery of threatened species.”
This proposed exploration presents another in a recent slate of fast-tracked mine proposals in Montana that do not properly examine impacts on public land, water, or wildlife. In addition, the lack of sufficient public notice and participation are concerning – but increasing – trends in regard to Montana mining proposals.
