Love Earth WEC

Yellowstone vs Mining Victory

25th April 2019

By LoveEarth

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BIG CONSERVATION WIN

Around Yellowstone National Park a giant gold mining project has been pushing for approval the past few years.

Disregarding the environmental and economic trauma the project was proven to cause AND losing in court in 2018, they were able to continue their pursuit due to a Montana state provision prohibiting courts from invalidating or enjoining mining projects, even if the project is unlawfully authorized!

SO! Attorneys went back to court to stop the project entirely. Arguing that allowing an illegal project to go forward violates the public’s environmental and public participation rights under Montana’s Constitution.

The court again agreed and as a result, the mining exploration project is now entirely off the table!

The 1st court case win proved Under the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), that state regulators downplayed and dismissed very serious environmental risks posed by the project: potentially long-term harm to the wildlife of the Yellowstone region, particularly grizzly bears and wolverines, AND threats to clean water in Yellowstone River tributaries. It was also argued that the state didn’t consider that this exploration could lead to much larger-scale development.

This is a HUGE win for the ecosystems in and around Yellowstone and for the USA and the world! This court win will help build a portfolio that prevents similar harmful projects from slipping through the cracks and getting their way!

Why Is Mining So Harmful to the Environment?

Big mining projects create a ripple effect just like everything else in the world. In the Yellowstone region, the effects are even greater due to its biodiversity and being one of the most geologically dynamic areas on Earth!

Mining could send acid runoff flowing into tributaries of the Yellowstone River, while nearly 100,000 tons of waste rock containing elevated levels of arsenic would be dumped near tributary headwaters. Even mineral exploration alone threatens to pollute these waters with heavy metals and acid runoff.

All of this would be detrimental to the vast array of wildlife, many of which are endangered, like the grizzly bear, gray wolf, lynx, wolverine, and bald eagle.

Yellowstone’s Geologic Significance

Yellowstone continues today as a natural geologic laboratory of active Earth processes.

One of the most geologically dynamic areas on Earth due to a shallow source of magma and resulting volcanic activity.
One of the largest volcanic eruptions known to have occurred in the world, creating one of the largest known calderas.
More than 10,000 hydrothermal features, including approximately 500 geysers—the most undisturbed hydrothermal features left in the world.
The largest concentration of active geysers in the world—more than half of the world’s total.
One of the few places in the world where active travertine terraces are found, at Mammoth Hot Springs.
Site of many Petri Ed trees formed by a series of andesitic volcanic eruptions 45 to 50 million years ago.