Stop exploratory mining in Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
Goldfinch Plan of Operations
U.S. Forest Service· Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Dillon Ranger DistrictU.S. Forest Service project page ↗
Forest ServiceWe track this on the agency’s own system of record, where most on-the-ground decisions live.
The groups on this fight
4 groups work Montana
By footprint, from the same match the STAND matchmaker runs; none is linked to this decision in our record yet. Give straight to them; nothing routes through us.
- American Prairie
Works Montana: defending its own bison herd, formally protesting BLM's revocation of grazing permits on 63,000 public-land acres.
- Defenders of Wildlife
Works Montana: named plaintiff in the Rock Creek Mine case, which turned on threatened grizzly bears and bull trout.
- Earthjustice
Works Montana: counsel in the long-running litigation against the Rock Creek and Montanore mines proposed beneath the wilderness.
- Western Watersheds Project
Works Montana: filed a protest against BLM's revocation of the bison grazing permits.
Every group above is on STAND for Public Lands, with its court record, its filings and who backs it.
A three-year mining operation would cut roads, dig trenches, and sink a shaft into national forest land near Argenta, Montana.
What’s at risk
Roads, trenches, and a mine shaft would disturb undeveloped national forest land in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge. The Forest Service is reviewing whether to approve this plan under NEPA, and public input now is the only way to keep a seat at the table later.
If this goes through
If approved, the mine operator gets three years to dig into the forest, and reclamation is promised but not guaranteed to restore the land to its original condition.
Our plain-English read of the official notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words below.
4 holes in the agency’s own analysis
What the public could have raised, from the agency’s own document
- I oppose this action as proposed, and I ask the agency to weigh the specific harms below.
- The Forest Service should require a thorough NEPA review before approving road construction, trenching, and shaft sinking at the Goldfinch Mine in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
- This three-year exploratory mining operation will cause ground disturbance in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, and the reclamation plan must be fully bonded and enforceable before any work begins.
- The Dillon Ranger District must ensure the proposed roads, trenches, and shaft at the Goldfinch Mine site do not cause lasting harm to National Forest land near Argenta.
- I oppose approving this Plan of Operations until the Forest Service clearly demonstrates that reclamation after exploration will fully restore the affected land in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
Show all 6 points from the document
- Say something only you can say. The law requires the agency to consider and respond to substantive comments, and specifics are what make a comment substantive.
In the agency’s own words
The Dillon Ranger District received a Plan of Operations for the Goldfinch Mine located approximately 3.6 miles northwest of Argenta. A 3 year exploration project including roads, trenches and shaft that will be reclaimed after exploration is complete.
The reporting behind this
From More Than Just ParksIt’s referred to as Unit 346 in the Twin Mountain II Timber Sale. On the ground, it’s some of the most spectacular old growth we’ve ever witnessed, and it’s marked for clearcutting.
To document and do our part to save America’s greatest old growth forest
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