Published July 29, 2004 Mine if you will, but not near the Blackfoot River "Sheesh!" That's about all I can come up with when I hear about the latest twists and turns in the saga of Initiative 147. If you haven't been paying attention, I-147 is the citizens' initiative designed to repeal the ban on use of the cyanide leach process in gold and silver mining in Montana that was approved by the voters back in 1998. Backers of the initiative, primarily funded by the mining company, Canyon Resources, secured more than enough signatures to qualify it for the ballot this fall. My "Sheesh!" response stems from how difficult it is for me to believe that there were that many Montanans willing to sacrifice one of our state's treasures, the Big Blackfoot River. The lure of course is the promise of high paying jobs and a pledge that this time, the environment will almost end up in better shape than it started. That's how it's being touted I can only assume that most of those who did sign the petitions to get the I-147 on the ballot didn't waste a whole lot of time reading the fine print. For in addition to overturning the ban on cyanide, the initiative would specifically reinstate the mineral leases in the Blackfoot that Canyon Resources held at the time the ban went into effect. Now, I don't have an argument with mining. I'm sure that there is technology available today that can minimize many of the adverse effects that have been so liberally distributed across the Montana landscape over our comparatively short history. I cannot speak with any authority on the latest techniques that might render the cyanide leach process relatively benign. I am sure there are places where it is acceptable to mine and I am sure there are ways to do it right. But our Blackfoot River drainage is not one of them. Here in western Montana, we are still dealing with the nasty and toxic legacy of the years of mining that have left us with a Super Fund site stretching from Butte to Milltown. Once we screw things up, they aren't that easy to fix. Right now, hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent in the effort to restore the Clark Fork drainage. And in the Blackfoot, the specter of the abandoned mines in the upper drainage where cleanup has never really been completed looms darkly over everything downstream. There's something else to think about when you mull the notion of a huge mining operation sprawling across the valley a few miles upstream from Lincoln. Over the last 25 years, something remarkable has been happening in the Blackfoot Valley. As changes have come to western Montana, people whose families have lived and worked in the Blackfoot for generations have come to see that the lifestyle they cherish, and the rich and beautiful landscape that makes it possible are threatened. The threat is the dramatic and often short-sighted change we inflict upon the landscape in the name of progress. And in seeking ways to take some sort of positive action to protect a way of life that is so dependent upon the water and wildlife and wide-open spaces of the valley, those folks from the Blackfoot have found unexpected allies. That's because the Blackfoot is cherished by many more than those fortunate few who live there. The mountains and streams of the valley have lured hunters and anglers and all kinds of recreationists to sample its pleasures since the days when visitors arrived on foot or horseback. And they, too, have seen the changes and threats to the Blackfoot. The Big Blackfoot Chapter of Trout Unlimited came into being about the time that the legendary fishery immortalized by Norman Maclean in "A River Runs Through It," had all but disappeared. Anglers, agency folks, and valley residents joined to launch a determined series of projects to restore and enhance the once great fishery. They have been plugging away at it without pause for years. And they have accomplished much of what they set out to do. Thousands of visiting anglers have benefited from that work, most without knowing a thing about it. Another thing they don't know is that the work goes on, and will continue to go on as long as people love the Blackfoot River and the land it feeds. Through another group, the Blackfoot Challenge, ranchers and other valley residents, timber industry representatives, government agencies and a number of conservation groups have joined forces to shape a future in which the Blackfoot will always be a special place. They are tackling tasks that many would have thought impossible. Most notable perhaps is the planned acquisition of the vast tracts of industrial timberland that checkerboard the valley. And they are working together to do it with the intent of managing the resources on those lands with an eye on the future first and the bottom line second. In the Blackfoot, the lifestyle and the economy will alwys be tied to the abundant natural resources with which it is blessed. Ranching, logging and recreation of all kinds will always be fundamental to life in the valley. So will solitude and incredible natural beauty. And of course, so will be the incomparable river that runs through it. The mining operation envisioned by Canyon Resources that would be specifically facilitated by the passage of I-147 is not in that mix. The good people of the Blackfoot valley and their friends and allies around Montana have worked too hard and too long to protect one of Montana's most precious places. "Sheesh!" Greg Tollefson is a Missoula free-lance writer whose column appears each week in Outdoors. He can be reached at gtollefson@montana.com. |