by Michael Howell
The Ravalli County Collaborative Committee, established in 2017 by the Ravalli County Commissioners to promote the wise use of natural resources and foster collaboration among local, state and federal agencies, has issued a strong position statement in opposition to the proposed Sheep Creek Mine.
“While we recognize the national discussion surrounding the need for critical minerals, we firmly believe that the pursuit of such resources must not come at the expense of permanently degrading our local ecosystems, community-chosen livelihoods and quality of life,” reads the recently released position statement. “The specific location of this mine on Sheep Creek presents an incompatible and unacceptable risk to our most valued assets.”
The committee, composed of 15 members appointed by the commissioners, has been advising the county on natural resource issues for nine years and arrives at its recommendations through a consensus process.
In this case, they state, “Our position is clear and resolute. The RCC strongly urges the U.S. Forest Service (Bitterroot National Forest), the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, and all relevant agencies to deny all permits for the Sheep Creek Mine proposal and calls upon our elected representatives at the county, state, and federal levels to actively oppose this project and to advocate for the permanent protection of the Sheep Creek watershed from industrial mineral development.” The RCC “stands ready to mobilize our collective resources, expertise, and unwavering commitment to ensure this project does not proceed.”
The committee found the risk to the valley’s water unacceptable, stating, “Sheep Creek is a pristine tributary feeding the Bitterroot River, the hydrological heart of our valley and economy… No mitigation technology can guarantee the protection of these waters for the centuries such pollution would persist. The health of our fisheries, the purity of our irrigation water, the safety of our drinking water, and the viability of our agriculture are too much to risk.”
They also found the proposed mine to be a direct threat to the valley’s economy, stating, “The Bitterroot’s economic drivers are agriculture, recreation, tourism, and the service sectors that support them. An industrial mine risks contaminating our brand as a healthy, scenic and livable valley, thereby jeopardizing the businesses and jobs that sustain our communities for the fleeting promise of a small number of mining jobs.”
Other values in the upper West Fork that would be affected include a vital wildlife corridor that “would likely fragment habitat and disrupt migration, undermining decades of regional conservation efforts” and also threatens critical Bull Trout habitat.
The proposed mine would also negatively impact the majority of locally provided services including, but not limited to: road and bridge infrastructure, law enforcement, education, medical, Search and Rescue, volunteer fire departments, wildland fire, and air quality.
“The history of mining in the West is clear,” states the RCC. “Mine owners leave, passing on to communities and taxpayers the significant costs of perpetual water treatment and environmental remediation. The RCC has no confidence that financial assurances will be adequate to cover ‘forever’ liabilities. Ravalli County must not be forced into a gamble where our future generations and downstream users inherit a toxic burden.”
According to the RCC the Sheep Creek Mine proposal has been advanced “without the input or full knowledge of the people who call Ravalli County home” and contradicts the clearly expressed will of many residents who place a high priority on protecting watersheds, working lands, and wild places.
Their statement concludes, “Some places are too valuable to degrade. Sheep Creek and the Bitterroot Valley are such places. We oppose this mine to protect the water, the economy, and the legacy of our valley. For the Bitterroot, For Our Future.”
Committee Chairperson Margaret Gorski said that coming to a consensus in the Bitterroot over natural resource issues in a committee with such a large and diverse membership has not been easy historically.
“But this was easy,” she said. “Everyone recognized the exploratory mining being proposed in the headwaters of the West Fork was of great concern and needed to be addressed. No one thought it was a good idea.”
Pam Morris says
There was a big meeting about this last year at the fair grounds. Over 500 people attended. A few spoke. The people of Ravalli County DO NOT want this mining operation. How many times do we have to oppose it? NO TO MINING at Sheep Creek!
Rob Pena says
I thought I would do a little searching with AI for the names of the people on this collaborative. I thought it would be easy to come up with all 15 names of the people on this board. It wasn’t. I only found six names. Two of those, only had first names. How can the public make informed decisions if the government doesn’t publish the names of the people making those decisions?
I tried two different AI searches and this is what I found.
“While it is indeed a public board, the Ravalli County Collaborative (RCC) does not currently publish a single, live list of all 15 members on its official county landing page. Members are appointed individually by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) as vacancies occur, often without an updated “master roster” being issued to the public.”
Bill Jones says
Ok, it actually is appropriate to expect a compilation of the membership for public viewing. But l hope your concern won’t inspire another chapter in the Ravalli County Encyclopedia of Conspiracy Theories. We’re still trying to get over a number of ludicrous group think wildfires.
hsabin says
Think wild fires? watch out BILL they may come some day to smoke you out. If the wind is blowing they can do tremendous devastation and travel so fast it is almost impossible to stop their destruction – go look up the waldo canyon Fires in Colorado Springs…2012 June.
Rob Pena says
If the government doesn’t tell you who’s making decisions, that means they don’t really care about purposeful honesty. The people deserve transparency.
The only group think I see on these comments is everyone patting themselves on the back when we don’t even know if these are the people who made the decision.
And then we have a person that says nothing good ever came from mining!? That is the most ridiculous statement I have heard for a long, long, long, long, time.
Barry prime says
This is a no brainer. Nothing good comes from the mine. Just the rich trying to get richer at our expense..
hsabin says
YEP sounds like you did your homework.
Amy Anderson says
As a Ravalli County resident, I can say we absolutely reject this mine and agree 100% with RCC. The cost will be our environment, wilderness, community, and our health. No way!
Robert says
How many of you that commented on this are actually from Montana, and not a transplant that we didn’t want here in the first place! Probably not even one of you.! Mining has always been a part of Montana. Sick and tired of leftist liberals bringing their agenda to Montana!
Steve Schmidt says
Every one of the members of the RCC including the county commissioner who sits on the RCC are all residents of Ravalli County Montana
Rob Pena says
No kidding, you’re all residents of ravalli county. That wasn’t the question. Essentially, the commenter was asking how many of you were born in ravalli county? What’s the answer to that? The only thing you did was answer the obvious but not the question that was asked.
Bill Jones says
So your catalog of the pro-mine residents you’ve compiled are close to 100% born here folks. There’s so many way to be racist these days! When does the Build The Wall clamoring begin?
Rob Pena says
So it’s racist to ask who the people are that are making the decisions? And what catalog are you talking about? Do you just make things up to write things and then play some non-existent race card so no one will respond. That doesn’t work with me.
hsabin says
ROB – what does where you are born have to do with anything? That is the silliest argument folks use here to u their posts. You could be a mass killer of people here and are born here…see if the logic is turned around on you?
what is more important is do you want the valley to remain a valley or the government to resemble what was left behind…that has more power to influence if you are persuasive or not. We have corrupt legislators – can you name two of them and give reasons why?
Rob Pena says
Instead of trying to obscure the question why don’t you answer the question? I noticed you didn’t make any attempt to. So as long as this committee agrees with your opinion, it doesn’t matter who the people are, right? What would happen if they came up with something you didn’t agree with? Maybe You might want to know who’s making decisions for you.
Rob Pena says
That wasn’t the question. Essentially, the question is how many board members were born and raised in ravalli county? What is the answer to that? Even though I didn’t ask the initial question, I would like the answer to it. And I’m not agreeing or disagreeing with any verbiage from the original question, but the commenter has a pertinent question of who is on this board.
Gary says
Rob it’s pretty easy to find if you actually put in some effort. A simple Google search for Ravalli County Collaborative will pull up the Montana forest Collaborative website. Then if you take some more effort to click your mouse a couple times you can find all the meeting minutes that list the board members and everything that was discussed. But it would take some real effort to find out if they born here, effort that I doubt you are the “original” commenter will be willing to take since you can’t even be bothered to do a some basic Google research.
Kelsey Milner says
Calm down Robert, mining will still be a part of Montana. And I am sick and tired of all the right wing maggots who try and foist their ignorant, regressive views on normal Amerricans!
Rob Pena says
So, Kelsey is obviously the voice of reason here, right? Kelsey wants everyone to calm down And then writes this….?
“And I am sick and tired of all the right wing maggots who try and foist their ignorant, regressive views on normal Amerricans!”
You’re writing is antagonistic to itself. And guess what Kelsey, You didn’t answer Roberts question did you? But you had enough time to insult him and anyone else who votes Republican, Right? You didn’t help this conversation, You just took it into the gutter. Congratulations.
Nicolas Wissenbach says
Fantastic article and opposition to the mine. Keep it up!
Andy Roubik says
Good job RCC! You are truly reflecting the beliefs of Bitterroot Valley residents !
Keep up the good work!
KC York says
Great letter! Thank you RCC.
Rod and Patricia Miller says
We second Mark Van Loon’s statement. Thank you RCC.
Mark Van Loon says
Hear! Hear! RCC – Thank You for your strong statement.