Sheep Creek flyover turns heads

by John Dowd

As debate continues over the proposed Sheep Creek rare earth mine up the headwaters of the West Fork of the Bitterroot River, the Bitterroot Water Partnership organized a series of flyovers to give local leaders a firsthand look at the remote project area.

The event came just weeks after US Critical Materials submitted its latest exploration plan to the U.S. Forest Service, renewing discussion over the proposed mining project and its potential impacts.

The Bitterroot Water Partnership, with donated flights from EcoFlight and LightHawk Conservation Flying, flew more than 20 people over the proposed mine site in roughly half a dozen flights. Participants included county commissioners, state legislators, business owners, media members, ranchers and representatives from conservation organizations.

“The whole purpose is to provide this rich learning experience for community leaders to imagine what having a rare earth mine up the headwaters of the Bitterroot would be like,” said Alex Ocañas, community conservation manager for the Bitterroot Water Partnership.

Ocañas said the organization coordinated the event and provided guides for each flight.

“These are prominent voices in the Bitterroot,” she said.

The flights traveled up the West Fork of the Bitterroot River, providing what organizers described as a landscape-level perspective of the proposed mining area.

“Conservation issues matter at a landscape level,” Ocañas said. “It’s important to get that 1,000-foot view.”

According to Ocañas, the Sheep Creek mining claim covers an area roughly 11 times the surface area of Painted Rocks Reservoir.

She also emphasized the area’s economic reliance on clean water, saying recreation contributes about $80 million annually to the Bitterroot Valley economy, with fishing accounting for approximately $68 million. Agriculture, another major industry in the valley, also depends heavily on local water resources.

The flyover comes as the U.S. Forest Service reviews a revised exploration plan submitted by U.S. Critical Materials on June 12. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the agency first received a draft plan of operations from the company on Dec. 5, 2025. That proposal was later withdrawn and replaced with two revised plans, the most recent submitted in June.

In a public update released earlier this month, the U.S. Forest Service said the latest plan meets the minimum requirements under federal regulations. However, officials said additional information is still needed before environmental analysis can begin, and the level of review has not yet been determined. The agency is accepting public comments through the email address sheep.creek.comments@usda.gov.

Ocañas said she believes the revised proposal still lacks important information. “It is already apparent they are missing some key pieces you’d expect to see in a quality plan,” she said.

Tony Hudson, a Bitterroot Valley rancher and president of Save the American West, also questioned the latest proposal. “It does not look like a really viable plan, more like an appeasement,” Hudson said.

Hudson pointed to the company’s proposal to reduce road construction by relying primarily on helicopters to access the site. According to Hudson, the plan would require multiple helipads and thousands of helicopter flights during each mining season. He said those logistics raise questions about the practicality of the proposal.

Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers, said she helped the Bitterroot Water Partnership organize the flyover by bringing regional experience from conservation efforts across Idaho, Montana and Wyoming west of the Continental Divide. “I bring the perspective of broader resources,” Ronald said, including “the strategy of how to organize a fly-in that is impactful.”

Ronald said organizers conducted a reconnaissance flight several weeks before the public event to determine how best to present the landscape to participants. During that trip, they considered landing by helicopter but found the terrain too steep.

The steep terrain has become a recurring point in discussions surrounding the proposed mine. Critics, including MPG Ranch ecologist Dr. Phillip Ramsey, have argued the site’s rugged topography could complicate mining operations and increase concerns about worker safety, contamination and future cleanup.

Ronald said the revised exploration plan leaves unanswered questions about helicopter operations. “There is a lack of clarity in the plan,” she said. “There are some deficiencies that have yet to be addressed.”

She said protecting the Bitterroot watershed should remain a priority. “We need to keep our pristine clear waters clean,” Ronald said. “There is so much here in the Bitterroot that depends on the river.” She added that the watershed should not be used “as a test tube for experiment,” and questioned whether the proposal serves the public interest. “Is this in the public’s best interest if it’s affecting public resources?” she said.

Among those who participated in the flyover was Montana State Auditor and Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown. Brown said he approached the trip without taking a position on the project and wanted to better understand the landscape before discussing the issue publicly. “It was interesting to see how forested it is in that area,” Brown said.

“What a perspective to get it from the air,” he added. Brown said the flight helped explain why the proposal has generated strong local interest. “After taking that flight, I can see why there is so much community interest, because it’s so pristine up there,” he said.

He said the experience would help him ask more informed questions moving forward. “Access is going to be a huge consideration,” Brown said.