by Jed Fitzpatrick, Hamilton
I have been an outfitter in the Bitterroot Valley since 2004. I guide extensively throughout our state on many trout streams: Bitterroot, Big Hole, Rock Creek, Bighorn, and the mighty Missouri just to name a few. No matter how far and exotic the location I travel, nothing compares to our Bitterroot river and most importantly the West Fork of the Bitterroot. I get nostalgic just writing this thinking about the towering pines, the snowcapped peaks of the Bitterroot wilderness in the distance, the crystal clear waters churning over ancient granite boulders, the stoneflies which abound in droves amongst those pure environs, and healthy Cutthroat trout thriving in this wild stream. This is truly paradise, and the many clients my outfitting operation services will say the same thing.
But we are at a tremendous risk from the hands of industry of digging all this up for a handful of rare elements. These elements can be found throughout the world, yet their sights are set upon our beloved West Fork. They want the absolute headwaters of this system and demand we trust them with our most precious resource. I for one do not trust an extractive industry with profits on the line to care for our water and soil the same way we Montanans take care of them. We cherish this area more than any can fathom, and our health and livelihoods depend on it. One seemingly insignificant action to the headwaters of the valley will multiply a thousand fold as it undeniably makes its way into our waters, our soils, our community.
How can we possibly give credence to an out of state, for profit extraction company above the thousands of people and hundreds of businesses who call this place home? The dollars my business earns go directly back into this local economy, recycled a multitude of times throughout this area. Hundreds of other homegrown businesses dependent on clean water and a healthy Bitterroot bring in millions of dollars in revenue to our locale every year.
We cannot allow a speculative, extractive, strictly profit minded mining company into our headwaters and turn our heads on the hard working folks who put this place on the map, while blasting up an entire drainage to send our mountains to a third party processor and call that progress.
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