A cyanide gold mine proposed in Buffalo Gulch
A cyanide heap leach gold mine is proposed on public lands in Idaho's Buffalo Gulch. This area, administered for all Americans by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), lies in the South Fork Clearwater watershed.
A cyanide gold mine proposed where it's illegal to pollute
Both the South Fork Clearwater and Buffalo Gulch are listed as impaired 303(d) streams under the Clean Water Act. This means that Idaho Law and the EPA require that no further degradation occur in either of these drainages.
The mine threatens local drinking water and fisheries
Many local residents depend on Buffalo Gulch-fed springs and wells for their drinking water.
The project could negatively affect treaty rights and public recreation, as fishing in the South Fork Clearwater River is important both culturally and economically.
And since the completion of Dworshak Dam, which blocks native fish migrations between the Pacific Ocean and North Fork Clearwater River, the South Fork has gained added significance as a rare, local, anadromous fishery. Westslope cutthroat trout, Pacific lamprey, threatened bull trout, Chinook salmon, and steelhead inhabit the area’s waters.
TAKE ACTION
The BLM is now taking public comment on the mine proposal. Please write the BLM and tell them that pure water is more precious than gold.
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/676/t/572/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=249
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