Emigrant Peak rises above the Paradise Valley and the Yellowstone River. Who says men (and women) can’t move mountains? Paradise Valley, the northern gateway to Yellowstone National Park, is officially now safe from a destructive mining project after the Montana Supreme Court ruled a Canadian company’s bid to mine for gold is illegal. Earthjustice brought a case challenging the mine on behalf of two local organizations. In its December 2020 ruling, the court found that the state acted illegally when it permitted mineral exploration. The court said Montana overlooked harm to wildlife and failed to provide a plan to prevent pollution of groundwater and streams. The justices further ruled unanimously that a provision in Montana Environmental Policy Act that stripped Montanans of the ability to stop such unlawful projects was unconstitutional. This outcome will have far-reaching impacts on challenges to mining and other industrial projects in Montana. A Montana district court blocked an access road for drilling rigs and heavy equipment from tearing up this landscape. Proposed in 2015 by Canada-based Lucky Minerals, the company’s plans to develop a large-scale gold mine in Paradise Valley would have caused irreversible environmental harm to the park and frayed the economic fabric […]
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