Environmentalists Aim To Block Gold Mine Near Yellowstone — By Buying It

"The $6.25 million deal is meant to permanently protect land bordering the iconic national park from mining".

"For decades, conservationists have fought against gold mining at the edge of Yellowstone National Park, fearing hard-rock extraction could fragment its wildlife habitat and pollute its waterways.

Now park lovers say they say have a permanent way to preserve this crown jewel of the national park system: buying gold rights at Yellowstone’s doorstep.

A nonprofit conservation group called the Greater Yellowstone Coalition is poised to purchase the mining rights of Crevice Mining Group LLC, a firm that has fought for years to dig on slopes overlooking the Yellowstone River near the park’s northern border in Montana.

“People want to experience Yellowstone like they do today for generations to come,” said Scott Christensen, executive director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. The purchase, he added, would extinguish “the last real gold mining threat on the boundary of Yellowstone.”"

Dino Grandoni reports for the Washington Post May 11, 2023.

Source: Washington Post, 05/12/2023