Boise residents and river enthusiasts are lucky; we get to enjoy one of the cleanest rivers around. The Boise River is clean because Boise is the first city in line below the mountains, where the headwaters of the river are formed. We are actually responsible for most of the pollution in the Boise River. However, if a Canadian mining company gets their way, pollution of the river will get much worse than sunken beer cans from past river float seasons… how does cyanide sound?
That’s right, cyanide – Atlanta Gold, the name of the Canadian mining company, has plans to build an open-pit cyanide heap-leach gold mine in THE HEADWATERS OF THE BOISE RIVER!
This mine threatens the health of all who habitat and enjoy the river. Our fish, wildlife, public health, safety and drinking water are all at risk! Leach mining has been banned in all but 1 other state besides Idaho because of the resulting detrimental effects on the environment.
It’s Time to Protect the Boise River
The Forest Service is holding the following public open house meetings on the proposed mine:
- May 24, 4-7 PM Mountain Home -? American Legion Hall, 515 East 2nd Street South
- May 25, 4-7 PM Idaho City -? Idaho City Ranger District, Highway 21, MP 38.5
- May 30, 4-8 PM Boise -? Doubletree Riverside Motel, 2900 Chinden Blvd., Garden City
- May 31, 3-6 PM Atlanta -? Atlanta School
Main Points
- Share what the Boise River means to you and your family
- Diesel fuel must not be stockpiled in the headwaters
- All open pits must be completely backfilled and capped
- Water must not be polluted or require perpetual treatment
What To Do
- Attend one of the open houses listed above.
- Send comments by June 9th to
Attn: Terry Harding
Boise National Forest Service
c/o PO Box 552
Boise, ID 83702 - If you only have a minute, go to www.wildidaho.org to send comments electronically.
- Volunteer to help on this campaign – send an email to rwiner@wildidaho.org
For more information, contact John Robison, jrobison@wildidaho.org or 208.345.6942 x 13.
This campaign is coordinated by Idaho Families for Clean Water, a coalition of groups, including Sierra Club, Idaho Rivers United, and Idaho Conservation League protecting Idaho’?s clean water.
Right ON! Thanks for leading the effort here. I read about this mining company and when I did, was so pissed off I called the company ready to give the CEO a piece of my mind. This is outrageous that our elected officials would even consider this. Let’s take the regions most precious asset, the Boise River System and put it at risk so that a few Canadian/Americans can make a small fortune while gold is at $1000+ an ounce. I just attended the grand opening for the Watershed Project last week. Boise City Mayor (Bieter) and the City Council were all there. Give them a call and see if they are supporting mining in the headwaters and if not, what are they doing about it!!??? Here the Boise area just raised $1million to fund artistic educational displays for children and adults to learn about water conservation and environmentalism and the importance of clean drinking water. Don’t get me started, I’m calling again to Toronto tomorrow. Namaste. -Trevor