Protect the Smith River from industrial-scale mining.
The Smith is one of Montana’s most beloved rivers.
Montana’s Smith River is renowned worldwide for its clean water, rugged canyon scenery, and blue ribbon trout fishery.
Photo provided by @joshmettenphoto.
A mining proposal threatens the Smith’s most important tributary.
A recent proposal for industrial scale mining on Sheep Creek has caused increased concern amongst Montanans about turning the cherished headwaters into an industrial mining zone. In addition to the planned mine on private lands, the company has also acquired nearly 700 mining claims on the public lands surrounding the mine, with the intention of expanding its mine even further. While mining is essential for modern society, it often risks water pollution and other serious environmental impacts, and the Smith River is just not worth the risk.
Photo provided by @joshmettenphoto.
A world-class river.
The Smith is Montana’s only permitted recreational river for the stretch that winds 59 miles as a State Park through private and public lands in a remote canyon in the Big Belt Mountains.
Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks classifies the Smith River’s fishery as high-value, owed to its bountiful population of rainbow, brown, westslope cutthroat, and brook trout. The canyon walls of the Smith also boast some of the best examples of Native American pictographs in Montana.
Take Action
A diverse group of business owners and leaders, landowners, organizations, Tribes, individuals with careers in outdoor recreation, as well as those who simply care about sustaining Montana’s great outdoors for future generations have joined together to protect the Smith River’s public lands by calling for a mineral withdrawal. We are requesting that the U.S. Forest Service “withdraw” the public lands in the Smith River watershed from being available for mining in order to protect the values we all cherish – fishing and hunting, abundant wildlife, cultural heritage, clean water, agriculture and ranching, solitude, economic opportunity and outdoor recreation to name a few.
