Groups file new lawsuit to stop Idaho gold mine drilling

ASSOCIATED PRESS

By Keith Ridler

“The U.S. Forest Service violated environmental laws in approving exploratory drilling by a Canadian company hoping to build a gold mine in Idaho west of Yellowstone National Park, two environmental groups said.

The Idaho Conservation League and Greater Yellowstone Coalition filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court last week to stop Excellon Idaho Gold’s Kilgore Gold Exploration Project in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Clark County.

The groups site potential harm to grizzly bears, wolverines, lynx, bighorn sheep, whitebark pine trees, Columbia spotted frogs and Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Grizzly bears in the area are protected under the Endangered Species Act, and whitebark pine, a grizzly bear food source, has been proposed for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”

Read the full story here.