Archived Campaign that Ended on Feb. 9, 2018.
We have a more thorough and updated article for the 2021 Kilgore Project Proposal accepting comments through Feb 11, 2021.
The Kilgore Project
Yesterday, Idaho Falls’s Post Register reported the Canadian gold mining company Otis intends to expand drilling operations in the Centennial Mountains. They want 3000 more acres to build forest-removing roads and 140 drill sites. This Kilgore Project proposal, so named for its proximity to Kilgore, Idaho, would increase their current drilling operation by 33%. All on U.S. Forest Service land, these miners would compromise 12,000 acres of our pristine, Idaho wilderness.
The Kilgore Project Threatens the Best Grizzly Corridor Between the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the Bitterroots Heading North
In “Bear Tracks Dilemma,” I go into more depth about how important the Centennial Mountains are to the few remaining grizzly bears in the wild. Basically, the Centennials provide the best corridor connecting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana and upward to Canada. The Kilgore Project will devastate the grizzlies’ most suitable route with noise pollution, heavy machinery, road construction, and drilling extraction. Echoing what I said before, “What Earth is there left for the grizzly?”
#Kill the Kilgore Project Before Feb. 9th!
Books have been written about Idaho’s rich history of saving our wilderness from being destroyed by roads. As Idahoans, we have the honor of linking grizzly populations to the rest of the northern Rockies. In a way, we are the gatekeepers of the majestic grizzly.
We shouldn’t let foreign gold companies take away our loyalty to the wild. We shouldn’t let foreign mining interests dictate our priorities. Up through February 9th, the Kilgore Project is open to the public’s input about this proposal. Let’s tell the Forest Service that we would rather share with Canada the safe travel of our grizzlies than the destructive extraction of our gold.
How to Kill the Kilgore Project by Feb. 9th!
We can send our input to Diane Wheeler at dkwheeler@fs.fed.us. In the subject line, write “The Kilgore Project.”
And please spread this message by word-of-mouth, email, blog, text, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, paper airplaine, you name it!
Let’s be firm in our stance but write respectful emails. I spoke with Diane earlier today, and she was kind and helpful. Our frustration with the issue should not be taken out on her. If we write thoughtful comments, then she and other staff members will represent our collective voice in the meetings ahead.
Archived Comment Advice (We’ve since learned it’s best not to copy ideas but instead to write them in your own words)
Feel free to copy and paste the following statement as the email:
Dear Diane Wheeler,
I write to voice my concern over the proposed Kilgore Project. While reported that it will provide fifteen or so jobs and lead to the potential extraction of gold, a short-term economic value should not have priority over our unique wilderness.
Once there is nothing more to extract, the gold mining will do as it has always done: leave. And along with the jobs that inevitably disappear, the pristine wilderness will also become a thing of the past. If gold mining was sustainable, we wouldn’t have a state littered with ghost towns. Whereas, as Stanley and McCall and Sun Valley and Island Park all illustrate, outdoor recreation is as reliable as each new season. But the wilderness needs to stay wild if we want to bring in outdoor enthusiasts.
The Centennial Mountains provide the best corridor that allows animals like the grizzly bear to move between the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the northern ranges of the Rockies in Montana and Canada. This project will require miles of roads and heavy machinery that will scar up the land. The effect roads have on ecosystems is well documented, and the main reason why we as Idahoans have some of the largest wilderness areas in the contiguous United States, like the Frank and the Selway-Bitterroot. We have a rich history of understanding that no resource underground is as valuable as our priceless wilderness.
Also well documented, noise pollution brought by heavy machinery and human activity can devastate the ecosystem and endanger the wildlife that depends on that ecosystem. Snow mobiles have scared our very own Lowland Caribou away from their natural habitats and have driven them nearly to extinction. And in our Centennial habitat, we cannot risk endangering one of the most suitable routes grizzlies have. As Idahoans, we have the honor of linking grizzly populations to the rest of the northern Rockies. In a way, we are the gatekeepers of the majestic grizzly.
Please, do not move forward with the Kilgore Project. Instead, let’s tell Canadians that we would rather share with them the safe travel of our grizzlies than the destructive extraction of our gold.
Sincerely,
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