The Ravalli County commissioners saw hundreds of people in attendance at their early December meeting on the Sheep Creek mine exploration project.
No one in attendance spoke in support of the proposal. Commissioners and members of the public questioned an employee of the mining company, U.S. Critical Minerals, over the company’s lack of transparency, and the proposed mine’s impact, scale and timeline.
Ultimately, the commissioners decided to send a letter to the governor, along with state and federal lawmakers, expressing their opposition to the proposal. Commissioner Jeff Burrows said the company needed to better cooperate with the community.
“Until we get this Good Neighbor agreement in place, we've heard some of the details, and we've made sure the impacts are mitigated, I would move to send a letter of opposition to the Sheep Creek mine FAST-41 list.”
The Sheep Creek proposal is getting this attention after the Trump administration added it to the FAST-41 list. That classification means it could receive faster permitting, which opponents worry would limit the ability for public involvement.
Rep. Ryan Zinke and Sen. Tim Sheehy agreed with locals. The lawmakers sent out their own opposition to the proposal. They have requested the administration remove Sheep Creek from the FAST-41 list.
If built, the mine would sit upstream of the Bitterroot River. That location has raised concerns about water quality impacts and habitat degradation for threatened species like grizzly bears and bull trout.
