We must not sacrifice precious wilderness for the sake of jobs

Letter to the Editor,

Our EPA, the State of Montana, residents and friends must stop these proposed copper mines threatening the survival of the already protected Cabinet Mountain Wilderness Area in the northwest corner of the state.

A beautiful high-mountain paradise reminds me of the southern Alberta Rockies. The proposed mines are at the wrong time in the wrong place, planning the wrong damage.

Tunnel digging will turn pure clean mountain water into a toxic brew draining in to valley waterways. The Clark Fork River has exceeded its duty for the mining industry.

The monster Butte and Anaconda mines dumped their worst toxic waste into the river for more than 130 years, and the dams added more negative impact. When does damage to the Clark Fork stop? We have (or should have) a moral obligation to protect our water.

The wilderness is surrounded by big highways and residents. Animals are locked into this enclosure. They need the ground they now have. The proposed mines would push animals including the grizzly, black bear, mountain lion, coyote and wolf into valley residents’ back yards.

A 200-percent increase in never-stopping trucks would quickly slaughter all valley wildlife. Putting our school buses in the middle of that mess scares me. Northwest Montana has always had a job-shortage problem.

When a job cannot be found we go where a job is. Never in our thoughts did we consider destroying a pristine protected place, harm water quality or harm resident wildlife.

Signed in 1872 by President Ulysses S. Grant, the Mining Law and the Wilderness Act of 1964 that came later are seriously outdated the proposed damage proves how stupid it is.

Wisdom put the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness Area under protection. Respect will keep it that way.

— L.J. LaBelle

Thompson Falls