US interior secretary urges mining ban near Yellowstone

Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wants to speed up a proposal to block new gold-mining claims on forested public lands in Montana near Yellowstone National Park and will also consider blocking other types of mining, agency officials said Monday.

Federal officials are undergoing a two-year review of mining on more than 30,000 acres among the towering peaks of the Absaroka mountains just north of the park.

The review was launched last year by Zinke’s predecessor, former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, in response to local concerns that two proposed gold mines could profoundly alter the character of a region heavily dependent on hikers, hunters and tourists.

Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift said Monday that Zinke wants to move forward as quickly as possible with a proposed 20-year withdrawal of future mining claims in an area north of the park known as Paradise Valley. The review of that withdrawal was scheduled to be completed by the U.S. Forest Service and Interior’s Bureau of Land Management by November, 2018.

Zinke had voiced support for the withdrawal effort as Montana’s sole member of the U.S. House but had not publicly addressed the issue since joining the Trump administration in March.

Mining opponents have argued the proposed gold mines would industrialize wild areas populated by grizzly bears, bighorn sheep and other wildlife and harm streams that drain into the Yellowstone River, a popular trout fishing destination that draws anglers from around the world.