Local community expresses overwhelming opposition to Kilgore Gold Exploration Project

Eastern Idaho’s rugged and wild Centennial Mountain Range is a remote region that is home to an incredible variety of important wildlife resources, including sensitive species such as grizzly bear, Yellowstone cutthroat trout, and Whitebark pine. These mountains also are home to vital water resources for Idahoans, as they contain many mountain streams and form the headwaters of the Snake River Aquifer. Today, this special place and the very elements that make it so unique are under threat from the Kilgore Gold Exploration Project – a proposal for destructive gold exploration activities spearheaded by Canadian-owned mining company, Excellon Resources.   

A field of arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) near the Kilgore Gold Exploration Project site. (Photo GYC/Emmy Reed)

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition and our partners at Idaho Conservation League (ICL) have serious concerns about gold exploration’s impact on water quality, wildlife habitat, and the recreation heritage of this sensitive and connected landscape. Residents of Clark County and citizens of Idaho, including farmers, ranchers, hunters, anglers, and recreationists, are concerned about the future of Kilgore, too. During the recent public comment period for Kilgore Gold Exploration Project, thousands of people concerned about the future of the Kilgore area voiced their opposition to the Kilgore Gold Exploration Project.  

GYC and ICL obtained copies of the comments submitted by the public, and the results were overwhelming: Out of 3,836 comments received by the U.S. Forest Service during the public comment period, only four comments supported authorizing additional mining-related activities in the Kilgore area. In fact, the remaining 3,832 comments expressed concern for and outright opposition to the U.S. Forest Service authorization of more mineral-related projects in and around Kilgore. 

R-L GYC Communication Coordinator Kristin Kuhn, ICL Conservation Associate Josh Johnson, and GYC Idaho Conservation Associate on a field trip near the Kilgore Gold Exploration Project site. (Photo GYC/Emmy Reed)

Residents of Clark County and citizens of Idaho have made it overwhelmingly clear that they do not want to see this critical landscape marred by mining activities associated with the Kilgore Gold Exploration Project. Here are a few excerpts from public comments to highlight what locals are saying about the project: 

“Our family has lived and ranched in Kilgore for nearly 100 years. We have no desire to give permits to foreign countries to overrun our beautiful Kilgore, not caring for those who live here or come to enjoy the mountains with their families.” - Dubois, ID resident 

“I am a fourth generation farmer and rancher based in part in the Kilgore area...Year after year I see both my fellow farmers and ranchers enjoying Kilgore for its beauty and natural productivity, as well as hundred of people seeking recreation who come to Kilgore to enjoy solitude and many opportunities for outdoor enjoyment. I am concerned, not only for my immediate and extended family’s stakes that are potentially threatened by this exploratory drilling project, but also for those people who come to Kilgore as one of the few remaining recreation areas that is largely unmarked and undeveloped…”  - Hamer, ID resident 

“As a land owner, farmer, cattleman, I am very concerned over the prospects of having this gold mine in our area. My water comes directly from the mountain area that you are proposing this mining to take place in. This water grows my crops and waters my cattle...People depend on clean fresh water to raise crops to feed people, produce a healthy cattle product and more.”  - Kilgore, ID resident 

Since my early childhood, Kilgore has been a special land for my family...Not only has the Kilgore area become a great tourist attraction, but it also provides important wildlife habitat, is a farming, ranching, and hunting mecca, and is an important source of timber. While the draw of gold and quick money may seem appealing, I believe the money that would stay in our economy from this gold exploration would be much less valuable and far shorter lived than the money brought to our area by the other opportunities the Kilgore area and Centennial Mountains offer.”  - St. Anthony, ID resident 

Even though we raised many serious issues with the project, highlighting numerous deficiencies in the associated environmental assessment, and despite the overwhelming public opposition to this project, the U.S. Forest Service approved the Kilgore Gold Exploration Project in June 2021, authorizing Excellon Resources, to proceed with gold exploration activities. In response, we immediately got to work with our partners at ICL to file a formal objection to the agency’s decision. We now have 90 days to work with U.S. Forest Service to resolve the issues that we raised in our objection, including water quality, impacts to Yellowstone cutthroat trout, grizzly bears, and elk, just to name a few.  

GYC’s Idaho Conservation Associate Allison Michalski in front of West Camas Creek with the Kilgore Project site in background. The creek faces pollution threats if a mine is developed. (Photo GYC/Emmy Reed)

The Centennial Mountains are a pristine place that’s just too special for mining. GYC will continue to work with Clark County residents, Idahoans, agency officials, and our conservation partners to keep Kilgore the way it is. 

Join the growing list of Clark County residents and Idahoans who want to protect the Centennial Mountains from the harmful impacts of gold exploration and mining and to keep Kilgore the way it is by signing this petition!

— Allison Michalski, Idaho Conservation Associate  

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 30+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.