In a historic win for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the 75 acres of land GYC purchased to protect from Lucky Minerals’ destructive plans has just officially become part of Custer Gallatin National Forest.

GYC’s staff, dispersed across the region, know this firsthand and are excited to share some of their favorite things in this new blog series, GYC Staff Picks.

GYC’s staff, dispersed across the region, know this firsthand and are excited to share some of their favorite things in this new blog series, GYC Staff Picks.

The Montana Supreme Court ruled with GYC that amendments made to the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) were unconstitutional. The ruling stops Lucky Minerals’ gold exploration on private lands just north of Yellowstone National Park.

On September 30, 2020, the Montana Supreme Court heard oral arguments in our case challenging the validity of a gold exploration permit just north of Yellowstone National Park. The permit holders, Lucky Minerals Inc., and the agency responsible, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), appealed our 2018 victory in a Montana District Court that vacated the DEQ permit for not fully considering the environmental impacts to wildlife habitat, water quality, and public lands.

As we all focus on staying healthy and safe with our loved ones, it’s important to remember the ecosystem, and the threats to it, continues to function. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition has been fighting inappropriate gold mines our entire existence. It’s in our DNA. GYC continues to work on new solutions to the persistent problems created by our nation’s antiquated laws that obligate hard rock mining as be “the highest and best use” of the land.

After decades of being polluted by the McLaren mining site, Yellowstone’s Soda Butte Creek was officially taken off Montana Impaired River’s list.

Yesterday, a Montana district court ruled in our favor and denied a permit that would have allowed Canadian mining company Lucky Minerals to explore for gold in Emigrant Gulch just north of Yellowstone National Park. Along with the passage of the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act that permanently protects public lands, this stunning victory further drives a stake through the heart of the proposed gold mining threatening the Yellowstone River and Paradise Valley.

Today, the president signed the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act into the law of the land. Included in this sweeping, ground-breaking legislation was the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act. Now and forever, 30,370 acres of public land on the northern doorstep of Yellowstone National Park will be protected from destructive and toxic gold mining.

Today, we have achieved a remarkable victory. The United States House of Representatives passed the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act, which will forever prohibit gold mining on 30,370 acres of public lands at Yellowstone’s northern gateway. It now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law, making it an extraordinary bipartisan win.

Today, Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), with Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) as co-sponsor, reintroduced the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act into the 116th Congress. When passed, the law will prohibit large-scale mining on 30,370 acres of our public lands at Yellowstone’s northern gateway forever.

Victory! Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke extended the temporary timeout on mining at Yellowstone’s northern gateway today for another 20 years, giving us a critical safety net to work with Montana’s Congressional delegation to pass a bill that will keep mines away from Yellowstone, forever.