Modern gold mining often involves stripping hillsides, crushing rock into dust, and using cyanide solutions to extract gold from low-grade ore. Although this method of heap-leaching is economically efficient, it poses substantial environmental risks. Numerous catastrophic mining failures in the U.S. in recent decades offer a cautionary tale of what could go wrong if the financially unstable foreign mining company currently exploring for gold in the Centennial Mountains above Kilgore, Idaho are permitted to mine.

A growing number of Idaho hunters, anglers, farmers, ranchers, outdoor recreationists, families, and conservationists have joined the Clean Kilgore Coalition to protect the precious water, land, wildlife, and outdoor heritage that Excellon’s toxic gold mine would threaten.  

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Upper Snake Field Office recently released a plan that defines and manages travel and recreation on its lands in southeast Idaho. The plan –the Upper Snake East Travel Management Plan – is the first of its kind in this corner of Idaho. The GYC team is continuing to evaluate what this plan means for BLM lands in southeast Idaho and the wildlife and natural resources they support.