Stopping the Yellowstone Boundary Gold Mine
WE STOPPED THE MINE!
Yellowstone is no place for a gold mine.
Along the northern edge of Yellowstone National Park, Crevice Mountain rises some 3,000 feet above the Yellowstone River. Cloaked in conifer forests and rich with wildlife, Crevice Mountain and the surrounding landscape exemplify much of what is extraordinary about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The area provides vital habitat for protected grizzly bears; is a critical migration corridor for elk, mule deer, and bighorn sheep; and is one of the few designated places outside the park where Yellowstone bison can roam.
A mine on Crevice Mountain would permanently and irrevocably alter not only vital wildlife habitat north of Yellowstone but could severely impact the wild character, water quality, and aesthetic value of much of the park itself.
Stopping the mining threat.
To remove the threat of this mine once and for all, GYC entered into an agreement to purchase the mineral rights, leases, and claims to 1,598 acres of land from Crevice Mining Group, LLC for $6.25 million.
Overlooking the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone River, Blacktail Plateau, and eastern ramparts of Yellowstone National Park from the proposed mine site. (Photo © William Campbell)
For over a decade, Crevice Mining Group, LLC, has made significant investments toward developing a gold mine on Crevice Mountain, immediately adjacent to one of the world’s most iconic protected landscapes. Located on the border of our nation’s first national park, and just upslope from the pristine Yellowstone River, the mine site overlooks – and would be visible from – nearly half the park.
Because of its location, a mine on Crevice Mountain poses a direct and outsized threat to the lands, waters, and wildlife of Yellowstone National Park.
Time and again, gold mining has proven to be a destructive, polluting activity. Gold mining operations, such as the one planned for Crevice Mountain, are characterized by new roads, clear cuts, heavy equipment traffic, and a host of other industrial activities that permanently scar the landscape. The impacts of gold mining are not confined to the project site alone.
Meet some of the wildlife residents and visitors on Crevice Mountain.
Camera traps at the proposed mine site captured grizzly bears, elk, mountain lions, and more wildlife species.
In addition to the agreement with the mining company, GYC is also working with willing landowners on Crevice Mountain to purchase more than 300 acres of private land in-holdings. The ultimate goal of this effort is to transfer ownership of these private lands to the Custer Gallatin National Forest, making them accessible to the public and permanently protecting them from future mining under the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act, which passed in 2019.
As of September 25, 2023, we’ve officially raised the $6.25 million needed to stop the mine on Crevice Mountain!
With the success of this campaign, we extinguished the last real and significant mining threat remaining on the border of Yellowstone National Park, once and for all. An enormous thank you to everyone who donated and made this possible!
Photos © William Campbell