The Kalmiopsis Wild Rivers region is home to the highest concentration of designated Wild Rivers in the contiguous U.S., but that didn’t stop a nickel mining company from proposing a 100,000-acre strip mine in this gorgeous\u00a0area. WELC and our partners worked with the Bureau of Land Management and elected officials\u00a0to enact a 20-year mining moratorium, protecting\u00a0Rough and Ready Creek (headwaters of the Illinois River), Baldface Creek (headwaters of the Smith River), and the headwaters of Hunter Creek and the Pistol River.\u00a0These are some of the nation’s most pristine rivers, with critical habitat for wild salmon and steelhead, and clean drinking water for Oregon and California communities.<\/p>\n
It’s a great victory to be sure, but this special area deserves permanent protection, and we’re working toward that goal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#f1f3f2″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”30px||30px|” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_padding_tablet=”30px||40px|”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Partners” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Partners<\/h3>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Related Documents” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Staff” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n Susan Jane Brown: Bio<\/a> | Docket<\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” disabled_on=”on|on|on” disabled=”on” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Project Updates” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blog admin_label=”Latest 5 Posts” fullwidth=”on” posts_number=”5″ show_thumbnail=”off” show_content=”off” show_more=”off” show_author=”off” show_date=”off” show_categories=”off” show_comments=”off” show_pagination=”on” offset_number=”0″ use_overlay=”off” background_layout=”light” use_dropshadow=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” include_categories=”183″ disabled_on=”off|off|off” disabled=”off” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" VICTORY! Protecting the\u00a0Kalmiopsis Wild Rivers from Mining The Kalmiopsis Wild Rivers region is home to the highest concentration of designated Wild Rivers in the contiguous U.S., but that didn’t stop a nickel mining company from proposing a 100,000-acre strip mine in this gorgeous\u00a0area. WELC and our partners worked with the Bureau of Land Management and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11238,"parent":5599,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Shockingly, the U.S. Forest Service allows all kinds of mining on national forests, including in extremely sensitive areas.\u00a0 Today, the Kalmiopsis Wild Rivers region, home to the highest concentration of designated Wild rivers in the contiguous U.S., faces a threat from a proposed project that would strip mine nickel in this jewel of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.<\/p> The proposed strip mine would encompass 100,000 acres containing Rough and Ready Creek (headwaters of the Illinois River), Baldface Creek (headwaters of the Smith River), and the headwaters of Hunter Creek and the Pistol River. These are some of the nation's most pristine rivers, with critical habitat for wild salmon and steelhead, and clean drinking water for Oregon and California communities.\u00a0 This area is also a mecca for aquatic recreationalists such as paddlers, boaters, and fishermen from around the world.<\/p> Public support for protecting the Kalmiopsis Wild Rivers area is overwhelming: 99.9% of the 45,000 comments<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>received by the U.S. Forest Service and BLM\u00a0in response to this disastrous mining proposal support<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>keeping these minerals in the ground.\u00a0 These citizens also support permanently protecting the Wild Rivers region.<\/p> We're working with our partners to permanently withdraw the area from mining through federal legislation. That can be a long process, so in the meantime we're pursuing a mining moratorium by engaging with the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service.<\/p> (WELC project #509)<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"American](\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/American-Rivers-Logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"klamath](\"https:\/\/westernlaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/KS-Wild-Logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a><\/p>\nRelated Documents<\/h3>\n
Staff<\/h3>\n
Project Updates<\/h2>\n
Protecting Kalmiopsis Wild Rivers from Mining (OR, CA)<\/h1>