Forest Service fails to address threats to Boise River watershed in draft approval of CuMo Mine Exploration

Advocates for the West and our conservation partners are speaking out against the U.S. Forest Service’s draft approval of the CuMo Mine Exploration Project in the headwaters of the Boise River. Idaho Copper Corporation is seeking approval from the Forest Service to construct up to eight miles of new roads, clear 122 drill pads, and drill 250 exploration holes on National Forest lands near Grimes Creek. Idaho Copper, whose majority owner has struggled financially in recent years, hopes to find sufficient copper and molybdenum to excavate one of the largest open-pit accessible molybdenum mines in the world—all within the Boise River watershed.

“The risks this project poses to water quality and rare plants have stopped it in its tracks twice before,” said Bryan Hurlbutt, Staff Attorney at Advocates for the West who represented the conservation groups in 2012 and 2016 litigation over the mine exploration. “We’re baffled that the Forest Service continues to move toward approving a project as flawed as this one, especially given the recent turmoil at Idaho Copper.”

“The Forest Service received 1,223 public comments on the CuMo Project, with over 99% of them opposed to the project,” said John Robison with the Idaho Conservation League. “We are disappointed that, in spite of all these concerns, the Forest Service’s draft decision doesn’t make any significant changes to this controversial project.”

“This proposed project is a direct threat to wildlife, including sensitive species like the great grey owl, American goshawk, and wolverine,” said Cynthia Wallesz, Executive Director of Golden Eagle Audubon Society. “We strongly request the Forest Service thoroughly consider the potential watershed-wide impacts to birds, other wildlife, and plants along with the water quality they depend upon.”

“The CuMo exploration project is a prime example of how the 1872 Mining Law allows mining companies to exploit valuable resources from public lands without being held accountable for the environmental degradation they leave behind,” said Sydney Anderson, Mining and Policy Manager at Idaho Rivers United. “This outdated system only benefits mining corporations while leaving Idaho communities left to deal with the consequences.”

Background

For more than a decade, variations of the project have failed to pass legal muster. A federal court struck down the project in 2012 because the Forest Service failed to adequately assess the risks that extensive underground drilling could contaminate groundwater. The court struck it down again in 2016 because of the project’s threats to Sacajawea’s bitterroot.

At an April 2, 2024 sheriff’s sale, Canada-based Multi-Metal Development’s shares, which represented 56% of the outstanding shares in Idaho Copper, were sold to Hong Kong-based International Energy & Mineral Resources Investment Company Limited. As a result of this sale, there are concerns regarding the project’s future management and environmental oversight.

At Issue

The conservation organizations plan to file an “objection” with the Forest Service, pointing out that the agency needs to address public concerns about impacts to the Boise River watershed, fish, and wildlife before the project proceeds. The exploration site is upstream of half of Idaho’s population, and the Boise River watershed provides approximately 30 percent of Boise’s drinking water supply and irrigates over 300,000 acres of farmland.

Read more about the first and second CuMo Mine Exploration cases.