Forest Service to decide on uranium exploration this month. Challis Messinger. By Todd Adams.
“Forest Service officials probably will approve a drilling project to explore for uranium in the Harden Creek area between Sunbeam and Stanley, . . . “
by
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Comments
NO!
Unbelievable. I seriously can’t wait until Obama is president (sorry, I’ve had enough of Hilary.)
If only electing Obama or any other democratic president was the answer… The reality of this situation, as I see it, is that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is already ramping up efforts to expand the use of nuclear power across the country. There have been over 30 new, nuclear power plant requests this year. The increased production of nuclear power will mean that there will be an increased demand for nuclear fuel. Many of the old uranium mine sites are played out or will be too expensive to retrofit or expand. That gives the uranium miners, like Magnum Uranium Corporation USA, the incentive to look harder for easier places to mine.
The uranium mine companies know from decades of experience that when the local population gets wind of a uranium mine (sorry for the pun) in their back yards, people get pretty anxious. And if the local populous does a little research on uranium mining history, they will have ever reason to be afraid. That’s why the mining companies want to put these mines way out in the middle of nowhere where there are very few people to monitor their operations. Places like way up in the Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Canada’s Athabasca Basin. (See Magnum’s website: http://www.magnumuranium.com/s/Home.asp )
It may sound like NIMBY, but I don’t want one of these mines near me. No one does. We have Cameco poking holes in the ground around here. And they have locked onto an area 30 miles from us where they intend to put in a uranium mine. Don’t expect the Forest Service or any other of the FEDs to protect your area from the miners. They will just roll over and play dead for the mining interests. And watch out for the “shell” companies set-up by the mining companies to distract the locals from the real interests of the miners. In our area, we have a land holding company called Voyager Land, a subsidiary of Cameco, that buys land (and the mineral rights) for Cameco. Cameco’s shell mineral holding company in this area is Trans-Superior. They need an “American” shell company to hold major assets in our state.( http://www.cameco.com/ )
We are the verge of all out war on the mining companies that want to mine in our protected watersheds with pristine rivers. The Feds and the state governments are running a blocking pattern for the mining interests. We may not be able to stop the mines now.
I say to the locals near the proposed mine site in the Salmon River Mountains to STOP the exploration NOW before the mine interests get their feet in the door. Or soon, it may be too late to stop them.