Despite Overwhelming Local Support for Kalmiopsis Treasures - Out-of-State Congressman Favors Foreign Mining Special Interests

KS Wild and our allies are speaking out against renewed threats to some of the most productive salmon streams in the Pacific Northwest and an important drinking water source and recreation asset for local communities.

Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) asked the Trump administration to start a process to reverse hard fought protections for portions of the Illinois and Smith River and Hunter Creek watersheds in Southwest Oregon despite overwhelming local support for their protection.

You might remember the public meetings and comment periods that led to the temporary mining ban on this special corner of the Klamath-Siskiyou. Thank you for helping show overwhelming support for the rivers, and helping stop a foreign owned mining company from strip mining in these pristine headwaters.

In a letter filled with inaccuracies, the representative from Utah called on Trump to review all mineral withdrawals—temporary bans on new mining claims—adopted over the past eight years.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, who actually represents the lands in question, responded by panning the effort to reopen this area for strip mining.

"This is an egregious overstep by Washington, driven by special interests," DeFazio said. "Reopening this area to allow a foreign company to strip mine our public lands without paying American taxpayers hardly any royalties would devastate surrounding economies and threaten critical drinking water sources."

We couldn’t agree more. We aren’t going to let go of these protections, so stay tuned.