Boise River, Idaho

North Fork of the Boise River.  Credit: Idaho Conservation League

The Boise River provides the City of Boise with 20% of its municipal water supply.  The Boise River also supports important fisheries, including 'wild quality' rainbow trout and threatened bull trout.  Thus, it's a popular destination among trout fishermen, kayakers, campers, and other river enthusiasts. [1]

The Atlanta Gold mine proposal

Atlanta Gold Corporation of America, Inc., a subsidiary of a Canadian mining company, has proposed a new cyanide-leach gold mine in headwaters of the Boise River within Idaho's Boise National Forest.  The mine would perch above the town of Atlanta, with the main waste rock dump built on a local stream flowing right into town.

The mine site would be just 2.5 miles from the Sawtooth Wilderness area -- a haven for elk, lynx, mountain goat, black bear and wolf.

The proposed mine would use a controversial process called open pit, cyanide-leaching.  This type of mining was banned in Montana due to the widespread pollution it has caused, including drinking water contamination, fish kills, and damage to private property.  Many Atlanta and Boise residents are highly concerned of the threat this mine poses to the watershed, water supply, important fisheries, and the Sawtooth Wilderness.

For More Information

Idaho Conservation League
Boise National Forest
KBCI- Proposed Atlanta Gold Project Drawing Environmentalist Ire

References

1) American Rivers, America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2006: Boise River (2006).