Final step toward preserving USFS land
A public meeting is set for next Tuesday (Nov. 13) at the Winthrop Barn on a proposal to prevent future mining on 340,079 acres in the upper Methow Valley. The meeting, hosted by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), begins at 6 p.m.
Public input on the proposal will be heard at the meeting. A public comment period is also open until Nov. 13 on the proposed mineral withdrawal, which would protect the U.S. Forest Service land from mining for up to 20 years.
The public meeting and comment period are among the final steps required for the withdrawal, which must get final approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The remote, mountainous country at the top of the Methow River watershed has been the focus of a three-year Methow Headwaters Campaign, a grassroots initiative that lobbied for protecting the Methow Valley’s environment and recreation-based economy from adverse impacts of mining.
The BLM scheduled the Winthrop Barn meeting to fulfill an end-of-year deadline to hold a public meeting on the mineral withdrawal proposal. Additional public comments on the proposal may be sent to the Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Office, P.O. Box 2965, Portland, OR 97208-2965, or by email at blm_or_wa_withdrawals@blm.gov.
Local and regional BLM and Forest Service officials will be at the Winthrop meeting to provide information about the mineral withdrawal, and to hear comments from the public, Michael Campbell, a BLM public information officer, said earlier.
Comments received during the current public comment period, and at the meeting, will be included in the final package of information sent to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who has the final decision on approving, denying, or postponing action on the withdrawal application.
The Nov. 13 meeting in Winthrop will be held only six weeks before a two-year study period on the withdrawal proposal expires. The meeting is required as part of that temporary study period, called “segregation,” during which the area is off-limits to any mineral exploration or mining activities. The segregation began on Dec. 30, 2016, and is set to expire on Dec. 29. If the required steps are not met by that deadline, the area would be open again to staking claims or other mining activities.
Local supporters of the proposal have visited Washington, D.C., twice during the past year to lobby congressional representatives and leaders of the agencies involved in the process — BLM, Department of the Interior and the Forest Service. The withdrawal has bipartisan support from Washington’s Democratic senators, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and Republican Congressman Dan Newhouse, whose district includes the Methow Valley.
Cantwell and Murray have introduced legislation in Congress, called the Methow Headwaters Protection Act, that would provide permanent protection from mining in the upper valley.
Withdrawal recommended
The Forest Service recently released an Environmental Assessment examining the impact of the mineral withdrawal, and recommended that the 340,079 acres — about 531 square miles — be withdrawn from consideration for mining for a 20-year period, to allow Congress time to consider legislation that would provide permanent protection.
The Methow Headwaters Campaign was launched after a Canadian mining company announced its intention in 2013 to drill exploratory holes on Forest Service land on Flagg Mountain near Mazama, to assess if there is a copper deposit worth mining. The company holds an interest in mineral rights in the area and, under longstanding federal mining laws, had the right to explore for copper, so the Forest Service began conducting environmental analysis of the drilling proposal.
Alarmed that the mineral exploration could someday lead to full-scale copper mining, leaders of the Methow Headwaters Campaign developed a broad coalition — including business owners, government and tribal leaders, conservation and recreation organizations — to oppose mining in the area. The campaign argued that environmental damage from mining posed a risk to the economy and lifestyle of the Methow Valley and Okanogan County.
During the first comment period on withdrawal that began Dec. 30, 2016, about 4,500 comments were submitted, most in support of the withdrawal, according to the Forest Service Environmental Assessment. Most comments focused preserving the upper valley’s clean water, scenery, recreation and wilderness opportunities.
The Methow Headwaters campaign will host a happy-hour gathering before the BLM public meeting at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery in Winthrop, starting at 5 p.m.
