Programs

  • Rock Creek Mine Project

    Line 28: Rock Creek Mine Project. Rock Creek Alliance, Inc.: (Alliance) has worked to increase awareness of the threats of the proposed Rock Creek Mine (on water quality, wilderness, fisheries & wildlife, and local communities) while garnering public support for its work in Idaho, Montana and beyond. This is accomplished by providing information to members, organizations, businesses, public officials, agency decision-makers and the general public, via newsletters, brochures and the organization's website; radio interviews, news articles and print ads; educational presentations, events and meetings; and social media. The organization has acquired scientific & technical reviews of NEPA documents related to the mine plan in order to provide a critique of agency & industry-generated studies, and it has provided substantive comments pertaining to these documents and studies during public comment periods. Over the years, the Alliance has filed and prevailed in court appeals brought in Federal and State Courts, and, as a result, key permits and approvals have been rescinded with additional analyses and public input required. In 2023, the Rock Creek Alliance continued to pursue an ongoing case in State Court concerning the "bad actor" provision of the Montana Metal Mine Reclamation Act. Phillips Baker, the CEO of Hecla Mining, has ties to Pegasus Gold, which filed for bankruptcy in 1998. Under Baker's tenure, Pegasus Gold left tens of millions in ongoing cleanup costs at the Zortman-Landusky, Basin Creek, & Beal Mountain mines. Under the state's "bad actor" law, Hecla Mining, led by Phillips Baker, cannot open up a new mine in Montana until the company assumes liability and cleans up the pollution at those mines, while paying fees issued by the state. Our original Complaint was brought against Montana DEQ for its failure to enforce the bad actor law, but following a 2022 court decision, we amended our Complaint in 2023 to include Phillips Baker and Hecla Mining Company for violations of Montana's Bad Actor provision. Our goal was to obtain a court order that would bar Hecla from mining in Montana. In 2024, the bad actor case was dismissed after Phillips Baker retired.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $60K

  • Save Our Cabinets Initiative

    Fiscal Agent for Save Our Cabinets: Rock Creek Alliance, Inc. is serving as Fiscal Agent for Save Our Cabinets, Inc., a Montana non-profit corporation. The mission of Save Our Cabinets is to protect the 94,360 acre Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area in northwestern Montana, while conserving and restoring the wildlands, native fish and wildlife, and air and waters of the Cabinet Mountains Ecosystem. Save Our Cabinets works to increase awareness of the threats of proposed mining, including the proposed Montanore Mine, on water quality, wilderness, fisheries, and wildlife by providing information to the public and its supporters through educational materials, events and meetings, and social media. The organization has acquired scientific and technical review of NEPA documents related to water quality, fisheries and grizzly bears, and has been involved in submitting comments on various NEPA documents for the proposed Montanore Mine. Save Our Cabinets has also filed lawsuits in the past that have resulted in the revocation of state and federal permits for the mine. In 2022, the Forest Service initiated scoping comments on a draft plan for an exploration adit for the proposed Montanore mine (Libby Exploration Project). Save Our Cabinets submitted comments urging the US Forst Service to require an EIS for this project due to its many impacts including loss of critical habitat for threatened species, including grizzly bears, Canada lynx, and wolverines; discharges into critical habitat for threatened bull trout; activities occurring adjacent and under the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness; dewatering impacts to wilderness waters; and impacts to cultural resources of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $881