The U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated laws meant to protect threatened species and their habitat in approving the development of a copper and silver mine under a wilderness area in Montana, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy on Tuesday ruled the agencies would have to reconsider their findings related to the Montanore Mine in the Kootenai National Forest about 18 miles south of Libby.
Molloy said the project is expected to reduce stream flows for threatened bull trout and increase the potential for human interactions with threatened grizzly bears, and it made no sense for the wildlife service to say the project would not harm those species.
LINK (via: Idaho Statesman)
