PRC and seven other conservation groups represented by Earthjustice filed suit against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) over its "biological opinion" (BiOp) on the effects of the proposed Rock Creek Mine. The mine would tunnel under Montana's Cabinet Mountains Wilderness and threaten endangered bull trout and grizzly bear.
The FWS reviewed the impacts on bull trout (the Northwest's largest native migratory trout) and concluded that while the mine could "increase the risk of extinction for the specific Rock Creek [subpopulation]," the probable extinction would be tolerated because of the presence of bull trout elsewhere in the Columbia River Basin. In other words, simply because other populations exist, the FWS was willing to put this entire population of an endangered species at deliberate risk of extinction.
The underlying issue here is whether a locally adapted population is expendable. We think the scientific evidence is clear: discreet populations are irreplaceable because local adaptation is the mechanism by which salmonids survive in complex and dynamic ecosystems. Knowingly contributing to the demise of any such population permanently diminishes the species' chance of recovery and survival, and is a clear violation of the Endangered Species Act.
In the face of the lawsuit (in which our colleagues made equally cogent arguments about the mine's effect on endangered grizzly bear), the FWS withdrew its December 2000 BiOp - a rare move. The agency did not admit that the original opinion was erroneous, but did acknowledge that the plaintiffs had "brought up some good points." Without the BiOp, the Forest Service rescinded its approval of the mine.
For now, conservationists have scored an important victory for Rock Creek trout and bear. But the threats remain. In the words of Scott Yates of Trout Unlimited (a co-plaintiff), "FWS is allowing bull trout to be driven to extinction one stream at a time." PRC will continue to monitor FWS BiOps and their implications for native aquatic populations in Montana and throughout the nation.
