Caribou Clean Water Partnership

TIME TO CLEAN UP THE MESS

A CENTURY OF POLLUTION
Although phosphate companies have been mining phosphate on public lands in Idaho for a century, making billions of dollars, they have never successfully cleaned up a single site.

The mining companies and federal agencies have known about the selenium contamination for more than two decades, yet they have failed to clean up even one site. Meanwhile, our streams and aquifers get more polluted and the agencies approve even more selenium releases, despite predictions from their own scientists that the pollution is likely to get worse.

The Forest Service estimates it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to permanently clean up the phosphate mess. The phosphate industry created this mess and they have the responsibility to clean it up.

OUR FUTURE ECONOMY AT RISK

THE IMPACT OF CARIBOU COUNTRY
Caribou Country is home to some of the most beautiful views, the best hunting and fishing, excellent hiking and camping, as well as easy access to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. These valuable resources sustain our rich supply of wild fish and game, our ranching and farming lands, and our thriving tourism industry. The outdoor lifestyle Caribou Country affords is also a key factor in attracting new businesses from around the world.

PHOSPHATE MINING STRIPS OUR FUTURE
Irresponsible mining practices strip our public lands of their minerals, their beauty, and their capacity to serve any other useful purpose. Only by forcing the permanent clean up polluted mines can we protect the future value of these lands. These lands belong to all of us, they are our future.

POLLUTED MINES ARE NO FUN

HUNTING AND FISHING
If current polluted mines are not cleaned up and all new proposed mines are approved, thousands of acres of prime hunting and fishing areas will be permanently lost. As the consequences of selenium poisoning build up in the ecosystem, trout will disappear at an ever faster rate, game will be deformed and inedible, and access will be blocked by many hazardous sites and polluted roadways.

HIKING, CAMPING, AND RELAXING
Caribou Country is a beautiful place to get out and enjoy the backcountry. Imagine trying to hike through toxic settling ponds and dangerous strip mines, or drinking from poisoned streams. Breathtaking views will be replaced by barren, treeless, topped hills and deep, treacherous pits. Not the most ideal place for a family picnic.

HEALTH EFFECTS CAN ESCALATE

DISASTER RUNS DOWNSTREAM
Current evidence of selenium trouble has been seen in streams and lands closest to the phosphate mines. Without clean up, these troubles will spread downstream. As higher and higher concentrations of selenium are released into these streams, they will eventually cause higher levels in the larger tributaries and reservoirs.

The Blackfoot River fills the Blackfoot Reservoir then flows past many small communities and into the Snake River. The Salt River sustains Star Valley as it empties mining runoff into Palisades Reservoir. These larger systems will be at risk in the future if selenium from the mines is not contained and permanently cleaned up. This issue cannot be ignored any longer. It is time to act now.

HARM TO GREATER YELLOWSTONE

BROAD IMPLICATIONS
Many wild animals that spend time in Caribou Country migrate throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The poison and mutations they pick up from passing through phosphate mines can travel to other parts of this delicate, wild region. As these animals die and become part of the larger food chain so does the selenium poison, growing in concentration with each step. These polluted mines must be cleaned up to protect this ecosystem and all those who depend upon it, including ourselves.