Judge voids U.S. approval of Montana mine
By SUSAN GALLAGHER, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - A judge sidelined a copper and silver mine criticized by environmentalists and swank jeweler Tiffany, saying the plan was approved without consideration of the possible harm to imperiled grizzly bears and bull trout.
Judge Donald Molloy said the Fish and Wildlife Service inadequately weighed the possible effects of the mining proposal on wildlife that fall under the protection of the federal Endangered Species Act.
Revett Silver Co. has proposed developing the Rock Creek mine on the edge of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area in northwestern Montana.
Environmentalists praised the Monday ruling.
"It's a huge victory for extremely imperiled wildlife and for a lot of folks in northwest Montana who care about clean water and having unspoiled wilderness in the Cabinet Mountains, and moved there for those reasons," said Tim Preso of Earthjustice, an environmental coalition.
A call seeking comment on the court decision was not returned by William Orchow, president of Spokane, Wash.-based Revett.
The administration of Gov. Brian Schweitzer hasn't studied the ruling and will not comment yet, governor's spokeswoman Sarah Elliott said late Wednesday.
In a full-page advertisement last year in The Washington Post, Tiffany & Co. demanded the federal government reject the mine and change the nation's nearly 135-year-old mining law.
"It is by no means the first time that we have communicated with appropriate government officials about our desire to see precious metals and gemstones extracted in environmentally and socially responsible ways," the company said at the time. "Our record on that score goes back nearly a\ decade."
