Protecting Wildlife from the Rock Creek Mine

The Rock Creek Mine project in northwest Montana is contested by conservation groups due to its location in sensitive grizzly bear habitat and its potential to smother bull trout spawning areas with sediment. Earthjustice has repeatedly challenged the Fish & Wildlife Service's biological opinions, arguing that mitigation measures are insufficient and that new data reveals unconsidered threats to these species, including reduced water flows and failed poaching prevention strategies.

• The proposed Rock Creek Mine in northwest Montana is situated in a sensitive grizzly bear habitat and adjacent to the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness Area, where construction is expected to introduce sediment into local waters and smother bull trout spawning areas.
• Conservation groups argue that the Fish & Wildlife Service's biological opinions are flawed, specifically that mitigation measures for grizzly bears are insufficient and that the mine will reduce water flows in Rock Creek and the East Fork of the Bull River, threatening bull trout survival.
• Despite the absence of mining activities, strategies to protect grizzly bears from poaching and human conflict have failed, with the Fish & Wildlife Service estimating in 2014 that only 21 grizzlies remained in the Cabinet Mountains.

APA

Earthjustice (2008). Protecting Wildlife from the Rock Creek Mine. https://earthjustice.org/case/rock-creek-mine-threat-to-wildlife

Chicago

Earthjustice. Protecting Wildlife from the Rock Creek Mine. 2008. https://earthjustice.org/case/rock-creek-mine-threat-to-wildlife.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=Protecting Wildlife from the Rock Creek Mine |date=3 March 2008 |url=https://earthjustice.org/case/rock-creek-mine-threat-to-wildlife |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjustice2008protecting, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Protecting Wildlife from the Rock Creek Mine}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2008}, month = mar, url = {https://earthjustice.org/case/rock-creek-mine-threat-to-wildlife}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }