BOISE, Idaho — Three environmental groups sued the U.S. Forest Service to challenge a decision allowing helicopters to land in a central Idaho wilderness area so state wildlife officials can outfit elk with tracking collars.
Wilderness Watch, Western Watersheds Project and Friends of the Clearwater filed the lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Idaho. They said the federal agency is violating the Wilderness Act and other environmental laws by allowing helicopters into the rugged Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.
Wilderness areas generally don’t allow mechanized equipment.
“It sets a terrible precedent,” said Tim Presso, an attorney with the law firm Earthjustice. “It’s just completely out of keeping with what Congress designated.”
The groups say they also are concerned that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is aiming to gather information to justify killing wolves in the area.
The agency wants to find out why elk populations have declined, Fish and Game spokesman Mike Keckler said. He said elk numbers dropped about 43 percent from 2002 to 2011.
“We want to get in there and place collars on elk and get a clearer understanding of just what’s causing this decline,” he said.
Workers with tranquilizing darts would shoot elk from the helicopter and then land to attach GPS tracking collars. The agency is aware of the wilderness’ character, and helicopters would be on the ground for as short a time as possible, Keckler said.
The agency hopes to attach 60 collars, divided among cow elk and calves, that work for up to three years. The locations of the elk would be monitored remotely, and workers notified of a death by a stationary signal would fly in to try to determine the cause.
“Predation certainly does have a role,” Keckler said. “We know that. But there could be other factors. Bottom line, there are many variables.”
Biologists also hope to gather information about the number of cow elk compared with the number of calves.
Work on the mine site began around 1990 under different ownership but was suspended in 1991 due to low metal prices. Mines Management later took over and applied to the state for a mining permit in 2004.
The mine would employ about 500 people during the construction phase and about 350 during mining. A related 14-mile transmission line would be built to carry power to the site.
The mine entrance would be just outside the wilderness — a rugged, remote landscape that is one of a handful of areas in the United States where the government is seeking to restore grizzly bear populations.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has said mining excavation would lead to permanent changes in groundwater flows, including less water in Rock Creek and the Bull River.
Once a decision is made, Mines Management had planned to kick off a two-year, $30 million evaluation of the geology and characteristics of the area to be mined.
Dobbs said he had spoken with Libby officials and representatives of Montana’s Congressional delegation about the issue since the DEQ first raised the possibility of a “phased approval” for the mine.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Ryan Zinke, both Republicans, wrote in a Thursday letter to Gov. Steve Bullock that the project needs full approval.
A staged approval would “create uncertainty and further delay much-needed job creation and tax revenue for the Lincoln County community, which continues to face the highest unemployment rate in our state,” they wrote.
