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The Owyhee Canyonlands are a huge, nearly roadless area in southeast Oregon and southwest Idaho. The area holds some of the last pristine sections of the rapidly declining sagebrush habitat that once dominated much of the West. It has remained wild despite little federal protection thanks to its remote location.
But the Owyhee is under threat. To the north of the canyonlands, the population in Idaho’s Treasure Valley and Boise is growing. The south end of the area is threatened by a new mining boom. And, inside the canyonlands, invasive weeds have taken root, creating bigger and hotter wildfires that are turning portions of the region from sagebrush to grasslands.
Efforts to protect the area have stalled in Congress, so now a local coalition is calling on President Joe Biden to designate just over 1 million acres in the Owyhee Canyonlands as a national monument before the end of the year. “If somebody other than Biden is elected, the opportunity for a monument is lost,” Ryan Houston, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association told Inside Climate News.
Idaho revokes permit for Stibnite mine
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has pulled back an air qualilty permit granted last year to Perpetua Resources for its planned gold and antimony mine at Stibnite in Valley County. The Nez Perce Tribe and other groups appealed the permit, saying it allowed excessive dust-based toxic air pollution beyond the mine’s boundaries, threatening the public with carcinogens like arsenic.
The board unanimously voted to pull the permit back to DEQ to be reworked. It’s not clear how the decision could affect Perpetua’s planned site operations. The air permit is one of a handful of ‘major’ permits needed to fully operate.
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The importance of designating national monuments goes beyond broad numbers of saving this square footage or percentage. It goes into saving and recognizing our history.”
