Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Tribe says mine approval violates treaty rights, sues feds
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Wednesday, September 3, 2025
South Fork of the Salmon River, Idaho. Zachary Collier, Flickr ([link removed])
In Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe is suing ([link removed]) the federal government for approving a mine in the headwaters of the South Fork Salmon River.
The mine is Perpetua Resources' Stibnite gold mine, which will be located on the homelands of the Nez Perce Tribe. The area was the site of ([link removed]) an active gold and antimony mine for almost one hundred years before being abandoned in the 1990s. To this day, over 10 million tons of mine tailings and other waste cover more than half the site ([link removed]) , impacting soil, groundwater, and surface water in the area.
The Tribe is suing over a violation of treaty rights and resources in the headwaters of the South Fork Salmon River. Specifically, the Tribe signed treaties with the federal government in 1855 and 1863, granting the Tribe its sovereign rights to fish, hunt, gather, pasture, and travel.
According to ([link removed]) Shannon Wheeler, chair of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, the Tribe had secured funding to restore the area long before Perpetua acquired interests in the mine. With the funding, it spends ([link removed]) about $2.8 million annually to restore chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout populations and habitat in the South Fork Salmon River watershed.
Keep Parks Public tour will be in Jackson, Wyoming!
The Keep Parks Public ([link removed]) road tour will make a special stop in Jackson, Wyoming this Thursday, September 4, to discuss how congressional threats and the Trump administration’s actions are cutting off access to America’s outdoor spaces.
The public forum will be held at the Teton County Public Library at 1:00pm, ahead of a congressional field hearing in Grand Teton National Park on Friday ([link removed]) aimed at “modernizing” the Great American Outdoors Act.
Find details about location, speakers, and more on the Keep Parks Public website ([link removed]) , and follow Keep Parks Public on Instagram ([link removed]) .
** Quick hits
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Indigenous teens paddled 310 miles of newly undammed Klamath River
San Francisco Chronicle ([link removed])
‘Scared’ and angry: Here’s why workers unionized at Yosemite, Sequoia national parks
Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | The Guardian ([link removed])
This man's Grand Teton National Park conservation legacy rivals his grandfather’s
WyoFile ([link removed])
Opinion: We can do something about stressed-out forests
New York Times ([link removed])
House Natural Resources Committee tackles Outdoors Act reauthorization
E&E News ([link removed]) | WyoFile ([link removed])
Tribe sues Forest Service for approving Idaho mine
E&E News ([link removed])
Congress moves to override protections for millions of acres of public land
Field & Stream ([link removed]) | KHOL ([link removed]) | KPAX ([link removed])
Bureau of Land Management moves to limit sage grouse protections to ease fossil fuel development
Washington Examiner ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” We promise we will do whatever we have to do to protect our free-flowing river now. We will do anything and everything possible to keep that connection for the ones that come after us.”
—Danielle Frank, director of development and community relations at Paddle Tribal Waters, San Francisco Chronicle ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@mypubliclands ([link removed])
September is here, and it’s time to celebrate our amazing wilderness areas! 🌲
The Bureau of Land Management’s wilderness areas and wilderness study areas across the country are perfect for outdoor adventures like hiking and fishing.
And don’t forget, we’re also celebrating 25 years of National Conservation Lands! These stunning landscapes encompass diverse beauty, from red-rock deserts to winding rivers.
Check out our anniversary webpage for events, blogs, podcasts, and more. Link in bio 🔗
📷 Kiger Gorge at Steens Mountain, Oregon; Masako Metz
@blmoregonwashington ([link removed])
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