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NEWS RELEASE July 9, 2010 EQC votes to advance Sand Creek ‘Very Rare or Uncommon’ petition SUNDANCE – On a 4-2 vote at yesterday’s meeting in Sundance, the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council determined that a petition to designate the valley of Sand Creek, one of the last wild and natural valleys in the Black Hills, as ‘Very Rare or Uncommon’ under the state’s Environmental Quality Act, had sufficient information that the area had very rare or uncommon qualities to move forward to a full hearing. Designation as ‘Very Rare or Uncommon’ would restrict non-coal surface mining in the area. There are currently active mining claims in the watershed, and there has been interest in creating a large-scale gold mine by Golden Predator of Canada. “Due to its unusually wet climate, the Sand Creek valley has a unique mix of forest types, blending white spruce from the subarctic forests of the Canadian North with hardwoods common east of the Mississippi and western conifers,” said Erik Molvar, Wildlife Biologist with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance. “Put that together with scores of plants that are rare in Wyoming, some found nowhere else in the state, and you’ve got an irreplaceable botanical area of immense scientific value.” The petition also highlights other special features of the area, including wetlands, big game crucial winter ranges, a population of the fine-scaled dace (a small fish almost extinct in Wyoming), strange “sinks” where entire streams disappear into holes in the ground, and the historic fire lookout atop Cement Ridge. “The proposal was well-organized, well-researched, and well-presented, we’re delighted that the EQC decided to move forward with the designation process,” said Jim Mortimer, a landowner along Sand Creek. “Sand Creek is an unusual spring creek arising out of unique hydrologic conditions that is very vulnerable to impact from mining activity, as well as the potential harm done to the recharge area of the Madison aquifer.” Portions of Sand Creek immediately downstream of the proposed Very Rare or Uncommon area are considered a Blue Ribbon trout fishery, and the EQC designated Sand Creek as a Class 1 stream, the highest level of protection under the Clean Water Act, in 1979. Opponents of conservation attempted to remove this protection for much of the stream in 1998, but the effort failed in the face of opposition from locals, conservationists, and anglers including then-legislator Marlene Simons of Beulah. “Prairie Hills Audubon Society is proud of all the people who have worked for over 17 years to protect this special area from the threat of mining,” remarked Nancy Hilding of Prairie Hills Audubon. “This latest vote of the EQC — to move the petition forward — is the result of work of many individuals and groups; it is a result of persistence, dedication and mutual trust. People of different walks of life and view points have to come together to commit to protecting this very special area; and that persistence will be needed in the future to keep this area protected. As this petition moves forward, I hope that folk who love this area and our waters will show up at the next hearing and/or write the EQC.” The petition was submitted by Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, and endorsed by a number of local conservation, sportsmen, Native American, and landowner groups including Friends of Sand Creek, Prairie Hills Audubon, Izaak Walton League, the Wyoming Wilderness Association, Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club, Norbeck Society, and Defenders of the Black Hills. Next, the Environmental Quality Council will schedule a full public hearing on the petition and tour the area, “We urge the EQC to move forward promptly with its full consideration of Sand Creek, so the people can have their say and the natural and historical values of this area can get the consideration they deserve,” concluded Molvar.
Contact information:
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Biodiversity Conservation Alliance P.O. Box 1512, Laramie, WY 82073 (307) 742-7978 - carmi@voiceforthewild.org |