It’s not over yet. This past week saw another court hearing challenging the development of the Montanore copper and silver mine on the edge of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness . . .
The question of whether a proposed mine on the edge of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness should be judged on its predicted impact or its ongoing development went before a federal judge Thursday.
“If this is not the point where the (U.S. Fish and Wildlife) Service has to determine the straw that breaks the camel’s back, where is it?” Earthjustice attorney Timothy Preso asked U.S. District Judge Don Molloy. “By then, we’re in a world where it’s far too late to do anything about it.”
Montanore Minerals Corp. attorney Mark Stermitz retorted that the whole point of a permitting process was to evaluate a project’s impact over time, as new information develops.