Initiative 147 should be rejected

Editor,

Initiative 147 is slated to appear on General Election ballots this November. The measure seeks to overturn the ban on cyanide heap-leach metals recovery that has been in effect since 1998. At that time Montana voters agreed that the method was simply too threatening to sensitive ecosystems to justify gambling with the state's long-term interests

According to I-147 pamphlets, the proponents promise to "provide more good jobs; expand the tax base from mining (currently about one percent of the economy) to help fund better education, health care, law enforcement and fire protection."

In reality, history shows that any temporary economic boost is negated by the millions of taxpayer dollars that are spent on reclamation. Examples: Zortman/Landusky, Beal Mountain and Basin Creek, Golden Sunlight mines. On the flip side, tourism is one of the fastest growing aspects of Montana's economy and depends on maintaining a pristine environment.

Advocates would have us believe that "miners, merchants and Montanans" are promoting this initiative, when, actually, Canyon Resources Corp. has spent tens of thousands of dollars, or over 90 percent of the "contributions," obtaining signatures. This is the same corporation that owns the Kendall mine, which has polluted and depleted water supplies for 20 years without any attempt at cleanup. And now, this corporation wants to contaminate the last relatively unpolluted major tributary to the Clark Fork drainage, the Blackfoot River, one of the most beloved, cherished places for all Montanans.

Of particular concern has been the appearance of radio spots representing the initiative as advancing environmental quality rather than, as it does, posing a new threat to it. Contrary to what is being said, the technology for cyanide heap-leach metals recovery is not new, "tough, new" environmental restrictions are not in place that could prevent contamination, and promises of reclamation have not been kept.

Montanans are urged to vote against I-147. We have been down this path before and it has always led to disaster. The ban on cyanide heap-leach mining in Montana is better for our environment AND for our economy and better for generations to come.

Jackie Ladner

Polson