Forest Service Nears Ruling on Libby Exploration Project  

Kootenai National Forest officials are preparing to decide whether to authorize an underground copper-and-silver exploration project in the Cabinet Mountains south of Libby, marking the culmination of a four-decade effort to evaluate Lincoln County’s untapped mineral interests. 

If the Libby Exploration Project moves forward, the Montanore Minerals Corporation would be able to explore and expand the existing 7,000-foot tunnel opening at the Libby Adit site in the Kootenai National Forest. The Idaho-based Hecla Mining Company, which purchased Montanore in 2016, says the 16-year-long future exploration project aims to determine the value of the site’s minerals and whether mining them would be practical and profitable in the future. 

The Cabinet Mountains hold vast reserves — an estimated 500 million ounces of silver and 4 billion pounds of copper. Advocates say that the project could bring opportunity to Lincoln County, which has a long history of mining as its predominant economic driver. But critics warn it will have a detrimental impact on wildlife habitats, water sources and cultural sites in the area. 

The U.S. Forest Service, which released an Environmental Assessment on the project in June, is now reviewing public comments. The agency has said it would release a final decision this month.  

Hecla declined to make a company official available for an interview. The company’s Director of Governmental Affairs Mike Satre wrote in a statement that the project entails no new disturbance on Forest Service land, and that all surface activities would occur on company-owned property. 

Miners have been exploring the site since the 1980s, when a series of small companies first began the Montanore Mine project, which involved constructing an exploratory shaft to access the mineral deposits. In 2022, Hecla withdrew the plans it inherited when it purchased Montanore and launched the Libby Exploration Project from scratch.

If the project is approved, Montanore will dewater and rehabilitate that existing Libby exploration site, according to Hecla’s operation plan. The company also proposes extending the tunnel by 4,200 feet and constructing additional tunnels for exploration. To manage increased waste rock, Hecla plans to expand the existing storage area and build a second site. 

Hecla said in its operation plan that the project currently only includes exploration with no guarantee of future mining. It said that potential mineral extraction will depend on the findings and “ability to meet environmental and regulation standards.” 

The U.S. Forest Service released its Environmental Assessment on the proposal in June, which reviewed potential risks of the project. The agency concluded the plan did not require a full Environmental Impact Statement — the more detailed level of review under federal law — because, with safeguards in place, the impacts were not expected to be significant. 

The report noted that the exploration “may affect but is not likely to adversely affect” several native species, including bull trout, grizzly bears, and wolverines — a finding with which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concurred.  

To limit impacts, Hecla plans to implement seasonal road closures to reduce grizzly disturbances, equip the site with bear-resistant dumpsters, and install fencing to keep wildlife out. The agency also noted it expects noise in the Cabinet Mountains to increase, but that it anticipates the impacts of the noise on wildlife to be minor.  

The Forest Service also described impacts to groundwater flow as “negligible,” predicting only minor streamflow reductions in Libby Creek, East Fork Rock Creek, and the East Fork Bull River. All water pumped from the site would be treated and monitored, with the agency concluding that effects on the endangered bull trout and other aquatic species would also be “negligible.”  

However, the Forest Service stressed that if Hecla pursues full-scale mining in the future, the company will need to submit a new proposal and undergo additional environmental review. 

The Forest Service gave the public a 45-day window to send objections. 

On Aug. 5, the environmental nonprofit EarthJustice submitted an objection on behalf of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and several nonprofit conservation groups.  

Objectors condemned the Forest Service’s Finding of No Significant Impact and argued the proposal warranted the more rigorous Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).  

Rock Creek Alliance Executive Director Mary Costello, one of the objection authors, called the Libby Exploration “a major project with serious, significant impacts” that requires an EIS. 

“The proposal impacts a federally protected wilderness area, and that alone requires a really thorough analysis,” Costello said. “The project may have been rebranded as an exploration, but in essence it’s just a smaller mining operation with the same potential impacts to wilderness waters and endangered species.” 

Costello pointed to University of Montana hydrologist Payton Gardner, who reviewed the groundwater modeling and raised concerns about its calibration. She said Gardner was particularly worried about modeling accuracy in the “higher stream reaches, which are the parts of the stream in the wilderness.” 

The objectors also noted that the Cabinet Mountain grizzly bear population is among the “most vulnerable” in the country due to its small population size and low genetic diversity. They warn that the project could lead to habitat loss and increased food conditioning, which often results in the lethal removal of bears. They also worry that increased habituation to human activities will make grizzlies more likely to be misidentified by hunters.  

Costello said that while the Forest Service often relies on gated roads like those proposed by Hecla as a protection for grizzlies, such measures have historically been ineffective. 

“People always go around those gates and there aren’t a lot of eyes on them,” she said. “We’re talking about a very small population of grizzly bears that is barely holding on as it is, and it simply can’t sustain any more impacts.” 

Objectors also say the proposal fails to adequately address risks to bull trout, a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. They assert that there is “no way to protect the species” from the risks posed by increased sediment and potential pollution in the water. 

Costello added that the project could have a significant impact on the native bull trout population above the waterfall barrier on Libby Creek, where the fishery has historically been shielded from hybridization with nonnative species. 

Beyond environmental considerations, the project is also a source of cultural concern for the CSKT, whose members view the Cabinet Mountains as sacred.  

The Forest Service noted in the Environmental Assessment that it has hosted multiple meetings with tribal leadership throughout 2023 and 2024 to discuss protecting cultural sites. But even so, CSKT members say they remain worried about what the project means for the mountains. 

Director of the Kootenai Cultural Committee and CSKT member Vernon Finley said that the tribes “stand firm in [their] resolve to protect ancestral territory and Treaty-protected resources from any activity that might threaten sacred places and landscapes.” 

“To maintain the integrity of this cultural landscape, we must ensure not only our continued access to these places, but that these places stay intact and in their natural condition,” Finley added. “We have an obligation — a generational responsibility — to see that the spiritual integrity of these places is not disturbed.” 

However, not everyone in Libby views the project as a threat. For some residents, the exploration represents an opportunity to revive an area that is struggling economically.  

Libby’s identity is closely tied to its history as a mining town. Gold miners first discovered vermiculite in 1881, with the Zonolite Company forming by the 1920s to begin extracting the valuable mineral used in building insulation and as a soil conditioner. At its peak, the Libby mine produced 80% of the world’s vermiculite supply.  

But in 1990, the mine — purchased by W.R. Grace in 1963 — permanently shut down. Asbestos contamination in the vermiculite had created an environmental hazard and caused widespread asbestos-related diseases among workers. In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declared a public health emergency in Libby due to widespread asbestos contamination. 

Since the mine closed, Libby has lacked a steady local revenue base. The community has felt the impact: Lincoln County’s unemployment rate is 4.5%, notably higher than the state average of 2.8%. 

Some Libby community members view the exploration project as a potential new economic driver for Libby. Hecla plans to employ 30 to 35 people during the project’s exploration phase, according to Satre, the company’s governmental affairs director, who also raised the possibility of more jobs if mining moves forward. 

For supporters like Lincoln County Commissioner and former Libby mayor Brent Teske, the project is about the chance to prove whether mining could once again be a defining part of Libby’s economy. 

“I think it’s important for [Hecla] to know what’s of value in there, and I think it’s important for the public to know so we can make informed decisions moving forward,” Teske said in a video statement for Hecla, adding that the use of the company’s private property for surface activities helps ease his environmental concerns. 

Libby Resident Kelly Morford, a financial advisor at Glacier Peak Wealth Management, echoed that view in another video statement. He believes the project is essential not only for Hecla’s business but for the community to collectively determine if the company is “a viable partner for the county.” 

But critics argue that Hecla’s record already positions the company as a poor community partner.  

EarthJustice pointed to a 2018 lawsuit, in which the state of Montana attempted to label former Hecla CEO Phillips Baker a “bad actor” for his involvement in a failed mine cleanup in north-central Montana.  

The lawsuit would have banned Hecla from any mining activity until the state was compensated $32 million for mines owned by Pegasus Gold Corp., where Baker was previously an executive. The Montana First Judicial District Court ultimately dismissed the case in 2024. 

While Baker stepped down in 2024, Montana Environmental Information Center Policy Associate Ben Catton, who contributed to the EarthJustice objection, believes that the “culture and values he represented are likely to still be present at Hecla.”  

EarthJustice also cited Hecla’s history of environmental violations as evidence that the company cannot be trusted, pointing to more than 1,500 spills at its Greens Creek Mine in Alaska and an EPA citation in 2023 for mismanaging lead-bearing waste.  

“Their track record shows that they minimize the impact their projects will have and actively mismanage their other sites,” Catton said. “There’s no reason to believe they won’t do that again.”  

EarthJustice further questioned the community benefits the company claims the project will bring. They cited past workplace violations, such as 2017 worker strikes over unsafe labor practices at Hecla’s Lucky Friday Mine in Idaho, as evidence that the company’s promises to bolster the community should be viewed skeptically. 

“This is likely to be another boom-and-bust extractive project, where corporate executives will take all the profits and the community will be left to deal with the clean up,” Catton said. He views investment in “the local, sustainable businesses” that drive Montana’s $5 billion recreational tourism industry as a more viable way to revive the Lincoln County economy. 

If the Forest Service approves the exploration, Costello said her group will take the case to court. The decision, expected in the coming days, could shape the future of mining in the Cabinet Mountains. 

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