Yellowstone Gateway Could Get Congressional Protection
Eric Tegethoff, Producer
Thursday, July 27, 2017
HELENA, Mont. – Efforts to protect the area surrounding the gateway to Yellowstone National Park in Montana reached the Senate in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on Sen. Jon Tester's Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act. The bill protects 30,000 acres of public land in the Custer-Gallatin National Forest - adjacent to Yellowstone - from future mining claims.
Jeff Reed runs a lodging business in Paradise Valley and is a member of the Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition, which supports the bill.
"The business community, like myself, 360 businesses, have stood up and said, 'Look, our livelihoods depend upon what we'd call the tourism or recreation industry here,'" he says.
Reed also is in the technology business and says the beautiful landscape in Paradise Valley is a selling point for attracting talent to the region. He says all the members of Montana's Congressional delegation have spoken out against mining in this area.
The bill came about after two mining companies announced plans to expand their operations near the entrance to Yellowstone.
Reed emphasizes that the ban on mining operations is only on public land. He says it will require cooperation to get passed.
"This is a great litmus test and study as to whether private interests and public interests can work through issues to maintain economic stability or sustainability and also maintain environmental sustainability," he explains.
Reed says the bill could make its way through Congress quickly and has hopes it will become law before the year is over.
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