BOZEMAN, Montana — The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation organization based in Montana, announced its ambitious campaign to buy out Crevice Mining Group, a mining company bordering the national park.
The GYC's bid was announced on May 11, setting a deadline for the purchase of October 1, 2023. Since the effort was launched, the organization has raised over $3.8 million of the $6.25 million purchase price, leaving just under $2.5 million left to be raised for the purchase of the gold mine.
A statement by the GYC explained that "the effort would extinguish the last real and significant mining threat on the border of Yellowstone National Park, forever."
The purchase would include mineral rights, leases, and claims to 1,368 acres of land on Crevice Mountain, just North of the Yellowstone River.
“Given the significant threat this mine presents to Yellowstone National Park and its resources, we worked diligently to negotiate an agreement with the mining company that provides a win-win outcome,” said Scott Christensen, GYC’s executive director. “We simply cannot risk a gold mine being developed on the boundary of the park and this approach will protect these critical lands, the Yellowstone River, and the local community while allowing the company to walk away. This is a big lift for GYC, and we know we cannot fail.”
The site of the mine is a vital habitat for bison and grizzly bears while also acting as a critical migration corridor for elk, deer and bighorn sheep.
“Without intervention, the mine would move forward,” stated Melissa Richey, GYC’s director of philanthropy. “This campaign is our generation’s best opportunity to protect what we love about Yellowstone National Park. People understand its significance – this is a legacy project – but we still need more people to step up and help in these last few months as we approach our deadline.”
The GYC has celebrated monumental victories over its history in the region, the most recent of which is the passing of the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act in 2019 where the GYC represented more than 400 businesses and nonprofits in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming which permanently protects over 30,000 acres of land bordering the park from mining projects which could disrupt the delicate Yellowstone ecosystem.
“Crevice is not only rich with wildlife, but for the handful of people who live here, home to a rapidly disappearing way of life,“ stated Joe Josephson, GYC’s senior Montana conservation associate, who has led this effort for GYC over the past eight years. “As someone who has worked closely with communities on and around Crevice Mountain, it’s clear the border of Yellowstone is no place for a gold mine.”
Donations will be accepted through the deal's deadline on October 1, 2023 on the GYC's website, GreaterYellowstone.org.
