Tester Joins Local Business Leaders to Celebrate Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act

Senator’s law will permanently protect the gateway to Yellowstone Park

(Emigrant) – To celebrate the permanent protection of one of Montana’s most pristine landscapes, U.S Senator Jon Tester joined local business leaders in the Paradise Valley today.

Tester’s Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act will permanently withdraw federal mineral rights on roughly 30,000 acres of the Gallatin National Forest and prevent proposed mines from expanding onto unclaimed public land adjacent to the Park.

“There are simply some places where you just should not dig or drill, and the gateway of Yellowstone Park is one of those places,” Tester said during the celebration.

Tester praised many of the local business leaders who have been working for years on a permanent solution to protect the land near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River from large-scale mining.

“Future generations will reap the benefit and the enjoyment of your efforts to preserve this special land for years to come,” Tester added.

Tester worked with the coalition of local residents and small-business owners to craft and introduce the bill after a pair of mining companies announced plans to explore the option for mining around the Paradise Valley back in 2015.

Congress passed Tester’s Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act last month and President Trump signed it into law last week.