Tester Statement on Temporary Mining Withdrawal on Yellowstone's Doorstep

(Butte, Mont.) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester today issued the following statement after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced he supports a temporary withdrawal of mining claims near Yellowstone National Park:

“An administrative withdrawal would be a step in the right direction, but we have no guarantee that the current review will even recommend a withdrawal. And even the best-case-scenario means a mine could threaten the doorstep to Yellowstone 20 years from now, sticking our kids with a fight they shouldn’t have to fight. The people of Park County, Montana and our visitors need permanent assurance that large-scale mining operations will not threaten our economy and our quality of life. I will continue to push the rest of Montana’s congressional delegation to get on board with the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act to give Montana permanent certainty and to protect the jobs and clean water that make Montana a valuable treasure.”

Tester’s Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act, introduced earlier this year, is a simple bill to permanently protect public lands and water near the nation’s first national park from the threat of large-scale mining.