Construction of a federally backed mine is moving forward in Idaho’s Payette National Forest after a federal district court last week rejected environmental groups’ request to halt the project.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho rebuffed a coalition of environmental groups Friday seeking to halt Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite gold mine.
The groups — including Save the South Fork Salmon, the Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Earthworks, the Center for Biological Diversity and American Rivers — had sued the federal government last year and argued that approval of the project violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to protect chinook salmon, steelhead, bull trout, wolverine and whitebark pine.
But the district court found the coalition failed to show imminent and irreparable harm and allowed construction to proceed.
