To Mine or Not to Mine?

One of the many good questions asked today by our adventure-learners camping in Idaho City, is, "Do you think that new mining operations should be allowed within the Boise River watershed?"

It's a seemingly simple question, but like so much of what we are learning in this workshop, there is a lot of complexity and many shareholders who are a part of the decision making process. Mining, even when done following environmental regulations and with a care to protect our environment as much as possible, is still incredibly damaging to local ecosystems and watersheds. The environmental damage and disruption to the surface done by mining in Idaho City is sadly impressive, yet, without that history of mining in the area, Idaho City would not exist and even Boise would likely have a very different character today.

Many mining projects and other business ventures, both past and present, often overlook long-term sustainability in favor of short term profits. They come in, turn a blind eye towards environmental concerns, make a lot of money, provide a lot of jobs (although, sometimes only temporarily), and then leave behind a legacy of environmental destruction that lasts for hundreds of years, impacting the health of the human communities and ecosystems in the area. On top of that, when interacting with the environment, we don't always have full knowledge of how we are impacting it, and can inadvertantly create some serious environmental problems down the road. The discussion on forest fire management over the past century is a good example of that.

If I could go back in time and ban mining in the Boise River watershed and elsewhere, I would do so without hesitation. The Idaho I would come back to would be very different than it is today, but hopefully would be a much "cleaner" place. Of course, I can't go back in time (darn it!), and we cannot simply turn back the clock on industries that have become important parts of our Idaho economy. Mining, including new projects, will be a part of Idaho's future for quite some time. Today, I would not put an outright ban on new mining projects in our area, but I am very for strong environmental regulations being placed on the industry to limit environmental damage and to "clean up" mining sites after the operations cease. One of the constant political back-and-forths in our state and nation-wide is the role of government regulation. Do we have too much, not enough? I am a regulation loving guy, as long as they are well-crafted. We have to allow industries that support our economies to flourish, but we also have to hold them accountable for the long-term effects of their actions.