The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone is the most
endangered river in North America, reports the environmental group
American Rivers. The wild and scenic river, which runs through
Montana and Wyoming, is threatened by a proposed gold mine
two-and-a-half miles from Yellowstone National Park. The project
includes a 90-foot dam designed to hold millions of tons of acid
mine waste, but “In the event this tailings pond failed,” says Sen.
Max Baucus, D-Mont., “… the impact to the greater Yellowstone
ecosystem would be cataclysmic and the damage irreversible.” Other
Western rivers making American Rivers’ top 10 endangered list
include the Columbia and Snake river system of Idaho and Oregon,
where some 90 percent of the wild salmon have been lost to dams and
damaged habitat. Also listed was the Rio Grande on the U.S. and
Mexican border, whose waters are contaminated by nuclear, sewage
and chemical wastes. American Rivers is located at 801 Pennsylvania
Ave., S.E., Suite 400, Washington, DC
20003.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Endangered waters.
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