10 AT RISK
The Clarks Fork of the
Yellowstone in Montana and Wyoming is one of the nation’s wildest
rivers outside Alaska. It’s also the most endangered, according to
American Rivers. For three years running, it’s topped the group’s
annual report, North America’s Ten Most Endangered and Threatened
Rivers. The reason: Plans for the proposed New World Mine include a
tailings reservoir at the river’s headwaters that could contaminate
the river with acid waste. The group’s top ten also listed five
other Western rivers in peril: California’s American River, the
Northwest’s Columbia River, Oregon’s Elk River, Arizona’s Pinto
Creek and the Southwest’s Animas River. “These rivers are in
trouble not simply because of development, but because of reckless
development practices – dams that block fish passage, irrigation
practices that waste water, and careless grazing and logging along
river banks,” says Lorraine Bodi of American Rivers. For a copy of
the report, send $10 to American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Ave., N.W.,
Suite 720, Washington, DC 20005 (202/547-6900). An electronic
version is free on the world wide web:
http://www.amrivers.org/amrivers/.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Ten at risk.
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