The Cabinet grizzly bear population is already threatened by the loss and degradation of habitat critical for its survival in the region. The Rock Creek Mine will cause the Cabinet grizzly population to lose over 7,000 acres of its historic range, a loss that will not be replaced by the mine’s mitigation plan as proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  The mitigation plan calls for the 7,044 acres of lost habitat to be offset by the protection of 2,450 acres, where available, from future development. How will trading 7,000 contiguous acres for 2,450 fragmented acres, that if undeveloped would already be available to bears, consititute a win for the bear?  

Another mitigation is the funding of a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks grizzly bear conflict specialist. This position was filled months ago yet, in the first test of its effectiveness, failed to protect a bear that was recently poached by a local business owner.

Almost 3,000 new residents will migrate to the region in search of mining jobs. This rapid influx of humanity will carve up more bear habitat, resulting in more people encroaching into the forests to hunt, cut firewood, and recreate. All of this elevates the risk of bear deaths. Even the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledges the risks stating, "the potential for poaching could increase with the influx of workers with diverse social, cultural and economic backgrounds, many of whom may be unfamiliar with or lack interest in wildlife conservation." (2006 Biological Opinion)

Bull Trout require clean, cold water, free of fine sediment for all life stages and activities, especially spawning and rearing. The introduction of sediment and silt into Rock Creek from road building associated with the mine’s construction could impact bull trout by impeding reproduction and damaging water quality. Fine sediment introduced into spawning and rearing habitat increases the mortality of eggs, embryos, and juvenile fish. The Rock Creek Mine is expected to introduce hundreds of tons of sediment during construction (400 to 1,400 tons per year.) The USFWS has predicted that “any significant increase in fine sediment levels in bull trout spawning areas [in Rock Creek] will most likely have negative effects on productivity of bull trout.” The mine’s construction could very well wipe out bull trout in Rock Creek.

Bull trout could also be impacted by the introduction of metals into Rock Creek. Bull trout can detect even minute concentrations of metals and will actively avoid areas were they are elevated. Trout attempting to swim up Rock Creek from the Clark Fork River might avoid Rock Creek altogether if they detect elevated metals.

Other fish and wildlife species in the project area that are of special concern or have a protected status due to declining numbers include West-slope Cutthroat Trout, Harlequin Ducks, lynx, wolverines, and mountain goats.

Harlequin ducks, seabirds that require clean, fast flowing mountain streams for breeding, are declining in number throughout their range. Very sensitive to human disturbance, they breed in relatively few streams in the intermountain West. Each spring, small numbers migrate from the West coast to Rock Creek to nest. Vulnerable to human activities, sediment from road construction could eliminate the duck’s aquatic insect food base while industrial noise and lighting from the mine’s mill site could cause breeding females to completely abandon the area.

West-slope Cutthroat Trout would be subject to the same impacts as bull trout including both road-generated sediment and heavy metals entering Rock Creek and the Clark Fork River.

Lynx are a threatened species. The mine would result in the loss of lynx habitat, including habitat for denning, and could result in decreased reproductive success and increased mortality risks. Likewise, wolverines also would be impacted by increased mortality resulting from the mine’s disturbance.

The mountain goats that inhabit many of the rocky cliffs and outcroppings in the Cabinet Mountains thrive on the solitude that these high mountain places provide. Intolerant of human disturbance, stress caused by the mine is predicted to reduce the health and reproductive success of the area’s goat herd. Habitat loss, hunting, and poaching could lead to direct mortality of those goats not driven out of the area.

The mine would affect all of these species by transforming a quiet and rural, forested landscape into an industrial zone accompanied by a high volume of traffic and constant industrial noise and lighting. At the same time, the water quality of Rock Creek would be severely degraded. The area would no longer be a suitable home for much of the area’s fish and wildlife.