RE: Court dates?"when the US Forestry Service hears the environmental groups apposed to the project?"
The case is before the United States District Court for the District of Idaho, likely awaiting additional input from the defendants (US Forest Service and Mosquito) and a decision. All environmental group filings are here. The timeline is as follows:
https://www.advocateswest.org/case/cumo-mine
Advocates for the West represents Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, and Golden Eagle Audubon Society in a challenge to the Forest Service approval of Canadian mining company Mosquito Gold’s plan to explore for copper and molybdenum in the headwaters of Grimes Creek on nearly 3000 acres of Boise National Forest land.
The mountainous project site, located 14 miles north of Idaho City, consists mostly of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir forest and is dissected by many tributaries of Grimes Creek. The site provides suitable habitat for numerous species of wildlife, including “sensitive species” such as great grey owl, northern goshawk, and wolverine. The rare flower Sacajawea’s bitterroot—known to exist only in central Idaho’s mountains—inhabits the site.
Despite Mosquito Gold’s ambitious proposal to clear 69 acres of vegetated land, build over 10 miles of new roads and 137 drill pads and mud pits, and operate four drilling rigs 24/7 throughout most of the year to drill 259 exploratory wells up to 3,000 feet deep, the Forest Service made a “finding of no significant impact” and approved the exploration.
In July, 2011, Advocates for the West filed the complaint in federal court in Idaho, initiating this lawsuit and asking the court to halt Mosquito Gold's exploration and order the Forest Service to conduct necessary studies on the exploration's impacts to sensitive species and water quality.
In February, 2012, Advocates for the West filed a reply/response brief (read attached brief) on behalf of our clients, arguing that the US Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on three fronts when approving Mosquito Gold's CuMo Mine exploration; when the US Forest service took a "decide first, study later"approach, the pre-decsion studies and other documents cited by Defendant and Intervenor did not satisfy the "hard look" requirement, and the Forest Service failed to conduct baseline hydrology studies.
Case Title and Number:
Idaho Conservation League et al v. Boise National Forest