The Forest Service has withdrawn the "Request for Comments" for June 13th regarding new exploration on Buckhorn Mountain and replaced it with a  July 3, 2008 "Request for Comments" which are due July 21, 2008.

The notice states that the public comments for the first notice must be revised and resubmitted.

The new request is substantially the same as the previous request except:

The Forest Service is proposing to authorize Kinross Gold Corp's proposed new exploration drill program and there would be 6 geophysical survey lines instead of 4.

We feel it is unreasonable for the Forest Service to burden the public by requiring that previous comments be revised and resubmitted. The Forest Service should accepted and considered any comment letters received for the June 13th request for the proposed exploration drilling and geophysical survey as well as the new notice.

However, just to cover our bases you should modify your previous comments and resend them. There are comment suggestions below.

Kinross exploration proposal

Three drill pads that are proposed west side of the mountaintop between Bolster and Ethel Creek headwaters would be accessed from existing road number FS-141.

The drilling would entail 14 drill pads/sites and 0.7 miles of temporary road construction for a total of approximately 3.4 acres of disturbance.  Six of the drill sites are on or adjacent to existing roads in previously disturbed areas.  Eight drill sites would be accessed either from newly constructed temporary drill roads or by the re-opening of previously reclaimed drill roads.  The drill holes will be plugged after the completion of each drill hole and the constructed temporary roads will be obliterated.

Drilling and reclamation will be about 4 months in duration.  Operations will be 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

Drill pads/sites are planned to be about 0.1 acres each (e.g. 100’ X 50’).  The drill pads would be leveled and sumps for drill water would be excavated to hold up to 2,000 gallons of fluids.

The geophysical survey program would entail 6 lines that would total approximately 13 miles of horizontal distance.  Each layout of wire and receptors is about 3,000 feet in length, about 300 feet between receptors.  Prior to installing a receptor, a 3’ X 3’ area would be cleared of debris and a slight depression around the receptor created to increase conductivity.  Approximately 27 days (weather permitting) will be required to complete the entire survey.

Laying the survey lines out on the surface would require line of sight clearing.  A generator would be used every other day for approximately 6 – 10 hours depending on line length and receptivity. A soil survey would also be conducted on the west side of Buckhorn Mountain.  This will entail taking a small soil sample on approximately a 400’ X 400’ grid throughout the area.

If you have any questions or need more information about the project, contact Phil Christy at (509) 486-5137.

Comments Needed by July 21, 2008

The proposal includes 18 exploration drill holes on 14 sites and geophysical survey next to the Buckhorn Mine

Comment should be sent to

Mark Morris, Tonasket District Ranger,
1 West Winsap, Tonasket, WA 98855

Electronic scoping comments may be mailed to comments-pacificnorthwest-okanogan-tonasket@fs.fed.us.

Suggested comments:

I have been concerned about mining in Buckhorn Mountain area for many years.

➢    The request for comment identifies this proposal as a  “part of Crown/Kinross ongoing operations in the Buckhorn Mountain area”. I am concerned that the cumulative impacts of the proposal along with past, present, and future projects in the area would be significant. This proposal should be fully analyzed. An Environmental Assessment must be conducted to determine the level of this proposal’s significance.

➢    The Forest Service cannot ignore and must consider the extent of Crown/Kinross “ongoing operations” in the area that the current proposal is part of. Analysis of this proposal should include the other mining claims that it could be reasonably assumed would be developed in the near future and the cumulative impacts with the permitted Buckhorn Mine activities adjacent to the current proposal.

➢    The Forest Service should not allow the mining proponent to segment multiple proposals so that any one would not be considered significant but together they most certainly would.

➢    Most of the area where the exploration is proposed is prime wildlife habitat. The impacts of the proposed exploration drilling and geophysical survey on wildlife should be fully analyzed in conjunction with other activities in the area.

➢    The lights from at least 3 of the drill sites (5 holes) would be seen and the loud constant pounding of the core drill would be heard by residents in the Chesaw area. Operations for 24 hours a day 7 days a week would create an unreasonable disturbance to the aesthetic character of the area that residents and recreational users value.

➢    The analysis for this proposal should include information about where the water for the proposed activity would come from.

➢    The analysis should include the potential impacts of creating new preferential pathways by the drilling of additional exploration holes in the fractured bedrock that may cause the aquifer that feeds Bolster and Thorp Creeks to drain.

➢    The analysis should consider impacts of clearing and drilling on the function of aquatic and wildlife resources the proposal traverses. It should include the impacts of sedimentation in headwater streams and the facilitation of cattle trespass into those streams and wetlands.

➢    The area that the proposal would disturb should be completely surveyed for threatened and endangered plants and animals before any activity is permitted.

➢    The request for comments states that reclamation of the proposed activities would generally follow the Final Amended Plan of Operations approved in October 2007. This explanation does not provide the public with enough information to make informed comments. Where is this information available and what does it contain?

➢    The request for comments also states “interdisciplinary studies will be conducted as part of the analysis prior to issuing the go ahead on these projects”. This exploration has the potential of impacting the quality of people’s lives and wildlife in this area. The go ahead should NOT be issued until the public has had full and complete opportunity to review the studies and provide additional input as provided by NEPA.

Please keep me informed of any and all studies done for this proposal, opportunities to comment and decisions regarding this issue.