County Signs Letter of Opposition to Emigrant Gravel Pit

 

On Section 22 looking south towards Emigrant Peak

In a unanimous vote on April 14th, the Park County Commission moved to send a formal letter of opposition regarding the proposed gravel mine on State Section 22 to the Montana Land Board and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC).

Our elected officials heard your concerns via the numerous phone calls, emails and public comments sent their way. We’re proud to be part of a community where people care so much. Your passion for protecting open space and public lands in Park County is as fierce as the winds that force us to walk off balance all winter long.

Our commissioners took this issue seriously, reviewed the proposal, then looked at our local options and realized that we can meet our local needs with existing family-run gravel businesses, concluding that a new industrial scale gravel mine and asphalt plant in the heart of Paradise Valley was unnecessary.

Please join us in sending a heartfelt thank you to the commissioners for listening to our concerns.

Email the commissioners today:

 

If you would like to learn more about the proposal, visit our website and read about some of the background of the development threat to Section 22. HERE

PCEC has been fighting this proposed gravel pit on Section 22 for over four years. While the issue ramped up considerably in the last two months, we have tracked this proposal for a long time. It’s why we “walk the fence at night,” remaining vigilant even when an issue goes quiet, so we are always ready to inform the community and respond when the time comes.

While we celebrate this win for our community, we know the threat of development remains real. 

We will continue to follow this proposal from where it sits now with the DNRC and the Land Board. We’ve shown what we can do in Park County: now, we need to carry our message to decisionmakers in Helena.

Help Us Continue This Work

Section 22 has been the front lines in our fight to protect public lands in Park County. We thank you all for your support and for taking action with us. It is clear that this community values long term conservation of open space and wildlife habitat over short term exploitation of our public lands, and that our commissioners agree.

Section 22 site location.

 
Melynda Harrison