Idaho Headwaters Economic Study Group

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JUST RELEASED: USFS Stibnite findings GROSSLY underestimate adverse impacts of 

Perpetua gold mine to Valley County communities!

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Thanks to the engagement and support from a broad swath of the local business community

Idaho Headwaters Study Group has published the findings of the long-awaited report, entitled: 

An Evaluation of the Potential Socio-Economic Impacts of the Proposed Stibnite Mine on Valley County, Idaho (DEC 2022). 

You can find a FULL COLOR downloadable summary of the report HERE.

Hard copy versions of our digital brochure will be available throughout the area, as well as a special "South County" edition.

Nearly a year and a half ago, local business leaders began with a basic premise: 

that if our business community had factual, independent information about the potential impacts of the proposed 

Stibnite Gold Project, that they’d be able to make better decisions about the future of our individual and collective 

businesses community, as well the thriving economy Valley County currently enjoys. 

Now, businesses and residents of Valley County have this vital analysis. 

Over 100 business owners and interested citizens chipped in nearly $25,000 to contract with a 

highly recognized and well respected economist in Missoula, MT - Power Consulting. 

IHESG has not made any recommendations based on the information in the report or taken a public position 

on the mine as a result of this work. 

We've put forth the paper for the community and our elected leaders and encourage them to respond accordingly.

WHEREAS, already rapidly growing regional economies in West-Central Idaho are highly dependent on tourism, recreation and attractive natural amenities. Such amenities must be preserved for future economic vitality;

WHEREAS, the Salmon River,  its tributaries and surrounding areas,  are constantly visited and used by Valley County residents, tourists, and Tribal members seeking opportunities to fish, camp, hunt, gather, hike, snowmobile, paddle, explore, and seek solitude;  and the South Fork Salmon River has been found by the USFS as suitable for Wild and Scenic River designation. Such designation should be rightly acknowledged;

WHEREAS, the sheer scale of “Stibnite Gold Project” (SGP) mining operations, as proposed, presents potentially unpredictable and complicating factors to the sustainable foundations on which Idaho’s dynamic businesses and economies are based; the potential economic effects of an environmental catastrophe on the nearest business communities and their workforces should be considered; 

WHEREAS, the USFS recently determined that, due to insufficiencies, a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement is required before the SGP proposal can move forward; 

WHEREAS, a benefits-only economic analysis, commissioned by Perpetua Resources, articulated virtually no inherent risks/costs and was without examination of any benefits of a “no action” alternative and there currently exists no rigorous, comprehensive, independent and unbiased economic analysis of the SGP proposal;

WHEREAS, while mining is an important part of Idaho’s history and economy, not all mines or ore bodies are created the same, nor should any areas be mined without regard to impacts on proximate existing business ventures and community cultures;

WHEREAS, the USFS DEIS found that: 1) Valley County public agencies and service sectors could experience adverse impacts from wage inflation and/or workforce shortages ; 2) SGP may affect public safety on the roads used by mine vehicles during construction, operations, and closure and reclamation; 3) public utilities and the Valley County school systems  have the most potential to be impacted by population increases due to mine operations; 4) it is possible that major adverse affordable housing availability impacts could result from operations of the SGP;

WHEREAS, virtually no tax revenues from SGP will aggregate locally and will almost entirely accrue to state and federal government, while local businesses are currently experiencing immense socio-economic burdens of affordable housing scarcity, wage-scale deficiencies and infrastructure challenges. All profits from the proposed SGP operations would accrue to a foreign owned entity; 

WHEREAS, managing growth has become a keystone responsibility for elected leaders such as local city councils and county commissions, who have the capacity to support, request, and obtain independent socio-economic analyses of large-scale industrial projects that potentially impact business stakeholders and other residents in the communities they represent; 

WE RESOLVE, a rigorous, independent, comprehensive economic analysis focusing on ALL the drivers of local economies must take place and be evaluated for impacts not only to West-Central Idaho’s business ecosystem as the most closely affected, but also to the greater surrounding areas and communities, such that the project’s true economic costs and benefits are understood and accounted for;

THEREFORE, we request that Valley County Commissioners act within their vested authority and discretion to commission a rigorous, independent, comprehensive economic analysis on the effects of the Stibnite Gold Project proposal and present the findings of said analysis to the USFS and general public according to standard practices of the body.