Thank you, Yakama Nation for supporting a mineral withdrawal

For the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation (Yakama Nation), Goat Mountain—the site that has been repeatedly proposed for exploratory drilling and potential mining in the Green River Valley—holds tremendous significance. 

In a letter to Washington’s congressional delegation, the Yakama Nation wrote that Goat Mountain “sits right in the heart of our traditional and cultural use territories, lands secured by our ancestors in the Treaty of 1855 to preserve the right of future generations to maintain their traditional way of life.”

We are honored that the Yakama Nation has officially voiced support for our proposed mineral withdrawal, a federal land management tool that provides long-term protections against mining. 

“[M]ining operations would alter the regional landscape, impact wildlife and fish habitat, contaminate groundwater, and threaten downstream communities. Moreover, it would also destroy Treaty-protected lands that are revered by our people. For over 15 years, the tireless efforts of the Cascade Forest Conservancy and its partners have kept the prospect of an open-pit mine on Goat Mountain at bay. But legal battles are expensive and temporary solutions. A more permanent safeguard is necessary. We need decisive federal action.”

Read the full text of the Yakama Nation letter below—and don’t forget to join them in asking Congress to protect Goat Mountain and the Green River Valley by signing our petition!