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Boise River/Atlanta Gold Mine

In 2006 a Canadian mining company’s proposal for a cyanide heap leach gold mine upstream of Boise placed the Boise River in the top ten list of the nation’s most endangered rivers. American Rivers listed the Boise River as America’s sixth-most endangered river for that year. Sierra Club has joined forces with other groups and individuals to protect this precious resource.   

Idaho’s Boise River provides drinking water for 55,000 people, irrigates 300,000 acres of farmland, and hosts over 100,000 floaters a year.   Thanks to a well coordinated effort by Idaho Families for Clean Water, people within the Boise watershed are more opposed than ever to industrial mining in our headwaters. 

While Atlanta Gold has put their lager, open pit cyandie heap leach mine on hold for now, they recently proposed a combined open pit and underground mine and a mill to process the ore into sulfide concentrate.  The company changed their initial plan for an open pit cyanide heap leach mine following protests from citizens, volunteers and downstream communities.  This new plan of theirs still puts the Boise River at risk from arsenic and hazardous chemicals.  Hauling diesel fuel and other chemical to the mine site on remote dirt roads poses a serious risk of spills.

Sportsmen, conservationists, and families downstream are concerned about protecting their clean water.  The Boise River provides more than 20 percent of Boise’s drinking water supply.

Our Campaign to Protect the Boise River Watershed  

The Boise River flows for about 75 miles through southwestern Idaho, and is an important source of water for drinking, irrigation, fishing and recreation.  Idaho Families for Clean Water is a coalition of groups and individuals that formed in 2004 to protect our clean river water from Atlanta Gold, a Canadian mining company that planned to build a gold mine near the small town of Atlanta, 60 miles upstream of Boise, in the headwaters of the Boise River. 

Over the past four years Atlanta Gold has been a moving target for our coalition with their project constantly in a state of flux.  With the outdated 1872 Mining Law, weak to non-existent regulations in Idaho, and the rising prices of gold and other minerals soaring  we are seeing an ever increasing surge of mining proposals in our great state that potentially threaten our water, lands and wildlife.  From the Cumo Mine near the Payette to the Buffalo Gulch Mine near Elk City to Atlanta Gold in our headwaters, to Idaho Cobalt outside of Salmon to South Mountain Mine in the Owyhees there is no shortage of mining threats.   

It was clear that our coalition needed to develop a broad campaign to protect the entire Boise River watershed.  Our watershed encompasses over 4,000 square miles of diverse wildlife habitats, including alpine canyons, forest, rangeland, agricultural lands and urban areas.  The Boise River provides a critical resource to over 40% of the state's population living in the Treasure Valley.  22% of Boise’s municipal water supply comes from the Boise River. Clean water is the lifeblood of our communities.  Our campaign shift to protect our watershed aims to protect not only the resources and the safety of our communities, but to protect a way of life for future generations.

Idaho Families remains committed to helping others explore, enjoy and protect the Boise River watershed.  We will continue to offer opportunities to learn about and experience this special resource.  If you care about the Boise River, get out and enjoy it and share it with friends!  A clean and safe Boise River is essential to the Treasure Valley's families, health, economy and lifestyle.  Working together we can protect Idaho's clean water and the entire Boise River for our families, for our future.