Boise — The J.R. Simplot Company, Agrium/NuWest Industries, and Monsanto, all of whom mine phosphate in Southeast Idaho’s Caribou County near the Wyoming border, have joined with the Idaho Conservation League and Trout Unlimited to voluntarily improve the Blackfoot River’s fish habitat and water quality. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a conservation group critical of phosphate mining operations, is not participating. The Blackfoot River is renowned as a Yellowstone cutthroat fishery. In addition to mining, it also has been impacted by livestock grazing, road construction, and farming. The Upper Blackfoot River Initiative for Conservation (UBRIC) plans to start river restoration projects this year. In February, UBRIC finalized assessing habitat conditions and obstacles, compiling fish population data to guide its efforts. Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), Simplot, Agrium, and Monsanto have been involved for a number of years in cleaning up Superfund phosphate mining sites where selenium has contaminated waterways, killing livestock and aquatic life.
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