Abandoned mines are a problem for water quality across the West. There are more than a half million sites, many leaking toxic pollution like acid mine drainage and heavy metals into our streams and rivers.
In other places, streams and rivers have been re-routed, straightened into unsustainable channels that make it difficult for aquatic life to keep a foothold. While state and federal governments have tried to remedy the problem, they are often limited by the workload and funds.
But in Montana’s Ninemile Valley, Trout Unlimited is working hard to fix the problem.
In a documentary made during the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula filmmakers followed TU’s Paul Parson on a project to tackle the impacts of an abandoned placer mine.
If you need a little hope for your week, watch this:
Rewindingariver_JHSMA_Entry from Trout Unlimited on Vimeo.
Credit: Adrian Smith, Cassandra Chowdhury, Kyle McBurnie, Victoria Armayor
— Shauna Stephenson