Agreement protects elk route, trout streams near Yellowstone

A Canadian mining company says it’s reached an agreement with conservation groups to protect two Montana trout streams and hundreds of acres of land used by migrating elk from Yellowstone National Park.

Representatives of Kinross Gold Corp., Trout Unlimited and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation planned to formally announce the agreement Thursday in Jardine, Montana.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, the members of the state’s congressional delegation and Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt were scheduled to attend.

The conservation agreement includes 549 acres at the site of the former Mineral Hill Mine, which closed in 2001. It also includes protections for Pine Creek and Bear Creek.

The announcement comes as local residents and businesses are trying to stop two new gold mines proposed in the same area north of Yellowstone.