Conservation groups reach agreement that will benefit wildlife with Idaho phosphate miner P4

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US conservation groups have announced the reaching of an agreement with phosphate mining company P4 Productions which will result in millions in payments and other measures to benefit the conservation of sage grouse and other wildlife.

Under the agreement, P4, which is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, has agreed to pay $5.1 million to a trust fund for sage grouse habitat restoration and conservation and $2.43 million to acquire land to protect wildlife habitat connectivity.

There will be an additional $300,000 provided for sage grouse population surveys.

The company also agrees to operational restrictions of its Caldwell Canyon phosphate mine in southeast Idaho to minimize the mine’s impact on sage grouse.

Some of those measures includes refraining from rail traffic to or from the mine prior to 27 April each year and evaluating then implementing selenium dust mitigation measures at the ore handling and storage area.

This agreement resolves a 2021 lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians.

In that action, the parties were challenging a decision by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to approve approximately 1,559 acres to be strip-mined for phosphate of what it deemed as ecologically important land which is essential to the sage grouse and other species.

Once numbering in the millions the sage grouse populations is estimated to have declined by as much as 93% and the conservation groups say that phosphate mining has had a serious negative impact, especially on the birds in this portion of Idaho.

“Phosphate mines have greatly reduced the ability of many species, including grouse, to move within and through southeast Idaho to connect with other populations,” said Chris Krupp, WildEarth Guardians a public lands attorney.

“This agreement can be a first step in a much-needed larger effort to reconnect wildlife and their habitat in the region.”

The groups said the BLM is now reviewing a newly proposed mine and reclamation plan and will be issuing a new decision.

“I’m glad this agreement will help conserve greater sage grouse and curb the harms of this mining project,” said Lori Ann Burd, Center for Biological Diversity’s Environmental Health Program director.

“This case helped make clear that the federal government can’t simply ignore the environmental harms of phosphate mining. This is a great start, but we’ve got to do much more to confront the mining industry’s threats to sage grouse and other imperiled animals and plants.”