Hardrock mining for metals has been, and is, an economically important land use in all western U.S. states. However, metals contamination associated with mining can be highly toxic to aquatic life, the composition of metal‐bearing rock often leads to acid mine drainage and increased concentrations of dissolved metals, and mine‐related disruptions to soil and water often produce excess fine sediments and altered stream flows. Such environmental degradation leads to large numbers of perpetually polluted streams and impaired aquatic life and fisheries. The primary U.S. law governing mining, the General Mining Law of 1872, was passed during the pick‐and‐shovel era to encourage economic growth; however, modern mining processes are massive in extent, highly mechanized, and incorporate additional toxic chemicals for leaching metals from ores. We provide an overview of hardrock mining impacts to aquatic life, a set of mining case studies, and suggestions for amending U.S. mining law. Our hope is that this article will lead to improved management and rehabilitation of existing mine sites and sufficient protections for the aquatic life and fisheries likely to be disturbed by future mines.
The historical context of current environmental conditions offers vital guidance to North American fisheries professionals as they strive to develop effective management plans and policies. Through this retrospective we highlight the remarkable historic fisheries resources and reasons for establishing public fisheries agencies and the American Fisheries Society (AFS). Through a review of primary historical documents and literature for North America, this paper identifies factors contributing to the founding of AFS and public fish commissions; shows how selected resource issues evolved; and documents how and why selected fisheries and aquatic habitat policies changed in response to those issues. Overexploitation, landscape‐scale habitat alterations, mining, and dams were the causative agents for emergence of fisheries agencies and AFS, and these factors remain relevant today. Beginning in the 1960s, after 100 years of policy inaction, North Americans grew tired of degraded waters and fisheries and forced policy changes that have directly and indirectly affected the fisheries we manage today. The historical events and resulting corrective legislation are taken for granted by those unaware that AFS has actively participated in developing policies to address these environmental harms. Further, AFS continues to play a vital role in identifying key issues, providing conduits for information to cope with impairments, and advocating for policies to conserve intact habitats and improve degraded systems. The struggles documented in this paper offer crucial lessons as we continue to be challenged by legacy resource issues and face emerging environmental stressors, such as climate change, as well as regression in long‐standing environmental protection policies.
The American Fisheries Society (AFS) has a long history of scientific, management, and policy interests in the U.S. Endangered Species Act and other federal, tribal, state, provincial, and international laws pertaining to imperiled species. For decades, AFS has hosted technical sessions, developed policy, and participated in critical discussions pertaining to imperiled species conservation. For this reason, the AFS leadership elected to update the Societys three policy statements on imperiled species, which are no longer official under AFS bylaws because they expired as official AFS policy in 1987, 1993, and 1999. As part of the effort to update, here we (1) review the elements of imperilment, (2) present the history of AFS engagement on imperiled species policy issues, and (3) set the goals to update this policy and the AFS policy process moving forward. Our intent is to launch a dialogue that leads to an AFS policy statement on imperiled species, supported by primary literature, that can be updated with minor revisions every five years.
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