It's 59 miles of the most cherished stretch of river in America, with one put-in and one take-out. About 1 in 10 people who applied for a private float permit for the Smith River got one for 2023. Nearly 40% of the float permits for The Smith were awarded to nonresidents of Montana. Do we have a problem?
In May, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued a Phase One bonding amount of $4.65 million for the Black Butte Copper Mine, located near the iconic Smith River.