Birch Island picks up Heaven’s Gate gauntlet in face of mining claim

Birch Island picks up Heaven’s Gate gauntlet in face of mining claim

BIRCH ISLAND—News that a mining company had staked the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy (EBC) Heaven’s Gate Trail property fell like a lightning bolt on the conservation organization that had assumed the conservation status of the property would protect it from mining development. While the status of the mining claim objection by the EBC is still under review, a new opponent has arisen in the form of Whitefish First Nation chief and council and …