[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book II)]
[August 7, 1998]
[Page 1414]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 1414]]


Statement on Acquisition of the New World Mine
August 7, 1998

    I am proud to announce completion today of a major initiative to 
preserve one of America's true crown jewels, Yellowstone National Park.
    Two years ago, to protect the park from the potential ravages of 
mining, I announced an agreement to acquire the proposed New World Mine 
outside Yellowstone from its owner, Crown Butte Mines, Inc. Last year, 
with critical support from Senator Max Baucus, Congress appropriated $65 
million for the acquisition. Over the past several months, the 
administration completed several intermediate steps, including an 
agreement with Crown Butte to ensure cleanup of contamination from 
nearly 100 years of mining near Yellowstone. Today, the New World Mine 
property was formally transferred to the U.S. Forest Service, completing 
this historic acquisition.
    Yellowstone, America's first national park, is the heart of a 
magnificent landscape and ecosystem that we are working to restore and 
preserve for all time. Today's action culminates an extraordinary 
collaboration by the administration, the State of Montana, Crown Butte, 
and conservationists to protect both Yellowstone and the economy it 
sustains. Years from now, bison, wolves, and other wildlife will 
flourish, and visitors will enjoy Yellowstone in all its splendor.