To the editor:
Your article of Feb. 10, 2021 [Maine tribes worry that Aroostook County mining project will pollute local waters] outlines some of the concern over potential pollution if mineral exploration in the Pickett Mountain area becomes a mining actuality.
A quick visit to the area via Google Earth will show the entire section has been heavily logged and cut over. There is already accelerated runoff of rainwater, reduced retention of groundwater and the inevitable increase of both siltation and temperature of those waters containing brook trout and salmon fisheries.
Where was the concern while these factors were becoming reality?
The NRCM [Natural Resources Council of Maine] photo presents a pretty view of a situation not to be found by an actual visit to the area. Further, as with the Bald Mountain gold prospects, there’s the possibility nothing commercially feasible will be found.
This is a case of the horse having left the barn but the barn is not yet on fire.
Peter M. Hilton
Presque Isle
