Derf Johnson

In 2018, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality sought to prevent Hecla Mining from getting future mining permits, citing CEO Phillips Baker Jr.’s past work as a vice-president of Pegasus Gold. Pegasus abandoned mines near the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in the ‘90s and cost state taxpayers over $35 million to clean up.

Vice President Mike Pence and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are scheduled to visit a coal mine on the Crow Reservation Friday. The Trump Administration…