The development of mining has been incredibly beneficial for the people of Montana, however it does have a great deal of negative impacts on the environment. Lecain argues very well that there are negative impacts that it has. (Lecain, 43) He talks about how while mining has made great advances in techniques it seldom has great regard to the environment, it tends to destroy the local land and can devastate an ecosystem. This is apparent in many places but the real grand example would have to be the Berkeley pit in Butte. The mine itself was highly advanced however it led to one of the most polluted areas on earth, the pit is a disaster and a direct result of mining. The negative impacts of mining are in the light now and people have taken much greater steps in preventing future major accidents
The negative impacts of mining should be observed before a mine is opened and after it is closed. There are many instances where mines are have devastated a ecosystem and it could likely be prevented. Mining tends to be linked with money and when money is involved people tend to overlook negatives. A decent solution to this could be stricter regulations on mining, especially when the mine starts to dry up. Many mines would need to have precision work with engineers to ensure that things are handled properly, excellent planning could prevent environmental damage.The future will also likely lead to safer advancements in mining methods, and hopefully the new technology will allow the environment to go unscathed.