A plan for three open-pit gold mines in salmon habitat in east-central Idaho is one step closer to approval after the U.S. government selected the Canadian developer’s proposed plan for mitigating the project’s environment impact. The U.S. Forest Service on Friday made public an environmental study for British Columbia-based Perpetua Resources' Stibnite Gold Project. The plan involves expanding two existing open-pit gold mines in the historically heavily mined area and building a third, then restoring the site after mining concludes. The Nez Perce Tribe opposes new mining in the area due to its potential impact on salmon habitat. The tribe says the project is within its aboriginal homeland where it has treaty rights.

Wildlife agencies in the U.S. are finding elevated levels of a class of toxic chemicals in game animals such as deer. The discovery is prompting health advisories in parts of the country where hunting and fishing are ways of life and key pieces of the economy. Authorities have detected the high levels of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in deer in several states, including Michigan and Maine. PFAS chemicals are industrial compounds used in numerous products, such as cookware and clothing. They are sometimes called “forever chemicals” for their persistence in the environment. The discovery of PFAS in animals hunted for sport and food represents a new challenge.

WHIDBEY ISLAND, Washington — A civil rights activist, a business owner, a lawyer, an engineer and the founder of a winery and his family were …