MISSOULA — A Sheep Creek mine would bring economic development to the Bitterroot Valley, but the U.S. Forest Service should ensure the mine exploration moves forward with “needed transparency,” Montana’s congressional delegation said in a letter to the agency chief.

“We have been ardent supporters of new mines and mine expansion in Montana, including the Libby Exploration Project and the Sibanye-Stillwater Mine, both located on Forest Service land,” U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and the Montana delegation said in a letter Monday.

The letter said the delegation saw at Sheep Creek the potential to “greatly expand U.S. critical mineral production” and its ability to bring jobs and important revenue to the community.

However, the delegation said federal land-use decisions need the support of local

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