A Canadian company wants to mine for gold in Emigrant Gulch not far north of Yellowstone National Park/William Campbell

Editor's note: This updates with reaction from various groups opposing the mining, adds background on the New World Mine once proposed to be developed just outside Yellowstone's northeastern corner.

Obama administration officials, in a move welcomed by the business and conservation community near Yellowstone National Park, moved Monday to block mining on roughly 30,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service just north of the park, though the action won't necessarily keep two gold mines from going in on private lands in the area, including one that would be visible from the park's north entrance.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Under Secretary of Agriculture Robert Bonnie traveled to Chico Hot Springs, Montana, just north of Yellowstone, to join U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and Montana Governor Steve Bullock in announcing the withdrawal of Forest Service lands from new mining claims. The "segregation" of the lands will be in effect for two years while the Departments of Interior and Agriculture evaluate whether to withdraw this land from new mining claims for an additional 20 years, consistent with the Secretary’s authority, an Interior Department press release said.

“There are good places to mine for gold, but the doorstep of Yellowstone National Park is not one of them,” said Secretary Jewell. “As we celebrate 100 years of the National Park Service, today’s action helps ensure that Yellowstone’s watershed, wildlife and the tourism-based economy of local communities will not be threatened by the impacts of mineral development.”

What officials couldn't immediately answer Monday was whether the incoming Trump administration, which has talked about removing impediments to mining and energy exploration, could simply release the segregation. And while Secretary Jewell said the withdrawal would prevent new claims on the land in question, what was unclear was whether Lucky Minerals, Inc., could establish valid claims to more than 2,500 acres, some of which lie on Forest Service lands. The company has said it has "leases and option agreements on mining claims in Emigrant Gulch," according to a group of businesses opposed to the gold mines.

Lucky Minerals, a Canadian company, has applied to the state of Montana for a mining permit for almost 5 acres of private lands surrounded by the Custer Gallatin National Forest at the Emigrant Gulch site near Chico Hot Springs. Another mine, proposed by the Crevice Mining Group, is for a 21-acre site of private lands surrounded by national forest within view of the Roosevelt Arch at Yellowstone's north entrance. Neither company could be reached Monday to say how the government's move would impact their plans.

This map, provided by the Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition that opposes the mining proposals, shows the two mining districts in the Custer Gallatin National Forest just north of Yellowstone National Park

At the National Parks Conservation Association, Stephanie Adams, the group's Yellowstone program manager, said opponents to the mining hoped that the incoming Trump administration would not lift the segregation but realize that greater value can be had by preserving the landscape.

"We are incredibly fortunate that the Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition has brought together folks from both sides of the aisle and (the opposition) really is bipartisan,” she said. "Emigrant Gulch has a long history of mining, but a lot of the mining that occurred in that area were guys out there with a pick and a shovel. ... The gulch is repairing itself. Just because there was previous mining activity doesn’t mean that it’s an area that’s appropriate for continued mining.”

The Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition, a small group of businesses that make a living in part off the remarkable scenery in and around the park, has worked with conservation groups to gain federal support against the mining operations.

“We’re pleased that the Forest Service is standing with Montana’s local businesses. These business owners understand what makes southwest Montana’s economy tick. Clean water, abundant wildlife, access to public lands, and beautiful vistas support dozens of industries and make it easy to attract first-rate talent," said Caroline Byrd, the executive director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. "Replace these things with constant truck traffic, polluted rivers, and scarred mountain slopes and you have a recipe for disaster. ... We’re looking forward to working with these business owners, our Yellowstone gateway towns, and with our Montana delegation to permanently protect these public lands from the threat of gold mines. Yellowstone is more valuable than gold.”

NPCA CEO and President Theresa Pierno said her organization "commends Secretaries Jewell and (Agriculture Secretary Tom) Vilsack for hitting the pause button on industrial scale gold mining at Yellowstone’s doorstep. Today’s decision buys the community and the Congressional delegation time to discuss and consider the prospect of a longer-term solution. More than 30,000 NPCA supporters called for this pause, echoing the work led by the Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition. These proposed mines would harm Yellowstone resources, wildlife, visitor experience and adjacent communities. The threat of mining on the doorstep of Yellowstone is a stark reminder that we must remain vigilant in our efforts to protect Yellowstone, and so many other national parks across the country. We call for a full, science-backed review of the resources at stake on these lands, and the permanent protection of this priceless landscape.”

Interior officials said the withdrawal is intended to provide longstanding protection for high water quality and high-value fisheries for anglers. "A particular draw for visitors to the park and the surrounding National Forest lands are the thousands of elk, mule deer, moose, bighorn sheep, pronghorn and bison that migrate from winter ranges in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho to high-elevation summer ranges near the core of Yellowstone National Park," the Interior release said. "The proposed mineral withdrawal provides critical linkages to major corridors for wildlife migrating to and from Yellowstone."

During the segregation period, the two federal agencies will conduct an environmental analysis to determine if the lands should be withdrawn for a period of 20 years. This process will invite participation by the public, tribes, environmental groups, industry, state and local government, as well as other stakeholders. Only Congress can legislate a permanent withdrawal.

A 90-day public comment period on the proposed withdrawal will end February 20, 2017. The Custer-Gallatin National Forest will conduct a public meeting for the proposal on January 18, 2017 from 4-7 p.m. at the Shane Center in Livingston, Montana. During the public comment period, written comments about the proposed mineral withdrawal may be submitted to: Supervisor’s Office of the Custer-Gallatin National Forest, 10 East Babcock Ave., Bozeman, Montana.

The two mining proposals in question are not exactly similar to, or in the same scale of, the New World Mine project that loomed over Yellowstone's northeastern corner two decades ago, threatening to pollute the park's waters.

The mine proposed by Crown Butte Mines, a Canadian concern, was called the New World Mine for its location in the New World Mining District that dates to 1864 when prospectors started exploring the area. Concerns over how renewed operations might bring historic, as well as new, wastes into Yellowstone led to concerted efforts to halt the project, and even the United Nations took a stand by pointing to the proposed mine as the reason for placing Yellowstone on its list of “In Danger” World Heritage Sites.

At one point President Clinton visited the area to talk to activists.

In 1996, a solution was announced. In return for $65 million in federal land and other assets, Crown Butte abandoned its plans for the mountains above Cooke City, Montana, and created a $22.5 million fund to clean up the mess that had been left behind by past mining operations.