North Fork Preservation Association

A wild and unprotected river considered at risk from coal mining in southeastern B.C. heads the 120,000-member Outdoor Recreation Council’s annual list of the top 10 most endangered rivers in the province.

The Bush administration is challenging a coal mine proposed in British Columbia, saying it poses an environmental threat that could extend south of the border.

The Bush administration has objected to a proposed open-pit coal mine in Canada near the Montana border, citing the potential for irreversible environmental damage to Glacier National Park, pristine trout streams and the largest natural lake in the West.

Premier Gordon Campbell announced on February 14 that B.C. would not allow surface water discharge from coalbed methane operations in the province. Reaction in the press was muted. The Flathead Coalition was very pleased.

The potential mining activity on the Canadian Flathead has made it very important to conduct serious water quality monitoring and study in the watershed. Efforts to fund this through the Montana legislature began in mid-February.

On February 6, Bill Bennett, British Columbia’s mining minister, was forced to resign. Here’s a sampling of the coverage.

Sometime in mid-February our Movable Type database got damaged, preventing us from posting new material. Unfortunately, this occurred when your friendly site manager was overburdened by high-priority projects. After spending a great deal of time this weekend trying to straighten this out, I finally threw up my hands and reset the web log.