From the Thursday, March 3, 2005 online edition of the Hungry Horse News . . .
Sen. Max Baucus got a rather ugly reception on a trip to Canada last week to talk about coal mining in the Flathead.
Bill Bennett, a representative in British Columbia's Legislative Assembly, confronted Baucus, saying locals didn't want him there and that no one invited him.
Baucus went to Fernie, B.C., to discuss the coal mining exploration in the Foisey Creek area, a tributary of the North Fork of the Flathead River. In November, British Columbia gave the Cline Mining Corp. a permit for exploratory work. The company has already begun building roads in the area.
Baucus said he wanted to express Montanans' concerns about coal mining's possible impacts on the Flathead River's water quality. The Flathead Coalition and the Flathead Basin Commission have requested a baseline study of the environmental effects of a mine in the area.
Baucus said he simply wanted to talk with Canadians face to face and begin the process of solving the issue.
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