From the Wednesday, November 30, 2005 online edition of the Hungry Horse News . . .
A host of interests, including Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer will converge on Kalispell to discuss coal mining in the Canadian Flathead Dec. 7 at the Flathead River Basin Commission's next meeting.
The topic of coal mining in the North Fork of the Flathead on the Canadian side is nothing new. One Canadian company or another comes up with a proposal about once every 10 years.
And about once every 10 years the proposal dies.
But this time around coal prices are robust to say the least and the Canadians seem serious about a new coal mine in Foisey Creek - a tributary of the North Fork of the Flathead.
That has prompted considerable concern in Montana, since the North Fork also is most of the western border of Glacier National Park.
Read the entire article . . .
Here's some more news forwarded to us by Rachel Potter concerning the upcoming Flathead Basin Commission meeting.
A variety of top technical experts will join Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer and the U.S. co-chair of the International Joint Commission for a wide-ranging discussion of trans-boundary science and policy topics at the December 7 meeting of the Flathead Basin Commission in Kalispell.
Among those scheduled to make presentations are Dr. Jack Stanford, director of the Flathead Lake Biological Station, who will update the group on scientific findings in the North Fork of the Flathead River, and Brace Hayden, a Glacier National Park official who will review the history of the IJC’s involvement in the coal mining issue in the British Columbia portion of the North Fork in the past two decades.
Other presentations will include a report by Kathy Eichenberger, BC’s liaison to the FBC, on the province’s approval process for mining activities and data BC has gathered in the North Fork, and a summary of data needs in this trans-boundary region.
Dennis Schornack, the U.S. co-chair of the organization that arbitrates border disputes between the Canada and the U.S., will detail the role of the IJC in such issues, and Governor Schweitzer will discuss his recent meetings with his counterpart in B.C.
The FBC, a watershed group created by the Montana Legislature to monitor and protect the water quality of the Flathead River drainage, will meet from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the West Coast Hotel in the Kalispell Center Mall, North 20 Main Street. The public is invited to attend.
Here's an important posting from Rachel Potter. . .
Dear friends of the North Fork:
Clear your calendars now so you can attend the next Flathead Basin Commission Meeting - Focusing on Transboundary Resource Issues. It will be held Dec. 7 at West Coast Hotel, Kalispell Center Mall, Ballroom B, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Dennis Schornacht, U.S. Chair of the International Joint Commission and Governor Schweitzer have confirmed they will be there to discuss transboundary resource concerns. Please attend and show your support for a comprehensive environmental study and protection of Montana¹s waters and fish and wildlife.
It’s absolutely imperative that we have a huge turnout to show Schwietzer and Schornact the commitment Montanans have to preseverving the North Fork drainage. Bring your neighbor, forward this to a friend.
From the Wednesday, November 16, 2005 online edition of the Great Falls Tribune . . .
Grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem will continue to be protected by the Endangered Species Act, until researchers know more about the population.
An announcement Tuesday to begin removing federal protections for grizzly bears in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming has no impact on the grizzly bears roaming the Northern Rockies, said Chris Servheen, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator.
The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, Montana's largest grizzly bear habitat, runs north to south from Highway 200 to the Canadian border and east to west from Highway 93 to Highway 89.
"It won't change anything related to that population," he said.
Read the entire article . . .
From the Wednesday, November 16, 2005 online edition of the Christian Science Monitor . . .
For thousands of years, grizzly bears have roamed the forests and meadows of the Rocky Mountain region, king of the hill in a territory that includes elk herds and wolf packs.
Now this mammoth omnivore - which had dwindled to a relative handful in its competition with humans - is about to test the 30-year government effort to preserve it from extinction.
Federal officials have decided that the grizzly bear's comeback in the Yellowstone region allows them to take it off the endangered species list - a highly unusual move both in political and biological terms.
What US Interior Secretary Gale Norton calls "an extraordinary accomplishment," is the result of a lengthy and sometime contentious collaboration of federal and state agencies, Indian tribes, ranchers and developers, and environmental groups.
Read the entire article . . .
From the Tuesday, November 15, 2005 online edition of the Missoulian . . .
Private donors have once again stepped up where Congress has not, plugging big budgetary gaps for officials at Glacier National Park.
“We try to meet some of the needs that aren't funded,” said Jan Metzmaker of the Glacier Fund. “There's a pretty big wish list up in the park.”
This year's check for $182,190 brings the Glacier Fund's contribution to $1.2 million since it began propping up park programs in 1999.
Read the entire article . . .