Here's a good article on Jack Thompson from the Wednesday, December 14, 2005 online edition of the Hungry Horse News . . .
He had a gruff exterior, a knowledge of the local woods and waters like no other, and most of all, a heart of gold.
Jack Thompson, the longtime President and founding member of the North Valley Search and Rescue Association died Dec. 3 after a long battle with cancer. He was 71.
Read the entire article . . .
From the Wednesday, December 14, 2005 online edition of the Hungry Horse News . . .
A coal mine that could affect Glacier National Park waters will get a full-scale review, folks on both sides of the border learned last week.
The environmental effects of the proposed Foisey Creek coal mine are still undetermined, and the Cline Mining Corp. has chosen to undergo a complete evaluation in its application, rather than trying to “fast-track” the project through the British Columbia government, the Flathead Basin Commission was told last Wednesday.
At the commission meeting, scientists and government officials from the United States, Canada and the International Joint Commission gave presentations regarding the proposed Foisey Creek mine, each detailing the need for more information.
Read the entire article . . .
The Associated Press story on last Wednesday's Flathead Basin Commission meeting as it appeared in the Friday, December 9, 2005 online edition of the Helena Independent Record . . .
A Canadian company that wants to develop a coal mine north of Glacier National Park has agreed to subject the project to a comprehensive environmental review rather than try to open a smaller mine and then expand it.
Kathy Eichenberger, regional manager for British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment, told the Flathead Basin Commission about the company’s change in plans Wednesday.
The news that Cline Mining Corp.’s proposal will undergo a full environmental review was welcome, especially among those concerned that mine waste could pollute waters in and around Glacier National Park.
‘‘An entire economy has developed because of this pristine environment,’’ said Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger. ‘‘Our trade and travel economies depend on the protection of this water resource.’’
Cline Mining as recently as a month ago told shareholders it planned to pursue ‘‘fast-track’’ approval of the project, seeking a small mine permit with coal production limited to 250,000 tons per year. Such a permit does not require a full environmental analysis.
Now, the company said it will instead apply for a large mine permit, a process that involves detailed environmental and socio-economic analysis.
Read the entire article . . .
Jack Thompson, one of the founding members of North Valley Search and Rescue, passed away on December 4. The Daily Inter Lake carried his obituary. They also had this to say in their December 9 editorial . . .
The North Valley has lost quite a leader with the passing of Jack Thompson.
Thompson, who died Sunday at age 71, was the main man for decades at North Valley Search and Rescue.
The burly Columbia Falls man was a fixture at rescues and search scenes ever since the North Valley group formed in 1970. As the man synonymous with search-and-rescue efforts, he also served as president of the organization for many, many years.
Thompson, who had a long career at Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. and even took up a retirement career digging graves, will be missed.
There are countless people over the years who can probably credit their survival to Thompson and the other dedicated volunteers of North Valley Search and Rescue.
From the Thursday, December 8, 2005 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
A Canadian mining firm has changed course and announced plans to pursue a "major" mine review rather than a "fast-track" project through the British Columbia provincial government, the Flathead Basin Commission learned Wednesday.
Kathy Eichenberger, regional manager for British Columbia's Ministry of Environment, told the commission that the Cline Mining Corp. was having initial discussions with provincial officials in Victoria this week to discuss the process for reviewing major mining projects.
She went on to describe the process outlined in the province’s Environmental Assessment Act.
"We applaud it," said Steve Thompson, Glacier field representative for the National Parks Conservation Association. "This watershed is way too important to try and do a fast-track open-pit coal mine. And we commend the British Columbia government from making sure that Cline doesn’t try to cut any corners."
Cline had announced plans to apply for a small-mine permit by the end of November for a coking coal mine in the Foisey Creek drainage, one of the northernmost tributaries to the North Fork Flathead River, which flows south to Flathead Lake. Forward-looking financial documents earlier declared that the company planned to obtain a small-mine permit, with coal production limited to 250,000 tons per year, and then pursue a major mining permit to ramp up production.
A small-mine permit involves environmental review requirements that fall well short of the major project requirements outlined by Eichenberger.
As a result of Cline's plans, mining in the Canadian Flathead has clearly gained a higher profile. Wednesday’s meeting was attended by political and government leaders from Montana and British Columbia. There was a passel of scientists, along with tribal and county representatives and state and federal land and wildlife managers who sit on the commission.
Read the entire article . . .
Another first-rate article by Michael Jamison from the Thursday, December 8, 2005 online edition of the Missoulian . . .
A Canadian mining company has agreed that its controversial coal mine project north of Glacier National Park should, in fact, be subjected to a comprehensive environmental review.
That marks a substantial shift for Cline Mining Corp., which as recently as one month ago promised shareholders it would pursue “fast-track” approval of the project, seeking a “small-mine” permit that does not require full environmental analysis.
Now, the company says it will instead apply for a large-mine permit, a two-stage process that involves detailed environmental and socioeconomic analysis.
“And we're not even in the pre-application stage yet,” Kathy Eichenberger said of the Cline proposal. “They're really just getting going with this.”
Eichenberger is regional manager of the Environmental Protection office at British Columbia's Ministry of Environment, and spoke Wednesday in Kalispell at a high-level meeting of the Flathead Basin Commission.
Despite Cline's earlier announcements that the company would “fast-track” the mine, that it would apply for permitting by the end of November, that a firm timetable is now in place for its project application, Eichenberger said the reality is the mine remains a long way off.
The company's managers and their promises to shareholders, she said, “don't dictate the timelines.”
Instead, the government and its regulators control the timetable, she said, and officials are only now meeting with Cline representatives for initial discussions about the requirements of the application process.
The news that Cline will undergo full environmental review was well received on both sides of the international line, especially among those concerned that mining waste could pollute waters in and around Glacier National Park.
“At last, the process has reached the stage where the focus will be on science, and that's a huge step,” said David Thomas, city council member from Fernie, B.C., and critic of the mining proposal. “We intend to engage in this (environmental review) process with a high level of faith in its integrity, and we hope that faith will not result in disappointment.”
Read the entire article . . .
From a Monday, December 5, 2005 article on the New West Network site . . .
(Note: The Missoulian also posted coverage on December 3.)
Forest management decisions need to be made at the local level, with input from locals who will be affected, U.S. Senator Conrad Burns told an audience packed with government officials, industry leaders and environmentalists at a hearing in Missoula today.
The Republican Montana Senator called for a more unified approach by the U.S. Forest Service as it conducts forest management plan revisions across the Northern Region.
“The problem is, you’ve got people in the Forest Service with different agendas,” Burns said at the hearing for the Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies, of which he chairs. “There should be one philosophy, and everyone should be working toward that philosophy.”
The trouble, however, seems to be in finding one philosophy that can work in an increasingly polarized arena.
Read the entire article . . .
In an email on December 1, Steve Thompson of the National Parks Conservation Association passed along "...the latest announcement from Australia about a new study underway to evaluate market potential for the Lillyburt coal deposit in the Flathead bottomlands near the old town site, approximately 20 miles north of the border and about 58 kilometers southeast of Fernie." Steve also pointed out that, "Wasabi Energy Resources previously announced plans to invest $2.5 million in Lillyburt in partnership with Western Canadian Coal. This project is unrelated to Cline Mining Co.'s proposed open-pit Foisey/Lodgepole coal mine, which the company says is slated for initial production by Sept. 2006."
(Note that Western Canadian Coal's overview of the "Lillyburt Property" can be found here. It includes a photo and a rather poor map.)
Here's the announcement of the Lillyburt study. Access to the full article requires a subscription. . .
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
International Longwall News
AUSTRALIAN-listed Wasabi Energy and joint venture partner Western Canadian Coal Corp said yesterday they would begin a scoping study to determine the economic potential of extracting thermal and coking coal from the Lillyburt Coal Project in south-east British Columbia.
The project was initially reviewed by Shell in the 1980s as a thermal coal deposit, but Wasabi and WCCC will look at the potential of the project as a thermal and coking coal opencut mine.
The study, due in April next year, will involve a review and reassessment of the geological database using 3D geological and digital topographic models.
"Further stages of exploration can be expeditiously commenced if the scoping study outcome is favourable, indicating sufficient resources can potentially be developed to meet ongoing coking and thermal coal worldwide demand," Wasabi director Tim Wise said.
Under the joint venture Wasabi will invest $C2.5 million ($A2.7 million) by December 2008 and will have the right to earn up to 50% of the thermal coal project. The company will earn 5% in the joint venture for each $C250,000 spent.
We'll start seeing more grizzly bear monitoring activity next year as this article from the Thursday, December 1, 2005 online edition of the Missoulian attests . . .
The focus on recovering grizzly bear populations is moving north.
With the Yellowstone population of grizzlies on the verge of being removed from the federal threatened and endangered list, the folks charged with leading recovery efforts are looking to refocus on bears that call the northern Continental Divide ecosystem home.
On Wednesday, the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee heard about the challenges it and a growing team of biologists and researchers will face in duplicating the success story now occurring in the Yellowstone ecosystem.
“The circumstances here are really quite different than they were in Yellowstone,” said Chris Smith of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Yellowstone population of grizzlies is the most studied population of bears in the world. An interagency team of researchers has published more than 178 studies on the population since 1974.
That's not the situation in northwest Montana, Smith said.
Researchers are in the midst of gathering information about the bears and their habitat, but there's still a lot to learn, he said.
Illegal killings are another major challenge facing the recovery effort.
Read the entire article . . .