From the Wednesday, June 27, 2007 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .
It was an exercise in restraint at Wednesday’s meeting of the Flathead Basin Commission during the question and answer period over two proposed mining projects in the headwaters of the North Fork of the Flathead River in British Columbia.
David Grace, of the environmental protection division of the B.C. ministry of the environment, answered questions on the application status of an open pit coal mine proposed by the Cline Mining Corporation, and the more recent announcement by British Petroleum (BP) of its application for a Coal Bed Methane exploratory permit.
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From the Thursday, June 21, 2007 online edition of the Vancouver Sun . . .
The cross-border sexual odyssey of six fish from northern Montana to southern B.C. could help sink a planned multi-billion-dollar Canadian energy development that has spawned years of conflict between the U.S. and Canada.
A half-dozen cutthroat trout captured on the Flathead River south of the B.C.-Montana border and fitted with radio transmitters were tracked by researchers as they swam to spawning beds in Canada, giving hope to both American and Canadian critics of a proposed B.C. coal mine that efforts to protect the trout's trans-boundary travels will help scuttle the controversial project.
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From the Tuesday, June 19, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Former Flathead County Attorney Tom Esch recently acted as an envoy for the Flathead Coalition, hand-delivering a letter expressing “grave concerns” over coal-bed methane development to a top British Petroleum executive in London.
Esch, a member of the coalition, was in London with his family last week.
British Petroleum recently announced plans to explore coal-bed methane development potential in the Canadian headwaters of Montana’s North Fork Flathead River.
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From the Tuesday, June 19, 2007 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .
A U.S. Senate panel Tuesday approved nearly $1.3 million for collection of environmental data in the area where a Canadian company wants to develop a coal mine, just north of Glacier National Park.
Opponents of the mine want the environmental information for a baseline against which to gauge how the Cline Mining Corp. project may affect natural resources in the Flathead River region, which spans the Montana-British Columbia border.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced the allocation by a subcommittee working on appropriations for the Interior Department. Full committee action is likely Thursday, his staff said.
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From the Monday, June 18, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
When the westslope cutthroat spawners were captured and surgically fitted with radio transmitters on the Flathead River between Columbia Falls and Kalispell this spring, state researchers had no idea where they’d swim to.
Now they do.
And the results support a growing body of research showing the importance of the Canadian Flathead drainage to native Montana fisheries.
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This editorial column from the Thursday, June 7, 2007 online edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer provides some background on the political situation in British Columbia regarding environmental matters. About halfway down the article is some commentary on the Cline Mine situation . . .
Is Premier Gordon Campbell genuinely "going green," or doing a "greenwash" to look good for the Winter Olympics?
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More information on the efforts of the road paving group from the Thursday, June 7, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
The University of Montana has signed on to conduct an air-quality study for a coalition of residents in the North Fork area.
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From the Wednesday, June 6, 2007 online edition of the Hungry Horse News . . .
The prospect of coal bed methane mining in the Canadian Flathead has once again raised its head.
On May 15 officials from British Petroleum sent Gov. Brian Schweitzer a letter saying it was “undertaking an evaluation of the potential development of coalbed natural gas resources in the Crowsnest coal field, located within the Elk River Valley in southeastern British Columbia.”
What the letter doesn't say, however, is that the Crowsnest Coal Field also spills well into the Canadian Flathead as well.
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