From the Monday, July 30, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Starting today, new fire restrictions will prohibit all campfires across Northwest Montana.
Stage Two fire restrictions will apply to all lands under the protection of the Montana Department of Natural Resources, the Flathead and Kootenai national forests and Glacier National Park, along with Lake, Sanders, Lincoln and Flathead counties. The restrictions also apply to lands managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Bob Marshall Wilderness will remain under Stage One fire restrictions, which allow campfires in designated areas.
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From the Friday, July 27, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
A gathering of U.S. and Canadian government and business leaders in Alaska this week has caught the attention of Montanans concerned about coal development in British Columbia’s Flathead drainage.
The latest proposal for coal-bed methane development in the Canadian Flathead comes from British Petroleum, a company that is one of the leading sponsors of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region Council.
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From the Thursday, July 26, 2007 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .
I live almost equally between the Flathead Valley of Montana and the East Kootenays of British Columbia, and have been involved in conservation efforts in the Kootenays for more than 30 years. Consequently, I was bitterly amused to read a recent letter to the Flathead Beacon’s editor carrying on about the potential impact coalbed methane extraction in British Columbia might have on Montana. I am not particularly in favor of either coalbed methane operations or additional mines in the South Country – if for no other reason than that they provide no real benefit to the local communities at this time.
However, recent letter writers and their fellow travelers need a reality check. Yet again this year, the Libby dam reservoir is going to be drawn down to the detriment of British Columbia’s wildlife and fisheries, habitat, upstream reservoirs and the lifestyle of residents of the East Kootenays. Sort of like what many Montanans are worried about happening in reverse, isn't it? And what, precisely, have they done in advocacy to stop that from happening? Where are these letter writers and fellow travelers when Montana issues like the Kookanusa reservoir negatively impact British Columbia? Or does it only matter when Montana is at risk, and to hell with those people to the north?
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From the Wednesday, July 18, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Fire managers have decided to implement an initial level of fire restrictions — with a new twist for private lands — across Northwest Montana.
The decision, after weeks of hot and dry weather, comes just as significant lightning activity is expected to keep firefighters busy across the region.
The area fire danger is “very high” — and temperatures in the high 90s are forecast for the next week in the Flathead Valley.
Stage One fire restrictions will take effect on Monday, July 23.
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This is getting ridiculous.
From the Tuesday, July 10, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
When County Commissioner Gary Hall heard there was a package addressed to him on the steps of the commissioners’ office he thought it might have been a gift left by his mother — certainly nothing that would warrant the hazardous-material response team to be called in.
But at around 6:30 Monday morning a mass of emergency service responders swarmed the commissioners’ office after a report of a suspicious unmarked package which contained an unknown powder.
The package turned out to be neither a gift from Mrs. Hall or a hazardous material, but a small bag of road dust.
[...]
The note accompanying the package was not released by authorities, but Hall said it was written by an unhappy resident of the North Fork Road.
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From the Thursday, July 5, 2007 online edition of the Missoulian comes another first-rate article by Michael Jamison . . .
Energy development is temporarily on hold north of Glacier National Park this summer, giving scientists at least a year to gather baseline data before Canadian coal and coalbed methane exploration begins.
“We have several programs of study that are under way or are getting under way,” said Jack Potter, head of science for the park. “The question is, will we have time to get the work done before they begin drilling?”
The National Park Service is beginning a $100,000 coal seam chemistry study, while the U.S. Geological Survey is spending $300,000 on water quality baseline work. The Park Service also has invested $75,000 to monitor waters at the border, part of a program that will develop agencywide protocol for data collection.
And at the Flathead Lake Biological Station, a research arm of the University of Montana, researchers have received $300,000 from state lawmakers, all aimed at collecting environmental data on the larger watershed.
State wildlife managers also have been busy, spending about $100,000 to date monitoring the fishery downstream of the Canadian energy interests. Meanwhile, Congress is looking to earmark as much as $3.8 million to the cause.
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