From the Saturday, June 28, 2008 online edition of the Lethbridge Herald . . .
Southern Albertans who treasure the unspoiled qualities of Waterton Lakes National Park may believe the park’s World Heritage Site status serves to protect it from environmental plunder.
But that may not be true if a strip mine and a coalbed methane project both eyed for the Flathead Valley in southeastern B.C. — spitting distance from Lethbridge — are allowed by the B.C. government.
The United Nations has begun an investigation in the wake of outcries from area environmentalists (the matter has even been raised in the U.S. presidential race, with Barack Obama weighing in earlier this month) and could end up listing Waterton-Glacier as a World Heritage Site In Danger.
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From the Friday, June 27, 2008 online edition of Forbes . . .
Possible coal mining and coal-bed methane extraction in southeastern British Columbia warrant investigation by an international board, a coalition of 11 U.S. and Canadian environmental groups said.
The groups on Thursday requested investigation by the International Joint Commission, a Canada-U.S. panel charged with preventing and resolving disputes under a 1909 water treaty. Possible contamination of water in the Flathead River system, which flows into Montana from Canada, is among the groups' concerns.
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From the Thursday, June 12, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Road dust has been a Flathead County scourge for years, and residents have complained that the clouds of particulate matter were affecting their health.
The problem of road dust isn't going away any time soon, but a University of Montana study of the North Fork Road has helped quantify the health risks. Whether that translates into immediate solutions from the county is still uncertain.
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From the Wednesday, June 11, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
(Note that there is an open house to discuss these changes to fire suppression policy tomorrow, from 7 to 8 p.m., at Sondreson Hall.)
A wildland "fire use" policy that has been mostly applied to wilderness areas is being considered for other parts of the Flathead National Forest.
The proposal came up a year ago, but forest officials are seeking public comments on a proposal for allowing some naturally caused fires, in some circumstances, to burn outside the wilderness.
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From the Wednesday, June 11, 2008 online edition of the Missoulian . . .
(Note that there is an open house to discuss these changes to fire suppression policy tomorrow, from 7 to 8 p.m., at Sondreson Hall.)
Foresters looking to fight fire with fire have started looking beyond the boundaries of designated wilderness areas, and this summer will apply a sort of "let it burn" policy to public lands throughout northwest Montana.
They call it "wildland fire use" and this summer it could be used in the North Fork Flathead drainage above Columbia Falls, the Swan Range near Bigfork and the Mission Mountains.
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From the Tuesday, June 10, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Two University of Montana professors revealed the results of the North Fork Road Dust Study to Flathead County commissioners Monday morning.
The conclusion: Airborne particulate matter along the road during summer months is often twice the nationally accepted amounts, which could lead to significant health problems.
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From the Saturday, June 7, 2008 online edition of the Missoulian . . .
Glacier National Park and its neighbor to the north are endangered by mining proposals, and those threats should be recognized by the international community.
So says a coalition of environmental groups from both sides of the U.S.-Canada line, who this week petitioned the United Nations to investigate dangers posed by coal and coalbed methane production plans directly upstream of Glacier.
Read the entire article . . .
Back in February of last year, when database problems caused a gap in our coverage, Field and Stream magazine posted a photo essay by Bigfork outdoor writer Todd Tanner on the potential impact of the Cline Mine on the North Fork. It's still relevant and well worth a look . . .
Here's a question I bet you never thought you'd have to ask. Should a Canadian mining company with German and Japanese financial backing be allowed to pollute one of our finest trout streams so that it can ship low-quality coal to China?
View the photo gallery . . .
From the Monday, June 2, 2008 online edition of the Missoulian . . .
A Canadian coal company hoping to open a massive mine north of Glacier National Park has encountered a powerful new critic - Sen. Barack Obama.
Obama, who was back under the Big Sky campaigning for president on Friday, has joined Montana's bipartisan congressional delegation in opposition to the mining proposal, "and that's important, because whoever becomes our next president will have a direct role to play, in terms of presenting this issue in an international forum."
So said Will Hammerquist, the local representative for the National Parks Conservation Association.
About a month ago, Hammerquist met with Obama during a campaign stop in Missoula. He had the senator's attention for only a couple minutes, he said, but it was "just enough time to brief him on the issue."
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From the Tuesday, June 3, 2008 online edition of canada.com . . .
A long-simmering sore point in Canada-U.S. relations - a proposed open-pit coal mine in a pristine B.C. valley - is irritating Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, who wants to be the next U.S. president.
"Barack Obama supports efforts by Senator Max Baucus and Senator Jon Tester as well as Gov. Brian Schweitzer to stop the Cline mine," Obama campaign official Matt Chandler wrote last week in an e-mail to Will Hammerquist of the U.S. National Parks Conservation Association.
"The Flathead River and Glacier National Park are treasures that should be conserved for future generations."
Environmentalists say the mine could pollute the north fork of the Flathead River, which flows from B.C. into Montana and forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park.
Read the entire article . . .
Apologies for all the political news today. This item is relevant because "roads and dust" was a hot button during the primary and because Hall's approach to the issue likely cost him some votes.
From the Wednesday, June 4, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Jim Dupont has limited Gary Hall to one term as Flathead County commissioner.
Dupont, longtime former sheriff, far outdistanced incumbent Commissioner Hall in Tuesday's primary election to win the Republican nomination for the county's top job.
[...]
Dupont campaigned on three key issues: roads and dust, public safety and private property rights. He said he is running because he believes the county needs someone on the commission who can make better decisions.
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From the Wednesday, June 4, 2008 online edition of the Globe & Mail . . .
Several leading environmental groups in the U.S. and Canada have written to the United Nations asking that proposed energy developments along British Columbia's Flathead River be investigated as threats to a World Heritage Site.
In a letter sent yesterday, the organizations state that Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which links globally significant national parks in Alberta and Montana, be placed on the UN's World Heritage in Danger list.
"There is substantial danger that the existing statutory and regulatory framework will fail to adequately protect Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and its surrounding lands from adverse impacts caused by mining and CBM [coal bed methane] development in the headwaters of the Flathead River," the groups state in a letter to Francesco Bandarin, director of the UN's World Heritage Centre.
Read the entire article . . .