Category Archives: Environmental Issues

Baucus & Tester reintroduce the “North Fork Watershed Protection Act”

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester have reintroduced legislation to prevent new oil and gas development and mining in the U.S. North Fork watershed. Here’s the full text of the press release, dated Jan. 31 . . .

BAUCUS, TESTER FIGHT FOR PERMANENT PROTECTION OF THE NORTH FORK AND TOURISM JOBS
Senators Hail Successful Negotiation Efforts to Protect North Fork While Reintroducing Bill

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester reintroduced legislation today to prevent new oil and gas development and mining on the American side of the North Fork watershed (map <http://baucus.senate.gov/01312011_North_Fork_Federal_Lands_Withdrawal_Area_June_9_2010.pdf> ). The North Fork Watershed Protection Act of 2011 does not impede timber production, hunting or fishing and has the support of a broad coalition of Montana businesses, local officials and conservation groups.

“As Montanans, we have a connection to the land that unites us, but also requires us to act as stewards of our outdoor heritage. We’re pushing to build on the success we’ve had getting companies to retire oil and gas development leases in the North Fork at no cost to taxpayers,” said Baucus.  “Places like the North Fork attract tourists, businesses and jobs to our state. This bill sends a signal far and wide that we’re going to fight to protect all the things that make Montana such a great place to live, work and raise a family.”

“There are few places on earth like the North Fork when it comes to hunting, fishing, hiking and camping—but Montanans understand that protecting these areas is about more than just our outdoor heritage,” said Tester, Chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus.  “It’s about setting aside a place where we can pass on our Montana values to our kids and our grandkids.  This legislation is another step toward making sure future generations will be able to continue enjoying all of the outdoor opportunities Montana has to offer.”

“Glacier National Park and the North Fork River Valley play a very important part in our economic vitality.  Flathead Lake also serves as a critical economic engine for the region. The Chamber wishes to ensure that Glacier Park, the North Fork River, and Flathead Lake remain as economically productive as they are today.  We thank Sens. Baucus and Tester for their work to bring forward this important bill,” said Kalispell Chamber of Commerce President Joe Unterreiner.

Whitefish Mayor Mike Jenson hails the Senators’ fight to reintroduce this legislation.”The City of Whitefish greatly appreciates Senator Baucus’ and Senator Tester’s efforts to re-introduce the North Fork Watershed Protection Act.   This protection has been a long time coming and we greatly appreciate our Senators’ efforts and perseverance,” Jenson said. “This bill also provides some very important protections for the City of Whitefish’s watershed and continues our efforts and those of private landowners in our watershed to safeguard this vital resource.”

“I’m impressed with the diligence Senators Tester and Baucus put forth at protecting the North Fork watershed. It’s such a pristine area with so many recreational ties for all of us and deserves our attention and protection for generations to come. The economic impact this has for the tourism industry in Montana is significant; people marvel at what we sometimes take for granted,” said Cris Coughlin of Glacier Guides.

“This is great news for Montana and for one of America’s greatest national parks. Senator Baucus and Senator Tester just about got this critical protection piece to the finish line last year and we hope for quick passage this year,” said Tony Jewett, Vice President for Regional Operations for the National Parks Conservation Association. “We commend them for their persistence, leadership and commitment to protecting this special place. It’s both a part of our cultural heritage and an essential piece of the economic health of Glacier’s gateway communities.”

“This legislations helps balance the protection of the North Fork Flathead River, Glacier Park and Flathead Lake between Canada and Montana.  We commend senators Baucus and Tester for their commitment and diligence,” said Dave Hadden, Director of Headwaters Montana.

For the past 30 years, Baucus has been a steady and strong voice to protect the North Fork of the Flathead River, beginning with his successful 1975 proposal to designate the Flathead as a Wild and Scenic River.  To date, Baucus and Tester have successfully negotiated the return of more than 200,000 acres held by energy companies near Montana’s North Fork of the Flathead River.  The Senators have secured <http://baucus.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=263>  the return of the primary interest in more than 80 percent of the total leased acreage.  Baucus and Tester vowed to continue these efforts in addition to fighting for passage of the North Fork Watershed Protection Act introduced today.

Malloy’s ruling could further restrict wolf hunts

Environmental Issues, News, ,

This one is kind of confusing. Apparently, there’s a possibility of a technical change in the designation of the gray wolf population in the Northern Rockies that would affect the way the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is allowed to manage them . . .

A federal judge is asking if gray wolves should lose their experimental designation across much of the Northern Rockies  — a move that could mean new restrictions on when the animals can be killed.

Continue reading . . .

Rehberg & Tester start push for state wolf management control

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According to the Missoulian, Montana’s congresscritters are starting this year’s push to get wolf management moved out from under federal control . . .

Gray wolves returned to the crosshairs of Montana’s congressional delegation Wednesday.

Rep. Denny Rehberg announced the introduction of two pieces of legislation that would permanently remove them from the protections of the Endangered Species Act, and Sen. Jon Tester sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar asking him to allow hunting of wolves in Montana to control their population growth.

Continue reading . . .

(Note that there was also a supporting resolution passed in the Montana House.)

Regional wolf management specialist has big territory and big job

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Today’s Daily Internet Lake has an interesting story about Kent Laudon, Northwest Montana’s wolf management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The guy really has his hands full these days . . .

Wanted: Social arbiter and diplomat in one of the most emotionally charged arenas of wildlife management. Must be a detective and data cruncher with an uncanny ability to trap live gray wolves.

That’s pretty much the job description for Kent Laudon, Northwest Montana’s wolf management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Continue reading . . .

Tester to take another swing at passing forest bill

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Here’s the Missoulian’s write-up on Sen. Jon Tester’s plans to take another swing at getting his “Forest Jobs and Recreation Act” passed this year . . .

Sen. Jon Tester plans to reintroduce his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act this year with no changes, but hopes to bring more Montanans to its support.

“The work doesn’t get done on the far left and it doesn’t get done on the far right,” Tester said during a meeting with the Missoulian editorial board on Monday. “It gets done in the middle…

Continue reading . . .

Tester plans to try again on “Forest Jobs and Recreation Act”

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Sen. Jon Tester plans to take another swing at his “Forest Jobs and Recreation Act” starting early this year.

The Missoulian has the story . . .

Supporters of Sen. Jon Tester’s logging/wilderness bill hope an earlier start this year will break a quarter-century stall in Montana lands policy.

“I think at the end of this Congress, we all realized that even for a bill that’s broadly supported in the state, how hard it is to get a bill through the congressional calendar,” said Tom France of the National Wildlife Federation, which supported Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. “There’s a sense of disappointment that we ran out of time.”

Continue reading . . .

Public lands bill stripped of major Montana provisions

Environmental Issues, News

It’s not looking good for the North Flathead Protection Act or any other Montana-related public lands legislation. The Missoulian has the story . . .

Only the most uncontroversial and cost-free ideas appear to have a chance of passage during the final days of congressional land policy legislation, and that doesn’t include most Montana measures.

An omnibus public lands bill with 110 combined projects died on the vine Monday evening in the U.S. Senate, but was expected to be replaced by a considerably smaller bill late Tuesday. Conservation policy watchers in Washington, D.C., were doubtful measures like the North Flathead Protection Act and the Land and Water Conservation Fund would be among them.

Continue reading . . .

Former officials call for Waterton-Glacier Park protection

Environmental Issues, News,

From today’s Metro, Calgary edition (see previous post for full text of letter mentioned here) . . .

Eight former park superintendents are pressing the U.S. and Canadian governments to pass protection for areas adjacent to Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton Lakes National Park just across the border.

Read the full article . . .

Glacier & Waterton Lakes superintendents urge action on public lands bill

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From today’s Missoulian (see the previous post for the full text of the letter discussed here) . . .

An alliance of veteran superintendents from Glacier and Waterton Lakes national parks has written a letter encouraging swift government action on a public lands bill that would finalize park protections introduced earlier this year. . .

The joint public letter, signed by six former Glacier superintendents and two former superintendents of Waterton Lakes, comes in the final days of Glacier’s centennial year, and as Congress considers a bipartisan omnibus bill aimed at protecting the country’s land, water and wildlife resources. The legislation, called America’s Great Outdoors Act of 2010, encompasses more than 110 individual bills and includes several key protection measures for both Glacier and Waterton Lakes.

Read the full article . . .

Full text: Letter urging passage of enhanced protections for Waterton-Glacier Park

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(Note: This is the full text of a public letter signed by six former superintendents of Waterton and Glacier Parks encouraging the U.S. and Canadian governments to complete passage of legislation intended to enhance protections for the parks, including the U.S. North Flathead Protection Act currently stuck in a year-end Senate logjam.)

One hundred years ago the United States followed Canadaʼs leadership in protecting the core of the Crown of the Continent ecosystem, establishing Glacier National Park in Montana as a southern sister to Albertaʼs Waterton Lakes National Park. Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is located where the Rocky Mountains tie our two countries into one landscape. As one of North Americaʼs most spectacular mountain parks, it is a source not only of inspiration and recreation, but also abundant clean water for communities from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.

The combined parks encompass a protected topography of 1.1 million acres (450,000 hectares) that has gifted generations with an inheritance beyond measure. Today, more than 2 million people from around the world travel to Waterton-Glacier annually to experience the alpine majesty of the worldʼs first international peace park.

Throughout this past century, Canada and the United States have taken significant steps to protect and preserve this international treasure, including bilateral support for designating the Peace Park a World Heritage site in 1995. Early in this centennial birthday year, both countries furthered a decades-old international effort to safeguard Waterton-Glacierʼs pristine headwaters, by protecting British Columbiaʼs remote Flathead River Valley and Montanaʼs North Fork Flathead River drainage from proposed coal strip-mining, coalbed methane extraction, and gold mines.

The steps taken to date — which include retiring more than 200,000 acres (80,000 hectares) of oil and gas leases in the Montana North Fork, and a mining ban in the B.C. portion of the watershed — are historic and worthy of recognition. However, there remains unfinished work to ensure the legacy of Waterton-Glacier.

Nearly six months ago, on the margins of the G-20 Summit in Toronto, the offices of the Prime Minister and President issued a joint statement pledging federal action toward the sustained protection of Waterton-Glacierʼs transboundary headwaters. This commitment will build upon an agreement between the province of British Columbia and state of Montana — signed during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics — to enhance environmental protection and cooperation throughout the Crown of the Continent region. Today, however, the federal-to-federal agreement that will complete this state/provincial effort has yet to be accomplished.

In Canada, a long-standing proposal to complete the Peace Park by expanding Waterton Lakes National Park into one-third of British Columbiaʼs Flathead Valley remains under government review, despite strong public support at the local, regional and national levels. And earlier this year, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee urged Canada to “develop a pro-active plan for enhancing wildlife connectivity” between Waterton-Glacier and Banff National Park, a step that remains incomplete.

Work also remains unfinished in Washington, D.C. Despite passing the U.S. Senate Natural Resources Committee nearly eight months ago, the bipartisan North Fork Protection Act has yet to be acted upon by the full Senate.

This vital legislation would prohibit new mining and fossil fuel leasing on Waterton-Glacierʼs western periphery, in high mountain country that includes the drinking water supply for the gateway community of Whitefish, Montana. The bill also protects lands throughout the Middle Fork of the Flathead River corridor, a Congressionally designated Wild and Scenic River that forms Glacier Parkʼs southwestern boundary. The measure enjoys tremendous local support, and represents a long-term and tangible gift for Glacier on its 100th birthday.

Today, however, this legislation remains stalled in the U.S. Congress. And without immediate action, this valuable and worthy endowment to future park visitors will be forced to begin the political process anew in 2011.

If we have learned one thing during these past 100 years, it is that international cooperation is a requisite to protecting a peace park that transcends boundaries. We urge leaders in both countries to ensure Waterton-Glacierʼs continued legacy through the prompt consideration and passage of these measures.

Word Count: 621

Contact Mick Holm: 406-756-9055 or mpholm@centurytel.net

Waterton Lakes Signatories
Merv Syroteuk, Creston, BC (1992-1996)
Peter Lamb, Lethbridge, AB (1999-2004)

Glacier National Park Signatories
Mick Holm, Columbia Falls, MT (2002-2008)
Dave A. Mihalic, Missoula, MT (1994-1999)
Gil Lusk, Green Valley, AZ (1986-1994)
Bob Haraden, Bozeman, MT (1980-1986)
Phil Iverson, Lakeside, MT (1974-80)
Bill J. Briggle, South Beach, OR (1969-1974)