Category Archives: Environmental Issues

Stimulus money discussed; wilderness designation mentioned

Environmental Issues, News, ,

There’s sort of an odd article in today’s Daily Interlake reporting on a presentation by Regional Forester Tom Tidwell concerning plans for federal stimulus money in the area’s national forests. Wilderness designation also gets a passing mention, as well a number of other interesting tidbits.

Here’s the lead . . .

A wave of federal stimulus money will hit the ground in national forests soon, and it will be aimed at boosting private sector employment, Regional Forester Tom Tidwell said Monday in Kalispell.

In a meeting with the Inter Lake’s editorial board, Tidwell also discussed the importance of maintaining a Montana timber industry and the potential for wilderness designations in the region.

Read the entire article . . .

NPCA information on North Fork and Glacier Park

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With all the coverage the Trans-boundary Flathead has gotten over the past few weeks, it seemed appropriate to point out that the U.S.-based National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) also has a dog in that fight. They maintain a web page discussing the threats to Glacier Park and the adjoining Flathead River Valley arising from potential resource development in the Canadian Flathead, as well as links to a great deal of supporting material and related documentation. The NPCA is also advocating for the U.N. to designate Waterton-Glacier Park as an endangered World Heritage Site, a move that would focus additional international attention on  the situation.

Endangered river designation for North Fork draws more coverage

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The Flathead Beacon posted a tardy, but well-written article covering both of  the North Fork’s recent “endangered river” designations . . .

As the threat of large-scale mining continues to bear down on the headwaters of the Flathead River Basin – and as funding for conservation research hits a snag – Ric Hauer believes the North Fork Flathead River’s recent designation as one of the most endangered rivers in North America arrives with appropriate timing.

Read the entire article . . .

Blankenship press outing discusses endangered North Fork

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The Hungry Horse News has a nice article about a press conference held at Blankenship to discuss American River’s listing of the North Fork as one of the ten most endangered rivers in the U.S.

Here’s the lead . . .

On a bright blue day at Blankenship black bugs come off the water and land on your head and arms and hat. They would be annoying if they weren’t such a good omen, because these black bugs are no ordinary bugs.

They’re stoneflies and they make their living in the tiny cracks between the rocks of the North Fork of the Flathead River. They’re annoying to us, maybe. But to trout they’re like candy. To trout they’re food staple.

Stoneflies in a river mean it’s clean and pure and unpolluted. Because streams that are polluted have sediments and filth that fill those cracks between the rocks that ultimately choke out the stoneflies entirely.

Put a coal mine along a stream and that’s what gets squeezed out first — the stoneflies from sediment washing into the river…

Read the entire article . . .

Flathead’s North Fork makes another ‘most endangered’ list

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Following up on our earlier post about about the North Fork Flathead River making the American Rivers organization’s list of “America’s Most Endangered Rivers,” here’s the Missoulian’s write-up, which includes some additional information . . .

The North Fork Flathead River, a wild waterway forming the western edge of Glacier National Park, has recently been listed as one of the most endangered rivers in North America.

Canadian coal mine proposals and plans for coalbed methane and gold exploration all threaten the North Fork’s headwaters, according to both U.S. and Canadian watchdogs.

“Countries may recognize borders, but rivers don’t, and pollution doesn’t stop at the border,” said Will Hammerquist of the National Parks Conservation Association. His group, along with the Flathead Coalition, recently nominated the North Fork for inclusion in “America’s Most Endangered Rivers.”

Read the entire article . . .

North Fork fifth on US endangered rivers list

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Today’s Daily Inter Lake reports that the North Fork Flathead River ranks fifth on American Rivers’  2009 list of endangered rivers due to the threats posed by resource development in the Canadian Flathead.

Here’s the lead . . .

An “indefinite opportunity” for coal mining and other resource development in Canada has put the North Fork Flathead River on a list of the nation’s 10 most endangered rivers.

American Rivers, the country’s leading river conservation organization, ranks the North Fork fifth on its 2009 list.

Read the entire article . . .

Campaign to save the Flathead River Valley launches in B.C.

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The Sierra Club BC, Wildsight, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – BC Chapter and Flathead Wild recently launched a drive to save British Columbia’s Flathead River Valley. They hope to get the southern third designated as a national park, effectively filling out Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, and protect the remainder by establishing it as part of a wildlife management area. See the Friends of the Flathead website for more information.

Wolf numbers and sightings up

Environmental Issues, News,

Today’s Missoulian features a pretty good article on the current state of wolf populations throughout Montana and adjoining areas. The “hook” is the increased number of sightings near Missoula, but there is a lot of general information, as well.

Here’s the lead-in . . .

The howl of the wolf soon may be heard in Missoula.

Neighbors at the end of Marshall Canyon found wolf-killed wildlife in the drainage just northeast of the Missoula Valley in mid-March. Hunters last fall reported wolf tracks and scat in the Rattlesnake Wilderness and Gold Creek drainage. Residents in Bonner noticed the bighorn sheep hanging closer to town last winter, and wondered if wolves might be spooking them.

Read the entire article . . .

Flathead tops list of BC’s most endangered rivers

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The Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia (ORBC) started publishing a list of the most endangered rivers in the province in 2006. This year, the Flathead River is in the #1 spot, as it was in 2007, mostly because of the proposed Cline Coal Mine. An excerpt from today’s press release . . .

The Flathead River, which flows through southeastern BC into Montana, tops British Columbia’s most endangered rivers list for 2009 due to concerns about a controversial proposed open pit coal mine. The Flathead, which was number two on last year’s list, is widely considered one of North America’s wildest and most beautiful waterways. “The Flathead supports important trans-boundary fish populations while also sustaining the highest density of inland grizzly bears anywhere in North America”, said Mark Angelo, Rivers Chair for the Outdoor Recreation Council and an Order of Canada recipient.

Yet, while the US section is protected, the BC stretch faces a number of threats, the most prominent being the proposed Cline open pit coal mine. Given the size and location of the mine in the river’s headwaters, water quality would be impacted and recreational, wildlife and wilderness values would be greatly compromised.

For the full text of the press release and the associated backgrounder document, see the ORBC’s Endangered Rivers page.

UPDATE: Not strictly related to the Canadian Flathead — at least, not yet — but the ORBC is also concerned with the impact of “green” power projects on a number of B.C.’s rivers. The Vancouver Sun has coverage of this issue.

Senate again passes wilderness bill

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From the Thursday, March 19, 2009 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .

For the second time this year, the Senate has passed a long-delayed bill to set aside more than 2 million acres in nine states as protected wilderness, from a California mountain range to a forest in Virginia.

The 77-20 vote on Thursday sends the bill to the House, where final legislative approval could come as early as next week.

Read the entire article . . .