An Associated Press article linked to in the Saturday, March 31, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

The environmental review for a coal mine planned in British Columbia and opposed in Montana is being ratcheted up, likely delaying the mine proposal by up to three years, said Sen. Max Baucus, whose goal is to have the proposal scrapped.

The Montana Democrat said Friday that Canada’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Wilson, has confirmed the project proposed by Cline Mining Corp. will be reviewed at the federal level. Earlier plans called for a review at the provincial level.

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From the Saturday, March 31, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

The Canadian federal government intends to pursue an environmental review of the Cline Mine, which could delay development by three years, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced Friday.

According to a press release from Baucus, the senator met with Canada

From the Monday, March 26, 2007 online edition of The Globe and Mail . . .

When Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park was established in 1934 it symbolized the “peace and friendship” that existed between Canada and the United States as the two countries united to protect some of North America’s greatest Rocky Mountain wilderness.

Now, some 73 years later, the world’s first international peace park has turned into a battleground as Montana and British Columbia fight over a proposed open-pit coal mine on the headwaters of the Flathead River, just outside the international park boundaries.

In a letter to federal Environment Minister John Baird, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is requesting a review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act saying he has failed to get agreements from B.C. to adequately protect the Flathead River.

“This is an amazing development,” Bob Peart, a strategic adviser to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Committee, said yesterday.

“It’s never happened before in Canadian history that a foreign state has demanded an assessment under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. I think this just shows you how seriously the U.S. is taking this threat. Montana’s governor is reaching out and saying the Flathead is really, really serious business.”

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From the Friday, March 23, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

The federal government

From the Friday, March 23, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

Grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park no longer need Endangered Species Act protection, the federal government said Thursday.

The Yellowstone area of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho had an estimated 136 to 312 grizzlies when the species was listed as threatened in 1975, but has more than 500 of the bears today, the government said.

“The grizzly is a large predator that requires a great deal of space, and conserving such animals is a challenge in today’s world,” Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett said in a statement announcing the decision. “I believe all Americans should be proud that, as a nation, we had the will and the ability to protect and restore this symbol of the wild.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to issue a final rule on March 29 to delist the bears and the rule will take effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register, officials said. The Interior Department announced in 2005 that it intended to delist grizzly bears around Yellowstone.

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From the Wednesday, March 14, 2007 online edition of the Hungry Horse News . . .

The Bush Administration has issued a warning to Canada on a proposal to mine coal north of Glacier National Park and Montana Sen. Max Baucus also is calling for further federal intervention.

Late last month Edward Alex Lee, Director of the Office of Canadian Affairs for the U.S. Department of State, sent a letter to Canadian officials, claiming

From the Wednesday, March 14, 2007 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

Although his original approach didn

Text of a March 13, 2007 press release from the office of Senator Max Baucus . . .

BAUCUS WANTS INVESTIGATION INTO CANADA MINE PLAN
Senator Asks Secretary Of State Rice To Convene International Panel

March 13, 2007

(Washington, D.C.) – Montana Senator Max Baucus today called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to initiate an investigation into the potential environmental consequences of a proposed coal mine in British Columbia, near Glacier National Park.

Baucus has been the leading opponent of the Cline Mining Company’s proposal to mine coal on the headwaters of the North Fork Flathead River, which runs into Montana’s Flathead Lake. He says there could be devastating consequences to Montana’s fish, wildlife, and the recreation industry in the Flathead with “zero economic benefits or jobs for Montanans.”

“Glacier National Park, the Flathead River system and the clean, clear waters of Flathead Lake serve as the backbone of the economy of northwestern Montana,” Baucus wrote in a letter to Rice today. “This [mine] represents a renewed threat of degradation and destruction of social, environmental, and economic assets that are important to Montana.

“In the face of this threat,” Baucus continued, “I strongly encourage you to request a hearing by the International Joint Commission on the current mining proposal. It is of the utmost importance to Montana’s outdoor heritage, and our nation’s environmental legacy, to stop this mine and protect the Flathead River basin.”

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From the Monday, March 12, 2007 online edition of the Vancouver Sun . . .

A wild and unprotected river considered at risk from coal mining in southeastern B.C. heads the 120,000-member Outdoor Recreation Council’s annual list of the top 10 most endangered rivers in the province.

The Flathead River flows through the “largest unsettled low-elevation valley” in southern Canada containing important fish and wildlife values, including perhaps the largest concentration of inland grizzly bears in North America, the council said in releasing its annual survey today.

“Some places are not appropriate to mine, and the Flathead is one of them,” Mark Angelo, an Order of Canada recipient and chairman of the council’s rivers committee, said in an interview.

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