Tag Archives: memorandum of understanding

Funding goal reached as part of deal to protect trans-boundary Flathead

Environmental Issues, News, , , , , ,

Since the announcement last week that the funding goal for money to compensate companies for losses when the Canadian Flathead was closed to development had been reached there’s been a fair amount of press coverage, mostly in the Canadian prfess. The Hungry Horse News this week put a nice, local spin on the event . . .

Bob Patterson, of Oregon, was slinging a line in the North Fork of the Flathead River last week, catching small cutthroat in a run at Glacier Rim.

He’d been on a big looping tour of famous waters in Canada and the U.S., but this was the first stop where he was getting into fish, even if they were small ones.

Patterson said he gave money to the Nature Conservancy’s campaign to compensate mining interests in the headwaters of the river and forever end the threat of mining and energy exploration in the Canadian Flathead. When asked why he did it, he shrugged.

“I’m always for the fish,” he said.

Continue reading . . .

Funding goal reached for Canadian Flathead compensation fund

Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

It looks like the funding goal for money to compensate companies for losses when the Canadian Flathead was closed to development has been reached . . .

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (“NCC”) and The Nature Conservancy (“TNC”) today announced that, through a collaboration of public and private partners, more than $10 million has been raised to help remove the biggest ecological threat to British Columbia’s Flathead River Valley — a spectacular wilderness area that straddles the Canada-U.S. border.

Thanks to the generous funding contributions from the Government of Canada’s Natural Areas Conservation Program (NACP); Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing; and other private donors, the Canadian portion of the Flathead River Valley is now permanently protected from mining and other sub-surface development.

The Government of Canada contributed $5.4 million to the project through the NACP for the conservation of the Flathead River Valley. Warburg Pincus is contributing $2.5 million to the project–the largest private contribution.

The funding is being used by the British Columbia government to implement the Flathead Watershed Area Conservation Act, which was passed last year. The legislation permanently prohibits coal mining as well as exploration and development of oil, gas and mineral resources on nearly 400,000 acres (160,000 hectares) of land in southeast British Columbia.

Continue reading . . .

Larry Wilson: The North Fork Road is no longer an issue

Commentary, , ,

Larry does a retrospective on the big issues of last year, including the North Fork Road and successful efforts to terminate resource extraction activities in the transboundary Flathead Valley . . .

January is the month when everyone looks back on the previous year to see what the biggest news stories were and to make resolutions for the year that is just beginning. Hopefully, the resolutions will improve us in some way. We are no different on the North Fork.

For many years, the North Fork Road has been the biggest topic of controversy in the area – pave or don’t pave? Not in 2011. County improvements have reduced the road almost to a non-issue.

Continue reading . . .

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell resigns

News, , ,

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell announced his resignation today due to widespread dissatisfaction with recent tax policy. Perhaps “dissatisfaction” is too mild a word; his approval rating plummeted to nine percent.

What’s the North Fork connection?  Premier Campbell and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer signed a Memorandum of Understanding last February banning mining and energy development throughout the trans-boundary Flathead Valley. Campbell’s resignation shouldn’t have any effect on the MOU, but will no doubt be a matter of concern in some quarters anyways.

The Flathead Beacon has a good vest-pocket summary of the situation. If you live on the U.S. side of the border, better read their article first or you’ll likely have no clue what “HST” means.

For greater detail, see the Vancouver Sun’s more extensive coverage.

Partnering to protect the Transboundary Flathead watershed

Commentary, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dave Hadden, director of Headwaters Montana, Robin Steinkraus, executive director of the Flathead Lakers and Will Hammerquist, program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association’s Glacier Field Office have a nice commentary piece in today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

Here in Montana, August brings us the county fair and farm harvests. And this year we also celebrate a harvest of victories for Glacier National Park, the North Fork Flathead River and Flathead Lake. In addition to commemorating Glacier’s first 100 years, citizens from across the Montana-British Columbia border, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester did yeoman’s work to protect this special place.

Read the full article . . .

North Fork protection nearing completion

Environmental Issues, News, , , , , , ,

Here’s an interesting article from the past week’s Hungry Horse News . . .

A deal to permanently protect the North Fork of the Flathead could come soon, Montana Sen. Jon Tester said last week.

“Maybe as soon as September we could get an agreement that is binding,” Tester said in a conference call with reporters last Thursday.

Read the full article . . .

Head-butting over differences on North Fork protection

Environmental Issues, News, , , , , , , ,

Wow! This is getting interesting, if not downright entertaining. Gov. Schweitzer and Sens. Baucus and Tester are really starting to butt heads over implementation of the memorandum of understanding Schweitzer negotiated with British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell regarding protection of the trans-boundary Flathead. Today’s Flathead Beacon has a good write-up on the issue . . .

Despite a common goal of securing permanent environmental protection for the North Fork of the Flathead River, Montana’s governor and senators don’t appear to be on the same page. The differences between the positions of Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester extend from the binding strength of the memorandum of understanding between Montana and British Columbia to the necessity of an international treaty to protect the transboundary Flathead region. And these policy differences are becoming increasingly glaring.

Read the entire article (recommended) . . .