Tag Archives: Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park

Canadian press coverage of UN report on mining threats to Waterton-Glacier

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Canadian press coverage of the World Heritage scientific mission report on threats to Waterton-Glacier Park is a bit more thorough than the articles posted in local papers. Not surprising, since the report primarily targets proposed resource extraction activities in the Canadian Flathead.

Here are a couple examples. Both are recommended reading for anyone interested in this issue.

From the Vancouver Sun . . .

A United Nations report has recommended a moratorium on mining in the controversial Flathead Valley of southeastern B.C. and development of a comprehensive transboundary conservation and wildlife management plan for the area, a U.S. official revealed Thursday.

Stephen Morris, chief of international affairs for the National Park Service, said in an interview from Washington, D.C., that he has received a copy of a fact-finding mission report by two UN world heritage representatives who visited the area in September.

Read the entire article . . .

And from the Lethbridge Herald . . .

No mining activity in the Flathead Valley is safe mining activity when it comes to protecting the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, suggests a UNESCO report now in the hands of federal government officials in Canada and the U.S.

“I don’t want to get into too much of the detail, but the overriding recommendation is that in the view of the mission, they see mining in the Flathead watershed as creating unacceptable impacts on the outstanding universal value of the World Heritage Site, and they don’t think there’s a compromise position,” said Stephen Morris, head of the international affairs office for the U.S. National Park Service.

Read the entire article . . .

UN scientists urge stop to mining near Glacier National Park

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Today’s Missoulian has more information on the report by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee scientific mission regarding threats to Waterton-Glacier Park . . .

An international team of UNESCO scientists has recommended a moratorium on mining north of Glacier National Park, a conclusion that echoes the longstanding sentiment of locals on both sides of the border.

“Their conclusions were very sweeping,” said Stephen Morris, “in that there is no possibility whatsoever of proceeding with mining in the Canadian Flathead without having substantial impacts on the World Heritage Site.”

Read the entire article . . .

UN world heritage team report recommends moratorium on Flathead mining

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Although not yet officially published, the report of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee scientific mission sent last September to investigate threats to Waterton-Glacier Park is in circulation.

The Associated Press broke the story . . .

U.N. scientists have recommended a moratorium on mining in British Columbia’s Flathead Valley and the creation of a conservation plan for the remote region spanning the United States-Canada border, a U.S. official said Thursday.

Several companies have announced plans to extract coal, natural gas and gold within the Canadian stretch of the valley, which is near Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park and Montana’s Glacier National Park.

But the call for curbs on mining is likely to increase international pressure on Canada to put those plans on hold.

Read the entire article . . .

Follow-up: UNESCO scientific mission to Waterton-Glacier Park

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Although the Missoulian posted some initial coverage of last month’s visit by a U.N. scientific delegation investigating mining and other resource development threats to Waterton-Glacier Park, the only local paper that paid significant attention to the subject was the Hungry Horse News — a fact that slipped past your friendly webweenie.

Herewith are lead-ins and links to the articles published by the Hungry Horse News.

From the September 24th edition . . .

U.N. scientists: Glacier on ‘pedestal’

Two scientists from the United Nations are touring the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and the Canadian Flathead to see for themselves the potential impacts of proposed mines in the region.

“We plan to consult as widely as possible with all stakeholders,” said Paul Dingwall, a New Zealand scientist with the World Conservation Union and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Dingwall and Keshore Rao, deputy director of the United Nation’s World Heritage Center, spent most of Monday holed up in Glacier Park’s community building, hearing report after report about the Park and its native flora and fauna.

Read the entire article . . .

From the October 7th edition . . .

Scientists here say they made an impression on U.N.

After a solid week of meetings and tours, American scientists and conservationists feel good about their recent visit with a delegation from the United Nations.

Read the entire article . . .

B.C. mining proposals threaten U.S. environmental jewel, enviros will tell UN

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A Canadian Press article posted yesterday evening . . .

Environmentalists say a natural treasure in the United States is threatened by proposed coal and gold mining in southeastern B.C., and they’ll ask United Nations environmental experts later this week to put some pressure on the province to stop the developments.

The UN environmental experts are currently in Montana gathering information about the potential damage B.C. mining proposals could inflict upon Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in that state, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve.

Read the entire article . . .

U.N. scientists assess mining threats to Waterton-Glacier Park

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We’re starting to see more complete news coverage of this week’s visit by a U.N. scientific delegation investigating mining and other resource development threats to Waterton-Glacier Park.

The Missoulian posted an excellent article on the first day’s activities very early this morning. Here’s the lead-in . . .

A team of scientists from the United Nations is visiting Glacier National Park, assessing potential threats posed by mining plans in Canadian wildlands upstream of the park.

Glacier, in partnership with adjacent Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, was named a World Heritage Site in 1995; that UNESCO designation recognizes the area’s spectacular natural resources, including its diversity of wildlife and its role as a “biological crossroads.

But several Canadian companies are interested in resources that lie just beyond the two park boundaries – namely coal, gold and coalbed methane. British Columbia’s provincial government already has granted exploration permits in the Canadian Flathead River drainage, which flows south into Montana to form Glacier Park’s western boundary.

Read the entire article . . .

UN officials to visit Glacier Park this week — no details yet

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A UN delegation is scheduled to visit Glacier National Park this week and locations in  the Canadian Flathead as part of UNESCO’s investigation into threats to Waterton-Glacier Park posed by coal mining and other proposed extractive activities. So far, the only recent news is a short, uninformative AP article.

No further information yet. We’ll post coverage as it becomes available.

U.N. officials to visit U.S. & Canadian Flathead next week

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This item appeared in yesterday’s online edition of the Daily Inter Lake. Presumably, we will be getting more details over the next few days . . .

Two scientists from the United Nations will visit Glacier National Park and Canada the week of Sept. 21 to see for themselves the potential impacts of mining in the Canadian Flathead.

The delegates are expected to tour the area the first three days with scientists from Glacier National Park and the Flathead Lake Biological Station. Biological Station scientists have been monitoring water quality in the basin.

The rest of the week the scientists are expected to meet with Canadian officials.

The trip was brought about by a petition earlier this year to have Glacier listed as a World Heritage Site in Danger.

Read the entire article . . .

Salazar, Baucus, Tester Announce Study of Potential Threats to Waterton-Glacier

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Here is the press release from last Tuesday’s visit to the North Fork by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, accompanied by Montana Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester. It’s also available online at 7thSpace Interactive.

It’s worth reading. There are a few gems buried in the midst of the obligatory political verbiage.

Salazar, Baucus, Tester Announce Study of Potential Threats to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park

KALISPELL, Mt – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester today announced the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the World Heritage Center will conduct a review early this fall of the potential threats, such as proposed coal mining and oil and gas development, to the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in Montana and Alberta, Canada.

In June, the 21-nation World Heritage Committee, part of the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO), called for the review as it considers whether the park should be placed on its list of World Heritage Sites that are in danger. The scientific review will take place September 20 to 26.

“Senators Baucus and Tester and I have serious concerns about the potential impact of energy development on the park’s water, wildlife and other resources,” Salazar said. “With the support of Canada, I am pleased that just three months after the World Heritage Committee called for this review, scientists will be on the ground to give us an objective assessment of the possible threats to the park.”

“The North Fork is a gem for Montana. I’ve been working for decades to keep it protected, and I wanted to bring Secretary Salazar out here so he could see it with his own eyes. When you see how magnificent this place is it is a no brainer that we need to protect it. Secretary Salazar is a westerner and a friend, and I am so glad that he is going to be such a strong ally in our fight. This review is a good step and will give the world a chance to see the value of this resource and the threats it will face until we have long-term protections in place. I will never rest until this place is protected for our kids and grandkids,” said Senator Baucus.

“Glacier National Park is one of the world’s most important places,” said Tester, a member of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. “Taking inventory of any challenges we face in the future will help us protect Montana’s clean water and make sure that Glacier will always inspire visitors from around the world.”

Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana on the United States side and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta on the Canadian side, were designated by law as the world’s first International Peace Park in 1932. The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is traversed by the Lewis Range and contains outstanding glacial lakes and alpine scenery and is significant as a habitat exceptionally rich in plant and mammal life.

The park protects an important biological crossroads at the point where the Rocky Mountains reach their narrowest width. It also serves as a celebration of the longest undefended contiguous border between two nations and a reminder that our natural resources have no boundaries.

The United States is concerned that proposed mining and energy developments in the mostly pristine Canadian Flathead region could potentially threaten the Flathead River in Montana which forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park.

The 21-nation World Heritage Committee oversees the list of World Heritage Sites that are of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. Sites that are deemed to be in jeopardy are placed on the endangered list. Both the United States and Canada would have to agree to the designation before it could be made.

The Committee requested the mission take place as soon as possible so that the results can be considered by the Committee in its next session in the summer of 2010. The United States and Canada have committed to complete a State of Conservation Report by February 1, 2010.

Contact: Hugh Vickery (202) 208-6416

Time for peace in the Flathead Valley

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Today’s Vancouver Sun has a first-rate article — with photos and video, no less — concerning the often contentious issues surrounding preservation of the Canadian Flathead Valley. Very nicely done. Recommended reading.

Here’s the lede . . .

GRIZZLY WIDE PASS — No one knows for sure when humans first discovered this impossible place.

Perhaps it happened on a warm summer evening like this one, an awe-struck group of backcountry travellers watching the mountain goats brave an amphitheatre of sheer rock atop southeastern B.C.’s Flathead Valley.

Read the entire article . . .