In an April 13 email, Steve Thompson, Glacier Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association and Secretary of the Flathead Coalition, passed along the following information on developments affecting the Canadian Flathead drainage.
Shell Canada has notified us that it is abandoning its coalbed methane exploration program in the Elk Valley, just north of the Flathead in the Crowsnest Coalfield. Shell had indicated that the future of its CBM drilling plans in the Flathead and Elk Valley hinged on results from several exploratory wells near Sparwood... Reasons include low coal permeability and the costs of drilling...
Although no recent test wells have been drilled in the Flathead, we have reason to hope that the coal permeability conditions are similar to what Shell encountered near Sparwood, as both are within the Crowsnest Coalfield. However, it's also possible that permeability conditions vary within this massive underground coalfield. At this time, we have no reason to believe that any CBM development in the Crowsnest Coalfield is on the horizon. We'll let you know as more info becomes available.
Meanwhile, Cline's proposed mountain-top removal coal mine in the headwaters of the Flathead is moving forward at a brisk schedule. Montana's delegation to the Cline working group, including about a dozen state, federal, and Salish-Kootenai representatives, have submitted extensive comments on Cline's flawed mining proposal and environmental terms of reference. The Flathead Coalition's next course of action should be determined following BC's response to these comments, as well as those of Canadian federal agencies and local residents, hunting groups and outfitters in southeastern BC.