From the Wednesday, June 30, 2004 issue of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
The Flathead National Forest has released a unique draft proposal for managing national forest lands burned by last summer's Robert and Wedge Canyon fires in the North Fork Flathead Valley.
The draft environmental impact statement is unlike others for post-fire salvage work because it was developed under special legislation from Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.
The Flathead and Kootenai National Forest Act directed the forest to conduct "up-front" collaborative planning with the public, with the collaborative effort aimed at solving contentious issues before rather than after the planning process.
To expedite that process, the legislation mandated that the forest produce a single "action" approach to post-fire management. The Forest Service is typically required to develop multiple alternatives for forest management projects.
The forest's single-action approach calls for salvage timber harvest on 5,800 acres, or about 17 percent of the 34,000 acres of national forest lands burned by the Robert and Wedge Canyon fires.
The plan calls for tree planting on 1,350 acres, along with measures to curb the spread of bark beetles in and around the burned areas.
The proposal also calls for five miles of forest roads to be closed and about 15 miles of road to be permanently decommissioned to improve wildlife habitat security.
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From the Sunday, June 27, 2004 issue of the Missoulian . . .
Future visitors to Glacier National Park could find more to do on the trails, in the campgrounds, even under the lakes - and they'll have more time to do it - under a park proposal released last week.
The Commercial Services Plan aims to settle once and for all - or at least for the coming two decades - how much commercial business visitors need, and what types of services are appropriate in the wilderness park.
Currently, hotels, horse trips, hiking guides and other commercial services are provided by private businesses that contract with the park. As visitation has increased, demand for existing services has increased, as have calls for additional services.
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The Summer 2004 edition of the North Fork Preservation Association Newsletter is now available for viewing online. It is posted in Portable Document Format (PDF). To view it, you need the free Adobe Reader or equivalent software.
From the Thursday, June 17, 2004 issue of the Missoulian . . .
Business leaders in the Flathead Valley remain concerned about Canadian energy development plans, particularly a proposal to tap coal bed methane fields just north of Glacier National Park.
This week, the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution requesting the CBM plans be shelved until an international environmental assessment is completed.
The resolution, passed by the chamber's board Tuesday, raises concerns that British Columbia's gas well proposal "lacks sufficient study to proceed without risking impairment to the quality of water that flows into Montana."
It echoes resolutions passed by the city of Fernie, British Columbia, and Montana's Flathead Basin Commission.
The Basin Commission - members of which include top brass from various state and federal agencies - was created some two decades back, in response to another Canadian energy development threatening Montana water quality. That plan, to strip mine coal along Glacier's northern border, was killed after a review by the International Joint Commission.
The IJC - charged with resolving transboundary water disputes - recommended the Canadian coal mine be abandoned.
This spring, a similar coal mining plan was announced by Toronto-based Cline Mining Corp., but British Columbia's government refused to permit the venture amid outcry from Montana and Washington, D.C.
Part of that outcry included the Flathead Basin Commission resolution, which called for IJC review of both the coal mine proposal and British Columbia's plan to develop coal bed methane in the area.
Concerns south of the border now focus on CBM wastewater quality and quantity. The gas is found along underground coal seams, trapped there by a cap of groundwater. To release the gas, aquifers are dewatered.
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From the Thursday, June 17, 2004 issue of the Daily Inter Lake . . .
Flathead County is looking for some outside help to fix a trio of slumps that could eventually block travel along the upper North Fork road.
The slumps are located in separate spots between Polebridge and Trail Creek.
The worst one, according to Commissioner Gary Hall, is at Wurtz Hill. Another is located around mile marker 42, where the North Fork of the Flathead River is widening a bend and eating away the road surface.
"That one narrows the road from two lanes to one lane," Hall said. "There's a guardrail [that's been positioned along the breach], but if someone breaks through that, they're in the river."
To fix that slump, county road superintendent Charlie Johnson said he'd like to relocate a half-mile section of road away from the river. An engineering estimate suggested the job would cost about $300,000; however, the county recently received a series of bids that ranged from $114,000 to $238,000.
Given its other budget priorities, Hall said the county can't spare even that much money for the work. Consequently, it's asking the local Resource Advisory Council to pay for the project.
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From the Thursday, June 3, 2004 issue of the Hungry Horse News . . .
A plan to mine coal about six miles from Glacier National Park in the Canadian Flathead has been squashed by the British Columbia provincial government. But many folks, including Glacier National Park officials, are concerned about coal bed methane development in the area.
"We've canceled the coal mine," said Richard Neufeld, British Columbia minister of energy and mines told the Associated Press on Friday.
"It's good news," said Glacier National Park Superintendent Mick Holm shortly after hearing the announcement about the coal mine. "But we're still looking at the other dimension (of coal bed methane development)."
Holm said the diplomatic channels are open, however, which is an encouraging sign.
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