From the Saturday, September 23, 2006 online edition of the Helena Independent Record . . .
Three groups in northwestern Montana are pressing for government action to gather water data for a river they fear will be jeopardized if new coal mining takes place in British Columbia.
The groups have written Gov. Brian Schweitzer and the Montana congressional delegation to request ‘‘immediate and direct assistance’’ in establishing baseline data for the North Fork of the Flathead River.
‘‘The risk of (mining) contamination of the North Fork River, Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake is significant,’’ says a letter from the North Fork Landowners Association, the North Fork Preservation Association and the North Fork Compact. The river serves as Glacier’s western boundary and supports rare fish.
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From the Friday, September 22, 2006 online edition of The Globe and Mail . . .
Fearing that an open-pit coal mine proposed for southeast British Columbia could lead to downstream pollution, three civic organizations in Montana have appealed to federal and state officials to begin water quality monitoring in the Flathead River Valley.
"We want to establish baseline water quality so that if those qualities change after the mine starts up, then there'll be no doubt of the source," John Frederick, president of the North Fork Preservation Association, said yesterday.
"We don't see how this mine can be done without causing some impact and it shouldn't be done if it's going to mess things up," said Mr. Frederick, whose organization is concerned about an open-pit coal mine planned by Cline Mining Corp., of Sudbury.
The company, which trades under the symbol CMK on the Toronto Stock Exchange, is proposing to remove two million tonnes of bituminous coal annually from the Lodgepole Coal Mine Project in the Crowsnest coalfield, about 50 kilometres southeast of Fernie, B.C.
The project has long been of concern in Montana, where there are fears pollutants will flow down the North Fork of the Flathead River, which forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park, in the U.S.
"They are going to produce tonnes of waste dirt. There is lots of rain and snow in that area and it will wash into the streams," Mr. Frederick said. "The overburden from that mine is going to get into the river and do some serious damage."
The North Fork Preservation Association, the North Fork Landowners' Association and the North Fork Compact, a group concerned with land management issues in Montana, have written to several U.S. senators and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.
In a joint statement released yesterday, the three groups say they are asking the politicians for "immediate and direct action in establishing water-quality monitoring capable of accurately and reliably detecting future pollution of the North Fork."
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The following press release was posted online this morning, September 21, 2006.
Despite the Threat of Pollution From Planned Open Pit Coal Mining in Canada, No Adequate Base-Line Water Quality Data Exists for Montana's Pristine North Fork of the Flathead River -- a Part of Glacier National Park
KALISPELL, Mont., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Faced with potential pollution by planned coal mine development in Canada of the wild and scenic river that forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park in the U.S., the three civic organizations representing residents of the North Fork of the Flathead River Valley have joined together in an urgent appeal to federal and state officials to begin monitoring the water quality of that river.
Letters signed by officers of the North Fork Landowners' Assn., North Fork Preservation Assn., and North Fork Compact have gone out to Sen. Max Baucus, Sen. Conrad Burns, Rep. Dennis Rehberg and Governor Brian Schweitzer requesting their immediate and direct action in establishing water quality monitoring capable of accurately and reliably detecting future pollution of the North Fork.
The Province of British Columbia has granted leases in the Canadian Flathead River drainage for the development of open pit coal mining, one only eight miles north of the United States border and Glacier National Park. The risk of contamination of the North Fork River by coal mining is acknowledged to be significant.
The North Fork of the Flathead is widely respected as one of America's premier unspoiled rivers. It has been protected by Congress as a Wild and Scenic River and is home to numerous endangered species, including bull trout, grizzly bear, lynx and grey wolf. One half of the river resides inside Glacier National Park, as its center marks the Park's western boundary. The North Fork River, Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake are not only national treasures, but also critical elements in one of Montana's most important industries, tourism.
Despite the danger of pollution from Canadian coal mining, NO ADEQUATE BASE-LINE DATA ON THE QUALITY OF WATER COMING OVER THE BORDER FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA EXISTS. As a result, Federal and State officials in the United States will have no reliable way of establishing if, when and how future Canadian mining activities contaminate the North Fork River. They may be unable to even alert the public. In addition, lacking relevant, reliable base-line water quality data, there may be no way to conclusively establish that mining activities in Canada are violating water quality treaties between the two countries. Knowing that the United States may have no treaty protection, the Province of British Columbia and the international mining companies pursuing coal mine development there have less incentive to prevent contamination of U.S. waters.
The clock is ticking. Work on coal mine development in B.C. has been proceeding for more than one year. Pleas for North Fork water quality monitoring have been made by concerned U.S. citizens and interested organizations in the past, but despite agreement that such monitoring is needed and periodic assurances that it would be done, adequate water quality monitoring has not materialized.
The unified call to action taken by the three North Fork civic groups to remedy this situation represents the first time in their 30-year history that they have joined together in common cause.
For further information, contact:
Donald Sullivan
Chairman, North Fork Compact
410 798 8742
TWILITZ1@aol.com
Ed Heger
President, North Fork Landowners' Assn.
406 755 3202
eeheger@hotmail.com
John Frederick
President, North Fork Preservation Assn.
406 888 5084
john@nfhostel.com
From the Wednesday, September 13, 2006 online edition of the Whitefish Pilot . . .
Wilderness in the North Fork proved to be one of the key sticking issues facing a 12-member task force charged by the Flathead County Commissioners to review a draft revision of the Flathead National Forest Plan.
In the end, the task force issued an opinion approving more wilderness in the Bob Marshall and Mission Range if no more wilderness was recommended for the North Fork. Commissioners Gary Hall and Bob Watne signed the task force's recommendation Aug. 30, but commissioner Joe Brenneman remained opposed.
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From the Wednesday, September 6, 2006 online edition of the Bigfork Eagle . . .
Over 100 Flathead Valley businesses voiced support for conserving the valley's headwater streams last month in a signed letter to Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
Flathead area business owners urged Gov. Schweitzer to take a strong stance on maintaining clean water in the streams and rivers that flow from the back country and through the Flathead Basin and ultimately end up in Flathead Lake.
[...]
Gov. Schweitzer did not make a formal response to the letter as of press time. He is developing recommendations to determine the future management of national forest back country areas in Montana, specifically areas currently managed as roadless. Those areas are the source for much of the Flathead Basin's clean water. Schweitzer is speaking with Canadian officials about the potential for the development of open pit coal mining on the headwaters of the North Fork of the Flathead River outside of Glacier National Park.
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From the Wednesday, September 6, 2006 online edition of the Hungry Horse News . . .
The Sun Dog fire, which has been simmering north of Columbia Falls for weeks, has been handed over to the Hungry Horse/Glacier View District for day-to-day management.
A Type II overhead team led by Tom Heintz stepped down early Tuesday. That team built large fire breaks on the fire's flanks and did small burnouts to keep the fire from spreading.
Early this week crews were doing mechanical brushing along Forest Service Road 317 to create even more fire breaks.
The weather forecast is still calling for hot, dry weather, so there still is some potential with this fire, which is listed at 70 percent contained.
It is about 20 miles Northwest of Columbia Falls and about eight miles from the nearest home near Coal and South Coal Creeks.
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