From the Tuesday, June 19, 2007 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .

A U.S. Senate panel Tuesday approved nearly $1.3 million for collection of environmental data in the area where a Canadian company wants to develop a coal mine, just north of Glacier National Park.

Opponents of the mine want the environmental information for a baseline against which to gauge how the Cline Mining Corp. project may affect natural resources in the Flathead River region, which spans the Montana-British Columbia border.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced the allocation by a subcommittee working on appropriations for the Interior Department. Full committee action is likely Thursday, his staff said.

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