From the Monday, February 25, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

The apparent abandonment of coalbed methane development in the Canadian Flathead should be considered a huge victory for Montana.

British Petroleum announced last week that it would not be pursuing gas development in the drainage, and most importantly, the British Columbia provincial government has chosen the same course.

A provincial official said the Flathead was not included as part of the tenure referral granted to BP last week: “The province recognizes the environmental sensitivity of the Flathead area and has not included this area in the tenure referral.”

That’s big news, because it suggests for the first time a more permanent view of the Canadian Flathead as a natural resource worth protecting.

Read the entire article . . .