Headwaters Montana and Flathead Wild are hosting “The Missing Piece Rendezvous: A Festival for the Flathead” at Waterton Lakes, Canada on September 28. Their aim is to encourage the expansion of Waterton Lakes National Park. Here is the meat of the press release. (You can also read more on the Headwaters Montana web site.) . . .

Citizens of Canada and the United States, wanting peace after the horrors of World War I, embarked upon a truly unique journey when they proposed the creating the world’s first international peace park.  This Peace Park, established between Waterton Lakes (Canada) and Glacier (United States) national parks in 1932 still represents a triumph of citizen action that compelled two governments to do what no nations had ever done before: establish a Peace Park as an enduring symbol of peace between their two nations.  This achievement – promoted and completed by Rotary International – was further manifested when the United Nations – all the nations of the world – recognized this gift to humanity as a World Heritage Site in 1995.

Yet this milestone in the evolution of human consciousness remains incomplete. Take a look at a map of Waterton-Glacier and you will see what remains undone. There’s a  Missing Piece, that part of British Columbia where the Flathead River flows south through a spectacular and biologically rich wilderness.

This part of B.C. is unmatched in North America for its variety, completeness and density of living things.  It’s also a critical corridor for animals moving north and south along the Rocky Mountains – the “Backbone of the World”. The B.C. Flathead is a magical place of great wildness that was never permanently settled. As early as 1911 Kootenay Brown, the first superintendent of Waterton Park, called for Waterton to be expanded into the Flathead “to create a breeding ground in conjunction with Glacier National Park”.

With your continued help, we, the citizens of today, can Complete the Park by adding that missing piece in the Flathead to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

Headwaters Montana and our partner groups of Flathead Wild! will host Wildlife Beyond Borders: The Missing Piece Rendezvous Saturday, September 28, 2013, at the historic Waterton Lakes Opera House, starting at 4:00pm.  This event is part of the annual Wildlife Weekend in Waterton.

This celebration will be MC-ed by Harvey Locke, a long-time champion of this effort, and joined by renowned conservationists Charlie Russell, Sid Marty, Cristina Eisenberg and the team members of Flathead Wild!

While in Waterton be sure to also visit the Waterton Heritage Center for The Flathead: The Missing Piece Art Show.  This exhibit includes paintings and artworks by artists specifically commissioned to interpret the significance of the Flathead Valley.

We are honored to help host this exhibit throughout the latter part of September. The exhibit will be formally opened by Harvey Locke on Saturday, September 28 at 4:00 pm, with artist in attendance.