The North Fork Preservation Association annual meeting is on Saturday, July 26, featuring Canadian activist Harvey Locke speaking on “The Missing Piece of Waterton National Park.” He is a charismatic orator who thinks in large landscapes. Harvey begins his talk at 7:30 p.m. The potluck dinner starts at 5:00 p.m., followed by the business meeting. For more information call 406-888-5084.

John Frederick wrote the following article about this year’s presentation. It appears in the current NFPA newsletter . . .

The “Missing Piece” refers to the area north of us known as the Flathead of British Columbia (in Canada, the North Fork Flathead is called just the Flathead River). The region east of the river is a logical extension to the existing Waterton Lakes National Park on the other side of the Continental Divide in Alberta. The first “Missing Piece Rendezvous” was at Waterton town site last fall to a large crowd of happy people.

The second “Missing Piece Rendezvous” will be held on the porch of the North Fork Community Hall featuring Harvey Locke and Sid Marty at 7:30 pm on Saturday, July 26. Both are engaging entertainers. Bring folding chairs or a blanket and bug dope, if needed.

Harvey Locke does not give up easily. This well-known Canadian activist has been trying to have the part of the Flathead of British Columbia that is above Glacier National Park added to Waterton National Park for over twenty years.

I met him 25 years ago on a Waterton-Glacier Superintendents’ Hike and remember him talking in French to a warden in Waterton Park, demonstrating to me his appealing personality (even though I didn’t know French). I marked him as someone unique although I knew nothing about him at the time.

Harvey Locke is recognized as a global leader in the conservation of wilderness and large landscapes. He is known in Canada as one of the leading conservation activists there. He thinks about large landscapes – the movement to establish wildlife corridors from Yellowstone to Yukon was his idea. Harvey has many conservation groups in place on both sides of the border to back up what he says and when he says something it has authority. His connections to powerful individuals are truly amazing. He makes things happen.

I never really met Sid Marty, a well-known Albertan writer, but I heard him play his guitar, sing his own songs and do some readings from twenty feet away at the Waterton Opera House last fall. His songs and words are pleasant to the ear. He has written five non-fiction books, the last being The Black Grizzly of Whiskey Creek. His website is at sidmarty.com.

The idea of having a part of the Flathead of British Columbia become a park is an old one. George “Kootenai” Brown proposed it a century ago when he was the only warden for what would later become Waterton National Park.

The 100,000-acre Flathead National Park Harvey Locke envisions in southeastern British Columbia would be a wilderness park with gravel roads and little infrastructure, resembling a wildlife preserve with trails. He can make it happen if we all work together.

The program on Saturday, July 26, starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Sondreson Community Hall at Whale Creek (11 miles north of Polebridge). The potluck and gabfest begins at 5:00 p.m. inside the Hall, followed by a leisurely business meeting at a little before 7:00 p.m. Again, don’t forget to bring folding chairs or blankets for the program outside.