Paving will destroy North Fork's biggest attractions

To the editor,

I want to comment on the proposed paving of the North Fork Road.

First, I want to know why the bill was not mentioned by our elected officials until after they had pushed it through Congressional committees. I'm sick to my stomach to think that the people we elected tried to pull the wool over our eyes.

Secondly, locals must think of what this means to our remote North Fork. Do you think diverting Going-to-the-Sun Road's summer traffic up a paved North Fork will help out wildlife? It's already hard to find elk or a nice buck here, without having thousands of people driving animals further away.

Third, I would like to mention why people live in the North Fork. I have friends and family who live from Blankenship to Moose City and we've talked about the proposal. Not one of them was in favor and they listed the reasons why they live there; scenery, no florescent lighting bombarding the midnight skies (except the Northern Lights), wildlife, remoteness; all which could be ruined by paving. The road actually is a protective barrier to this wild place, keeping it isolated in a positive manner.

For businesses asking where tourist dollars will come from, there are many places in the Flathead people can visit: Flathead Lake, Big Mountain, our National forests and rivers. Glacier will still be selling itself, there will still be breathtaking places to see, which are already paved, such as Many Glacier, Two Medicine, Apgar, Goatlick, West Glacier, Looking Glass Pass, etc.

The world we live in today is full of concrete slabs instead of grass, oversized billboards and strip development ... is nothing sacred? The reason we live here is because Montana is unique. One of the last best places -- we still have dirt roads, wildlife, wildflowers, cowboys, small towns (Polebridge). Let's not destroy it by adding more pavement to this already concrete world.

What's next, a 20 acre RV park in Polebridge and billboards bordering the entire North Fork road? The Sun Road construction is temporary, pavement is permanent.

Alex Steven,
Columbia Falls