Missoula Independent: Banding together
Thanks to Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, Glacier National Park, the North Fork Flathead River and Flathead Lake are more secure today than a year ago.
The victories began this past winter during the Vancouver Olympics when Campbell announced that he would place the Canadian Flathead Valley off-limits to mining and energy development.
Gov. Schweitzer’s quiet, behind-the-scenes work built a relationship with the premier that resulted in a historic agreement that included the ban on mining in the North Fork watershed. After signing the agreement, he said, “I can say of all of the things I’ve managed to accomplish, there’s none I’m more proud of.”
Montana’s senators have also been working diligently to protect our side of the North Fork. Sen. Baucus has championed protection for Glacier and the Flathead’s clean waters since he was first elected to Congress, and he has been joined in recent years in an effective partnership with Sen. Tester. Together they initiated legislation to implement terms of the transboundary agreement. They reached out to energy companies holding leases in the North Fork, and have achieved an unprecedented retirement of over 250,000 acres of leases at no cost to U.S. taxpayers.
Our senators’ hard work continues to pay off. Their legislation to protect the North Fork of the Flathead from energy extraction and hard rock mining (S. 3075) has advanced to the floor of the U.S. Senate. This legislation stands a good chance of becoming law before the end of the year.
