B.C. passes permanent protections for Flathead

Wayne Herman remembers the date well: Jan. 16, 1975. Herman was the newly-elected chairman of the Flathead Coalition, a broad-based group of business, government and environmental groups dedicated to fighting a proposed coal mine in the Canadian Flathead, just north of the U.S. border.

After the first meeting of the Coalition, Herman started getting calls from the press and other groups all across the country. The Inter Lake switchboard had to stop the calls so he could get some work done.

Little did Herman know at the time that the struggle would last nearly 40 years.

Last week, it finally came to an end. The province of British Columbia passed a law prohibiting mining, oil drilling and natural gas extraction from the Flathead basin.

"It's been a long struggle," Herman said last week. "I'm glad it's through."

The provincial bill is a complement to a memorandum of understanding signed last year by then British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer. In that agreement, both sides agreed to cease energy development in the Flathead, which is called the North Fork of the Flathead on the U.S. side of the border.

The drainage is one of the wildest places in the Lower 48. In Canada, virtually no one inhabits the basin, save for a couple of outfitter camps. Roads are dirt and trails are few.

In the U.S., the river makes up the western boundary of Glacier National Park.

"This is the will of the people," Schweitzer said last week. "It's easier to lead when people agree with you."

Another key part of the deal was cash - The Nature Conservancy of Montana and the Conservancy of Canada agreed to pay the province $9.4 million for costs associated with previous exploration.

"This reaches beyond borders and even beyond the people and wildlife that depend on the river today. We ‘re making sure that our grandchildren and their children won't just have a place to fish or float, but that they'll still have a world with wild places for grizzlies to roam and the water remains pure," said Kat Imhoff, Director of The Nature Conservancy in Montana.

That fundraising effort continues. To date, about $6.5 million has been raised.

The latest mining effort in the Flathead was a plan by Cline Mining Co. to develop an open pit mine in the headwaters of the drainage.

Richard Kuhl, who chaired the Flathead Coalition in the mid-1980s noted that most Canadians didn't support mine plans either.

"The local people in Fernie always wanted to keep the North Fork the way it was," he said. "It was their recreation area."

There is still some debate on whether more should be done on the U.S. side of the border. The state land board passed a resolution prohibiting surface occupancy for mining on state lands in the North Fork, but the question of leases on federal lands still remains.

Schweitzer said a Ninth Circuit court ruling years ago invalidated existing leases. In that case, the court found the Forest Service didn't complete an adequate environmental review when it sold the leases.

Since then, many companies have voluntarily relinquished their claims anyway. Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester are sponsoring Senate Bill 233  - the North Fork Protection Act - which would ban any new leases in the region. That bill is still in committee.

"Actions speak louder than words and the passage of British Columbia's legislation to protect the North Fork of the Flathead demonstrates Canada's commitment to protect one of the most important watersheds in the world," Tester said. "Now it is our turn to follow through on our side of the bargain and pass the North Fork Protection Act to forever protect the American side of the Flathead Basin."

"Protecting the North Fork permanently without asking American taxpayers to foot the bill remains a top priority for me," Baucus said. "I'm pleased to see any progress on the Canadian side and will continue to fight to make sure we preserve the North Fork for Montana's economy and for our kids and grandkids."

There is also a push to expand Waterton Lakes National Park to the North Fork.

Dave Hadden, director of the environmental group Headwaters Montana, predicted last week that expansion of the Park will come within a few years. Like Herman and Kuhl, he was one of the first members of the Flathead Coalition.

The National Parks Conservation Association also supports expansion of Waterton.

Schweitzer declined to comment directly on the possibility of expanding Waterton.

"Let's take a breath and recognize what we've accomplished," he said.

The battle: a timeline

The battle over mining in the Flathead has a long history. The following is a timeline put together by former Flathead Coalition chairman Richard Kuhl.

• 1974 - Sage Creek Mining Ltd. A subsidiary of Rio Algom proposes a coal mine on Cabin and Howell Creeks, six miles north of the border.

• 1975 - Flathead Coalition formed with U.S. and Canadian member organizations.

• Around 1980 - Sen. Max Baucus secures funding for a baseline study of the watershed.

• 1983 - The Flathead Basin Commission, a quasi-governmental agency with a mission to protect the waters of Flathead Lake through research and education, not regulation, was authorized by the Montana Legislature.

• 1985 - The Cabin Creek mine issue was submitted to the International Joint Commission established by the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. The IJC in turn, established the Flathead River International Study.

• 1987-88 - The biological resources committee of the Flathead River International Study concluded the proposed mine would significantly impact spawning and rearing habitat for bull trout in the vicinity of the mine.

• 1989-2000 - Coal prices drop and interest in mining the Flathead wanes for the time being.

• 2001 - Cline mining again proposes the Cabin Creek Mine.

• 2004 - British Columbia places the lower portion of the Flathead, including Cabin Creek, off limits to coal mining.

• 2005 - Cline then proposes a mountain-top removal mine on Lodgepole Ridge above Foisey Creek. Foisey Creek forms the headwaters of the Flathead. Fording Coal also proposes a mine in the floodplain four miles below the confluence of Foisey Creek and the Flathead.

• 2005 - The Flathead Coalition reorganizes in light of the new mining proposals.

• 2007 - British Petroleum Canada announces its 50,000-acre Mountain Mist coal bed methane project in the Elk and Flathead River drainages.

• 2008 - The province grants tenure to BP to proceed with coal bed methane projects in the Elk, but not the Flathead.

• 2010 - Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Premier Gordon Campbell sign a memorandum of understanding to halt all mining and oil and gas extraction in the valley on both sides of the border.

• 2010 - Sen. Max Baucus and Jon. Tester introduce a bill to halt any new energy leases on federal lands in the Flathead. In addition, many companies voluntarily relinquish existing leases.