Scientists differ about dust impacts

Dust from the North Fork Road continues to be a concern of local residents, but Glacier National Park officials told North Forkers at a recent Interlocal Meeting that there are no plans to put an air monitoring station in the area.

University of Montana scientist Ric Hauer, who was in the area conducting research, said the North Fork continues to be one of the cleanest watersheds in the world, but it might be a good idea to establish an air monitoring station just to see if there is an effect on the river.

Jack Stanford, director of the Flathead Lake Biological Station, says dust from the unpaved road pales in comparison to what occurs naturally during spring runoff. He agreed with Hauer that the North Fork is one of the cleanest watersheds in the world, but to date the river’s water quality hasn’t changed from its baseline data.

The Flathead Lake Biological Station doesn’t routinely monitor water quality in the North Fork, Stanford said, but he agreed that routine monitoring would be a good idea. The last monitoring that was done was in 2007 and 2009, he said. It did find some elevated levels on nitrogen, but that’s been happening on a worldwide scale. Phosphorus levels, however, were lower.

Phil Wilson, Glacier Park’s chief of science and resources and management, said that if the Park Service puts an air quality monitoring station anywhere, it would likely be on the east side where the Park has concerns about oil exploration.

The Park already monitors air quality for the west side in the Apgar area near the Quarter Circle Bridge, but some residents want a station located closer to the North Fork.