Senators snag dollars to fight BC mining plans

Baucus, Tester Secure Dollars To Collect Cold, Hard Facts To Defeat Plans

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Montana’s U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester are bringing some new tools to protect the Flathead from proposed mining activity in British Columbia.

The new $885,960 ammunition secured by the senators will be used to fully study the environmental impact of mining in Canada’s Upper Flathead Basin, just north of Glacier National Park.

This project will focus on the existing environmental condition of the area, the nature and breadth of the threat, and the level of risk associated with proposed mining in the Flathead River-Lake Ecosystem.  This data will be considered in discussions of current and future mining proposals (including that of hard rock minerals), oil or gas development, or any large scale or industrial development of natural resources that would affect water quality, fisheries or wildlife of Glacier National Park or the Flathead River-Lake Ecosystem.

Baucus and Tester worked to secure the funding to help stop a couple of Canadian mining proposals near the headwaters of the North Fork Flathead River, which runs into Flathead Lake in Montana.

“There are some places in that are just too special mine in or near,” Baucus said. “The Flathead is critical to our state’s and to our country’s outdoor heritage. I’m committed to working together with Jon to make sure it stays a national treasure for years to come.”

“It’s with good reason that generations of Montanans have called Waterton-Glacier the ‘Crown of the Continent,’” Tester said.  “Preservation of this ‘crown’ hangs in the balance and we must have all of the facts on the table before we move forward.”

The environmental assessment studies will include:

Fisheries Assessment

Goal: Provide a baseline of the transboundary fishery with emphasis on bull trout (ESA listed), west slope cutthroat trout (MT species of special concern) and sculpin.  Analysis shall include risk analysis of the proposed Lodgepole/Foisey coal mine in the Canadian Headwaters of the North Fork of the Flathead River and potential effects on Glacier National Park, the US reaches of the Flathead River and Flathead Lake.

Objective: Fishery surveys to provide quantitative data on the status of early life stages and spawning and juvenile habitat quality for trout species in tributary streams in the Flathead River basin (this is to include the Wigam).  The proposed surveys include determination of fish species distribution and genetic composition, bull trout spawning, and juvenile bill trout and westslope cutthroat trout population estimates.  Additionally, substate coring and scoring surveys will be used to quantitatively assess spawning and rearing habitat quality and availability. 

Wildlife Assessment

Goal: Provide a baseline of the transboundary wildlife with emphasis on focal species (mid to large carnivores – grizzly bears, wolverine, lynx, wolves, otters, etc.) Analysis shall include risk analysis of the proposed Lodgepole/Foisey coal mine in the Canadian Headwaters of the North Fork of the Flathead River and potential effects on Glacier National Park, the U.S. reaches of the Flathead River and Flathead Lake.

Objective: Summarize existing information and collect additional data for carnivore species in the transboundary Flathead area and surrounding regions to quantify the current baseline conditions for grizzly bears, lynx, wolverine, wolves, marten, badgers, otters, and fishers regarding their distribution, density, seasonal habitat use patterns, movement patterns, dispersal requirements, and the status of the prey species they depend on.

Earlier this year, the senators caught wind of a couple of proposals to build mines on the North Fork Flathead River, which runs into Flathead Lake in Montana. Baucus and Tester have been fighting these proposals and have successfully delayed the mines from being built for two to three years. At the senators demand, the Canadian government will conduct an environmental study on the potential impact the mines would have on Flathead Lake. While these studies occur, the senators are working to find a way to stop the mines once and for all.