Issue Position: Outdoors - Flathead

Issue Position

Protecting the Flathead

The North Fork of the Flathead River, a federally designated Wild and Scenic River, rises in Canada, marks the western boundary of Glacier National Park, and finally flows into Flathead Lake. Glacier National Park, the Flathead River system, and the clean, clear waters of Flathead Lake are critical to Montana's economy. Proposals to mine coal and develop coal bed methane in the British Columbian portion of the Flathead would put some of Montana's most valuable treasures at risk.

In February of 2008, the CEO of BP America, Bob Malone, informed me that BP was taking its proposal to develop coal bed methane in the Flathead off the table. I met with Mr. Malone several times and let him know that I would absolutely not accept coal bed methane development in the North Fork of the Flathead- the effort was abandoned. Stopping the BP proposal was a major victory, but many more challenges remain.

I have been working hard to stop a proposed coal mine in the Canadian portion of the North Fork. This mountaintop removal coal mine would release selenium and other toxic contaminants into the Flathead River, forever damaging one of the best trout fisheries in North America. I have worked with officials on both sides of the border, including former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson, to bring strong federal scrutiny to this project. I am please that, in the spring of 2007, Ambassador Wilson announced that the Canadian Government would be conducting a federal level environmental assessment of the proposed mine at my request.

I will not stop fighting until the environment and economic benefits of the Flathead are secure.

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