North Fork Landowners’ Association

Wildfire update

Updated Aug. 18—As of Aug. 18, there were no fires burning on the North Fork, reports Keith Van Broeke of the Flathead National Forest. Van Broeke also told us that firefighting teams from Michigan and Colorado are stationed here to boost initial attack efforts.
     Lightening strikes the weekend of Aug. 9-10 ignited several small fires on the North Fork. According to an Aug. 12 press release by the forest, “Firefighters responded to … five fires on the Hungry Horse/Glacier View Ranger Districts … and within 24 hours had the fires under control. Each fire ranged in size between a tenth and a quarter acre. Three lightning-caused fires on the Flathead ... and one lightning-caused fire in Glacier National Park are being managed as wildland fire-use fires.” (See the U.S. Forest Service definition.)
     Two of the fires were off Hallowat Creek, one was on Akinkoka Peak off Moose Creek, and two were off Cyclone Creek.
     The first wildfire of the season on the Flathead was ignited by a lightening strike July 1. The slow-growing fire, south of Red Meadow Creek Road about half way between the North Fork Road and Red Meadow Lake, was finally spotted by a lookout on July 13. It grew to about 4.5 acres before being brought under control.
     To stay abreast of wildfire activity on the Flathead, check the forest’s Fire Information page. Fire restrictions have not yet been implemented on the Flathead. For information about current restrictions, click here. For detailed definitions of Stage I and Stage II fire restrictions, click here.
     For information about fire activity in our national parks, including Glacier, go to the National Park Service’s Fire & Aviation Management page, and the Glacier National Park home page and Webcam page. Also see the NPS Fire News page.
     For a current interactive, zoom-in map of all wildfires in the country, go to GeoMAC (loads slowly). Go to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center’s Incident Information page for a regularly updated list of wildfires, and to InciWeb’s Montana page. Also see the National Interagency Fire Center’s Web site.
     Also see The Daily Inter Lake.
     Finally, for tips on how you can protect your property from wildfire, go to the Fire Mitigation Committee page.


Proposed Canadian mines
remain worrisome

Posted May 1—Two proposed mining operations north of the border in British Columbia continue to pose a danger to the North Fork’s water quality, environment, wildlife and human residents.
     Ed Heger, North Fork Landowners’ Association past president, reports that Cline Mining Corp. of Sudbury, Ontario, is moving ahead with the permitting process for its Lodgepole open-pit coal mine on the Flathead River drainage in British Columbia. While Cline plans no field work there this year, there is no indication that efforts by Montanans and Canadians opposed to the mine have been sufficiently effective to stop the mine. Debris, silt and pollutants from the mine would wash into the headwaters of our river.
     Recently however, British Columbia officials have acknowledged the environmental sensitivity of the Flathead, and appear to be more willing to work toward a long-term solution. Talks based on mutual-gains negotiations are in the preliminary stage, Heger reports.
     Last spring, the Montana Legislature passed a bill designating $300,000 for water-quality monitoring on the North Fork of the Flathead River, and to hire a full-time transboundary specialist to work on issues related to proposed coal mine applications in the Canadian Flathead.
     In December, Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester secured $885,960 in federal funds for environmental and risk-assessment studies that can be used to protect the Flathead from mining activity in British Columbia—the Lodgepole mine and BP (British Petroleum) Canada Energy Co.’s coal-bed methane exploration, as well as any future mining operations. U.S. officials as high up as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have expressed our concerns to Canadian officials.
     BP Canada’s proposed operation involves a larger geographical area, poses a greater environmental threat, and has a higher public profile.
     On April 14, the City Council of Fernie, B.C., passed a resolution strongly protesting BP Canada’s plans to drill for coal-bed methane gas in the Crowsnest Coalfield, which drains into the Flathead River east of the Whitefish range and into the Elk River and Kootenai basin to the west. Complementing the official protest was a parade by some 300 Fernie residents who passed in front of BP Canada’s downtown office.
     These actions followed BP Canada’s reneging on a promise to eliminate the Flathead from its plans. The announcement of BP Canada’s decision not to drill was made by Baucus at a Feb. 21 town-hall meeting in Kalispell. Baucus said that just hours before the meeting he received a telephone call from BP America President Malone informing him of the decision. However, a few days later, that decision was reportedly rescinded.
     More recently, reports Heger, BP Canada’s more-immediate plans are to drill in the Kootenai basin, and it has applied for drilling rights there but no drilling operations are planned for this year. However, Heger adds, BP Canada’s baseline research will still include the Flathead.
     BP Canada’s planned coal-bed methane drilling operation will be massive—involving an initial $100 million investment plan and some two dozen coal-bed methane test wells in the Crowsnest Coalfield over the next five years, even before full-scale drilling begins.
     Extraction of coal-bed methane involves pumping out the ground water, which releases the methane. The resulting wastewater often contains contaminants such as barium, copper, iron and ammonium. Also, a drilling operation west of the Whitefish range would still adversely affect wildlife corridors into the Flathead.
     In our own front yard, in March, Baucus and Tester expressed support for a Flathead Basin Commission resolution to retire decades-old oil and gas leases in the Flathead National Forest. The leases were granted in the 1970s, but have remained unconsummated because of a lawsuit by environmental groups demanding full environmental-impact studies before mining began.
     Heger has been actively involved in keeping the NFLA informed of these developments. For much more about proposed mining operations in Canada—including links to media stories about these issues—go to our Canadian Mines page.