British Columbia government announces protections for Flathead

February 12, 2010 | Most Endangered Rivers, Protecting Rivers, Wild and Scenic Rivers

Amy Souers Kober
Senior Director of Communications

The following is a guest blog post from Scott Bosse, our Northern Rockies Director:

With the world’s attention focused on Vancouver on the eve of the Winter Olympics, the government of British Columbia announced on Tuesday it will ban mining and energy development in the remote Flathead River drainage along the U.S. – Canadian border.

The surprise announcement by Lt. Governor Steven Point came during the annual Throne Speech (the Canadian equivalent of our State-of-the-Union speech) that kicked off the new session of parliament in Victoria.

Back in the early 1990s, I lived in a cabin on the North Fork of the Flathead on the Montana side of the border.  The river captivated me with its opalescent waters, teeming native trout fishery, and unmatched diversity of wildlife including wolves, grizzly bears, wolverines, elk and moose.  Those same values led to its designation as a Wild & Scenic river in 1976.

For over two decades, mining companies have eyed the river’s headwaters in British Columbia for open-pit coal mining, coalbed methane drilling, and gold mining.  With the recent surge in energy and precious metal prices, mining companies began punching in new roads and drilling core samples last summer.  To confront this threat, American Rivers listed the North Fork of the Flathead as the nation’s #5 most endangered river in 2009.

While the announcement by the B.C. government marks a major step in the right direction, much work remains to ensure that this pristine river and the spectacular valley it flows through are permanently protected and managed primarily for the benefit of fish and wildlife.  Canadian conservationists have called for the creation of a new national park in the southern half of the valley that would abut Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park.

The stunning about face by the B.C. government would not have happened without the heroic efforts of our local conservation partners including Wildsight, Headwaters Montana, and the National Parks Conservation Association.  The next time you float or fish the crystalline waters of the North Fork, be sure to raise a paddle for these dedicated wilderness warriors.

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