A hidden jewel in the Crown of the Continent:
Baseline water quality and fi sheries research documents value of Flathead headwaters
Mining potential in the Canadian Flathead has raised a fuss in Montana over the last two years, from a grassroots organization called the Flathead Coalition up to Gov. Brian Schweitzer. The state has engaged the British Columbia provincial government in diplomatic talks that have led to Montana representatives participating in a review process for the Cline Mining project.
Jim Mann, Kalispell Daily Inter Lake, “Canada’s secret valley: Little-known part of Canadian Flathead targeted for coal work,” 7/2/06
NPCA’s Erin Sexton, knee-deep in the pristine waters of the Canadian Flathead River, has spent much of the summer coordinating water quality and fi sheries studies by university, state, and tribal biologists from both nations. The Cline Mining Corporation has proposed an open-pit coal mine in the wild British Columbia headwaters of Glacier National Park. The information scientists are collecting will document the current ecological conditions, so if a mine does go in, any ecological impacts will be detectable.
Sexton is working in collaboration with U.S. and Canadian scientists. Her work is supported by several funding sources including the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, Montana Community Foundation Sustainability Fund, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, American Fisheries Society, and the Kendall Foundation. For more information about this project, contact Sexton at (406) 862-6722.
