From New York Times: A Canadian mining company's discovery last week of high-grade gold deposits north of Glacier National Park has raised alarm among environmentalists that development of the deposits could imperil Montana's Flathead River Valley and fragment North America's most prized grizzly habitat.
The discovery by MAX Resource Corp. of Vancouver, about 10 miles northwest of the park boundary in British Columbia, is the latest volley in a 30-year debate over development of the Flathead River Valley, a 1-million-acre watershed spanning the U.S.-Canada border and including much of Glacier park and Flathead National Forest.
Stuart Rogers, president of MAX Resource, said concerns over the discovery are premature and that if the company ever developed the site, it would use underground rather than open-pit mining techniques.
Moreover, Rogers said, any mining proposal would be subject to the British Columbia government's extensive regulatory review process and would have to meet a "zero discharge" requirement for the Flathead River and its tributaries.
But critics argue that is not enough. They want a moratorium on all industrial development in the region, home to North America's largest concentration of grizzly bears, as well as bull trout and other iconic Western species. Canadian environmental groups have even called on provincial leaders to designate the bottom third of the valley as a national park, with the other two-thirds zoned as a wildlife management area.
"Go for gold at the Olympics, not in the Flathead River Valley," said Sarah Cox, of Sierra Club British Columbia, referring to the upcoming Winter Games in Vancouver. "The B.C. government must put an immediate stop to gold exploration near a headwaters stream of the Flathead River and very close to the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site," which includes Alberta's adjacent Waterton Lakes National Park. Click here to continue reading
