Flathead Under Seige

BC’s Flathead River Valley has never been settled and remains virtually pristine. Today, the remote Flathead is under siege from proposals for mining and energy developments. These resource extraction schemes threaten to sprawl across the world-class Flathead Valley, fragmenting its great wilderness, jeopardizing critical wildlife habitat and severely comprising the Flathead River’s exceptional water quality.

BC's Outdoor Recreation Council named the Flathead BC's most endangered river in March 2009. The Flathead River was second on the council's of endangered rivers in 2008 and also topped the list in 2007. On June 26, 2009, the United Nations' World Heritage Committee voted unanimously to send a delegation to BC to investigate proposed Flathead energy and mining developments. The committee is concerned about harmful impacts these developments could have on the adjoining Waterton-
Glacier International Peace Park--UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and a World Heritage Site.

Open-Pit Coal Mining

The BC government is considering a proposal by Cline Mining Corp to demolish a scenic Flathead mountain and remove 40 million tonnes of coal. Pollutants and slag from this strip mining operation will be dumped into Foisey Creek, a headwaters stream of the pure and free-flowing Flathead River.

Scientists have identified Foisey Creek as critical spawning habitat for threatened bull trout, which migrate north from Glacier National Park in the US to reproduce in the Flathead. Foisey Creek is also habitat for the endangered westslope cutthroat trout, one of the last genetically pure trout species in the region. Read a news article about Foisey Creek.

If the proposed coal mine goes ahead, Mark Angelo, Rivers Chair for the BC Outdoor Recreation Council and an Order of Canada recipient, says the Flathead's wildlife, wilderness and recreational values will be "greatly compromised" and water quality will be impacted.  Read the Council's Endangered Rivers press release. The Flathead "supports many important wildlife populations ranging from grizzly bears to tailed frogs, both of which are blue-listed species. The Flathead also has some of the best water quality of any river in Canada (if not North America) and supports important trans-boundary fish populations that include the blue-listed bull trout as well as westslope cutthroat trout," said the Council. Read the backgrounder.

Coalbed Methane Extraction

BP Canada Energy Company, a subsidiary of energy giant Beyond Petroleum (formerly British Petroleum), wants to extract coalbed methane from a vast area straddling the Flathead and Elk watersheds. In December 2008, the provincial government granted BP tenure for its controversial "Mist Mountain" coalbed methane project, but exempted the Flathead due to its "environmental sensitivity".

Until the Flathead is permanently protected, however, it remains vulnerable to future proposals for coalbed methane drilling. A case in point is that a proposal for coal strip mining was considered in the Flathead 20 years ago and rejected. Yet today we are fighting a similar proposal by Cline Mining Corp. in the same area.

The Cabin Creek coal mine proposal was turned down in 1988 after the International Joint Commission concluded that pollution caused by the mine would constitute a breach of treaty obligations between Canada and the U.S.  The coal mine planned today by Cline Mining would be no less environmentally damaging to the acclaimed Flathead River than the rejected Cabin Creek coal mine proposal. See details of Cline Mining proposal currently under consideration by the BC Environmental Assessment Office.

Precious Metals Drilling Permits

Multiple phosphate and precious metals exploration drilling permits have also been issued for the Flathead River Valley in recent years. (Phosphate was banned from Canadian household detergents, laundry soap and cleaners in 2008 due to its detrimental environmental impact.)

Vancouver-based Max Resources Group began drilling for gold in July 2008 above Howell Creek in the picturesque headwaters of the Flathead River, lending a renewed urgency to efforts to protect the Flathead. Read a news article about the drilling project. In the summer of 2009,  Max Resources announced plans to expand Flathead gold exploration. The active exploration area now covers about 75 square kilometres.