Thanks to BSC

As we go about our busy daily routines, we often fail to recognize, and pay tribute to some of our fellow citizens who volunteer their time and effort to doing things that contribute to making Bigfork a better place to live. Our first responders, those who manage the food bank, and members of the benevolent organizations that regularly meet in our area are the first that come to mind. I'm sure that if we took a few minutes we all could come up with any number of other examples where individuals are making voluntary contributions of time and energy which serve to make Bigfork a more desirable place to live.

I would like us to acknowledge a group of Bigfork area citizens whom I feel have shown an incredible amount of diligence over the past couple of years working to craft an updated version of the Bigfork Area Neighborhood Plan that can be adopted under the Flathead County Growth Policy.

The Bigfork Steering Committee was formed to address the concerns of our rapidly growing community in 1992. The result of many long months of discussions, surveys, and meetings was a Bigfork Area Land Use Plan. Recently there was a need for the Bigfork Steering Committee to be revitalized. The current make up of the committee is comprised of a combination of original members and many new area residents. The goals and objectives have remained the same, and the job has been equally, if not more, challenging.

I have been fortunate to be able to participate in a very small way in the work of the steering committee, and I would like to pay tribute to the individuals who have diligently assumed the lion's share of the work, the executive officers. Since there has been a "core" of local citizens who have assisted the executive officers, it would be inappropriate for me to try and name names, for fear of omitting someone. Let me just say that the diligent, dedicated work of these people is greatly appreciated.

As Bigfork continues to wrestle with the ongoing challenges of growth, there is a need for all of those who live in the area to participate in one way or another in making future decisions. Attending the meetings of the Bigfork Steering Committee (normally at noon in the Lutheran Church basement on Thursdays) and sharing input may be a good way.

Edd Blackler

Bigfork

Public lands are our national identity. While Europe has its great monuments, cathedrals, castles, temples, our vast public lands define America. Will we be shamed for leaving a diminished legacy, or will we be honored for having the foresight to give them protection?

This Thursday, October 18, 2007, the Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands will hold a hearing on the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (HR 1975). Passage of NREPA would designate all of the inventoried roadless lands in the Northern Rockies as wilderness, providing for protection of 7 million acres of public lands in Montana, 9.5 million acres in Idaho, 5 million acres in Wyoming, 750,000 acres in Eastern Oregon, and 500,000 acres in Eastern Washington.

The bill would not only designate Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks as wilderness, but more locally provide protection for our roadless lands in the North Fork of the Flathead, as well as our transboundary waterways, now under threat from coal mining interests in Canada. One of the best ways to show our concern for the proposed coal development in Canada is to clean up our act on this side of the border - put assurances in place to make sure our portion of the Flathead is as clean and pristine as we expect Canada to deliver from their side of the border

Wilderness and wildlands drive our economy and guarantee our environmental health. The passage of NREPA and the protection it affords would also provide linkage corridors for migrationf wildlife to prevent island populations of mega-species and ensure species viability.

I live and work within 20 miles of lands being considered for wilderness designation under NREPA. I value these lands for their protection for wildlife, varied plants and wildflowers, and the opportunity for quiet recreation and reflection. If you also share these values, here's how you can take action.

Vote YES on Representative Rehberg's survey on his web site at http://www.house.gov/rehberg/survey.shtml.

E-mail Senator Max Baucus (maxbaucus@earthlink.net) and Senator Jon Tester (jontester@yahoo.com) and encourage them to support NREPA. Reiterate that they should appreciate the support coming from outside of Montana in the form of the 115 House co-sponsors from other states that believe in protection of public lands in Montana.

Send your own comments (before October 28, 2007) to be made part of the formal hearing record by the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands in support of HR 1975 to Domenick.Carroll@mail.house.gov. Let them know why it's important to you to protect the Northern Rockies ecosystem.

For more information on NREPA, visit: www.wildrockies.org/nrepa/.

Susan Waldron

Kalispell, MT

The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act is the best way for Americans to protect the Flathead River Basin and let Canadians know we are willing to do our part to protect wildlands in the North Fork Flathead.

NREPA will designate as Wilderness roadless lands recommended for Wilderness by Glacier National Park in 1974, as well as all roadless Forest Service lands in the North Fork Flathead in order to prevent further building of roads that trash water quality.

NREPA will also designate roadless lands in the Swan Range as Wilderness and restore lands specifically damaged by roads and logging in the South and Middle Fork Flathead. Region-wide, NREPA will save taxpayers $245 million by not developing roadless lands, even after paying for the 2,300 high-paying jobs that will be created restoring watersheds! These jobs fit into the new Restoration Economy promoted by Governor Brian Schweitzer and others.

NREPA is a bill written by local residents, like myself, in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington. We are former loggers, Forest Service employees and folks from all walks of life who realize it is time to protect the few remaining pristine public lands as god made them and to restore enough public lands to allow the Northern Rockies bioregion to function as a healthy ecosystem.

Montana's Congressional delegation deserves our thanks for urging Canada to protect the Flathead River Basin. They also should be encouraged to support NREPA as the best science-based way to protect the US portion of the Flathead River Basin and Northern Rockies Bioregion. Our public lands heritage and ecosystems cannot afford to be cut in half once again by neglect or political turf wars.

You can submit your testimony for last week's U.S. House hearing on NREPA by sending a brief email to Domenick.Carroll@mail.house.gov by October 28.

Keith J. Hammer

Kalispell, MT

Americans should expect to pay more to heat their homes this winter, according to a report released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) last week. The biggest impact will come from a record high cost of natural gas, which heats nearly 6 in 10 homes nationwide.

We?ve seen the costs of natural gas nearly triple since the 1990s. Meanwhile, crude oil prices are now over $85 per barrel. This diversion of income for increased energy costs reduces our ability to fund other necessities such as food, healthcare, and housing, ultimately diminishing our chances to invest for future needs.

As Congress continues its review of our nation?s energy policy, I hope it will consider the facts about today?s clean coal technologies. Data suggests that the top 10 states that use the most electricity from coal enjoy electricity costs that are 40 percent below those of the states that rely on natural gas for most electricity.

At one-fifth the cost of natural gas, coal is our nation?s most reliable energy source with reserves more than three times the energy equivalent of Saudi Arabia?s oil. Furthermore, energy from clean coal can be achieved in an environmentally friendly way. Technologies such as carbon capture, coal-to-liquids, and coal-to-gas will enable coal-fired plants to achieve near zero emissions.

For the sake of our nation?s security and Montanans? financial future, our Members in Congress should embrace legislation that supports this abundant, affordable, and domestic source of clean energy. We can?t afford their inaction another winter.

Chris Shipp and N. Stephanie Spika

Carroll College Students