U.N. scientists call for an end to mining in Canadian Flathead

Hungry Horse News

Scientists from the United Nations are calling for a moratorium on mining in the Canadian Flathead, just north of Glacier National Park.

Last fall Paul Dingwall, a New Zealand scientist with the World Conservation Union and the World Wide Fund for Nature, and Keshore Rao, deputy director of the United Nation's World Heritage Center, toured Glacier and Waterton Parks as well as the Canadian Flathead. They wanted to see for themselves the potential impacts of proposed coal, coal bed methane and gold mines in Canada on the Park.

"Their basic conclusion is they have no doubt that mining is incompatible," with the park, said Stephen Morris, chief of international affairs for the National Parks Service.

The scientists' complete report was not made public, but Morris, who has read the document, said the Park Service "agrees with their conclusions. They affirm what we've been saying."

Morris also noted the report recommends that Waterton-Glacier be named a "World Heritage site in Danger," if mining developments progress further. Right now, the proposed mines haven't gone to a full-blown application stage.

Waterton-Glacier was named a U.N. World Heritage site in 1995.

Morris said the report also calls for a transboundary wildlife and conservation plan for the region.

The report was seen as a positive step by Montana Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus, who have lobbied hard for Canadian concessions.

"This report echoes what Max and I have been fighting for a long time: the Flathead Basin and Glacier National Park are too precious to jeopardize with mining. We still have a long ways to go to protect the Flathead Basin but this development signals that folks around the world understand the value of keeping cyanide leach mining out of these areas," Tester said Monday.

Baucus concurred.

"After fighting for years and years to protect Glacier from mining threats, I applaud the conclusions in the U.N. field report as they highlight the dire need to establish safeguards to protect the park from mining and energy development proposals. The park is a crown jewel for Montana, our nation and the world. I will continue to advocate for bilateral discussions between Canada and the U.S. to find a mutual approach to establishing long-term protections for this area,Baucus said.

Canadian officials, both at the embassy and provincial level, did not immediately comment on the plan.

The U.N. began investigating the mining threats to the region after Will Hammerquist, the Glacier representative of the National Park Conservation Association, and Ryland Nelson, of the Canadian environmental organization Wildsight testified in front of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage Committee last summer in Spain.

That prompted the committee to send