You may have heard of “Canada’s Next National Park”. But did you know that the idea to create a National Park in the Flathead is a 100 year old idea?
A century ago this year the first Superintendent of Waterton National Park in Alberta, John George “Kootenai” Brown stated in his first report to the Government of Canada that “It seems to be advisable to greatly enlarge this park [into the BC Flathead]. Many people here desire it. It might be well to have a preserve and breeding ground in conjunction with the United States Glacier Park. I am sure this step would be much appreciated by all sportsmen and nature lovers.”
Over 20 years ago a coal mine proposal in the Cabin Creek area of the Flathead re-ignited the efforts to protect the Flathead. Local people in the Elk Valley banded together to fight this proposal and protect what they knew as one of the wildest areas around.
Being an international watershed, the mine proposal triggered the International Joint Commission review of the project. The commission recommended that “Mine proposals not receive regulatory approval.”
The BC government chose to ignore the concerns of local residents and the recommendations of the IJC and continued on with business as usual, issuing mining exploration permits across the valley for various minerals, oil and gas.
Largely due to economic reasons no mine proposals proceeded for quite some time. Then in 2004 as coal and other mineral resources increased in value, another coal mine is proposed in the headwaters of the Flathead, reigniting the efforts to permanently protect the Flathead yet again. The BC government continues to insists it can mine without impacting the river.
While it was apparent to nearly everyone that mining should never be allowed to proceed in the Flathead, mining companies led by the BC government continued to try to advance their schemes. New phosphate and gold exploration proceeded.
In 2008 an international coalition of environmental organizations started a petition to list the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and UNESCO World Heritage site as “In Danger” due to BC’s reckless mining plans. The petition is reviewed by UNESCO, who sends an international mission to the region.
The mission concludes, just as the IJC did 20 years earlier that if mining were to proceed in the BC Flathead it would impact the wilderness values of the region so much that it would endanger a World Heritage Site.
With the writing on the wall (again) and it’s international reputation on the line as it was about to host the Olympic games, then premier Gordon Campbell scrambled to save face and reverse the position of his government by signing an Memorandum of Understanding with Montana that would finally see a ban on mining and oil and gas development in the entire International Flathead Watershed!
The “Flathead Watershed Area Conservation Act” was just recently introduced in the legislature. Once passed, this act will be the long awaited first step towards realizing the protection of the Flathead that was envisioned 100 years ago by Kootenai Brown.
But this act is just a first step towards achieving real conservation outcomes in the Flathead. Next up is establishing a Wildlife Management Area that would protect wildlife values and establish a connectivity corridor along the spine of BC’s Southern Rockies between the Waterton-Glacier and Rocky Mountain Park protected complexes and World Heritage SItes. And finally the completion of Waterton-Glacier by adding 1/3rd of the BC Flathead to the park as a Wilderness reserve, completing the vision of Kootenai Brown.
