Flathead All Backwards?….

[mikes]

Naturally politics is involved. The people who now own Montana are politicking their politicians. The rich and famous who now own the ranches, valleys, and hills of Montana, do not need mining to pay for their jets and jewels. They have come to the state for its pristine beauty. The people of Montana do not want mining, they want granola nature. Normally the rich and well-connected come wanting to mine and they are opposed by the local poor, who do not understand the advantages that await them when the mine opens. In this case, we have the poor of BC wanting the mine for income and taxes. How else to pay for the drug injection sites and detox units springing up around B.C. And the rich and famous of Montana oppose the mining. It is all topsy turvey. It is made worse by scrapping politicians, and the dollars screaming to parity turn economic conclusions upside- down. The main reason Montana wants to preserve the Flathead is because the rest of Montana has been turned over to industrial use. Montana’s land-use and resource-development decisions elsewhere in the state mean the Flathead Basin is the only remaining major protected area in Montana. Keep in mind that Montana is the United State’s national park for rich Hollywood stars and has long turned its back on its mining roots. So there must have been some rich pressure on the Democrat to come up with $1.3 million to do the proposed studies. Obviously the influential and powerful are gathering to oppose the Canadian mine.

[emjay]

I think its not only the rich and powerfull resisting the flathead mine and parks. The rest of us working class people love the area for what it is. I dont know if youve noticed anti flathead parks and mine stickers, and besides how many poor people do you think would actually be able to work there due to various circumstances. The unfortunate part is that most of the poor are usually unskilled in the areas needed. I dont know too much about the mine proposal but it seems like the americans are putting up the fight, so how far would it be away from thier border? Really the bottom line is we cant always take everything for its resources, no matter how much money will be made because i know it wont be me making the millions off of the mine or any of the poor or average joe in the area.

[accter]

Frankly I don’t care about the rich (I’m not) or the poor (I’m not that either). What I find disappointing is that either way this goes I’m going to lose access to one of the best wilderness areas Canada has to offer. I have spent many summer days in the Flathead valley and have enjoyed every moment. If the mines come in then they will restrict access to the area which I do not want.

So by now you think I am in the camp to make it a park. Nope. Park areas have very limited access rights to individuals which would greatly reduce my ability to enjoy the area. The current ability to do things in this area would be curtailed and, quite frankly, it is likely many more people would come to the area if it was made a park.

I realize that this is progress in this area but I can’t help feeling that a once great area is going to be lost wether it be to mines or park.

[cs86]

Right. So leave the flathead the way it is. It doesn’t have to be a park to keep the mines out. Everyone thinks that a park is the only option. I too am anti-mines AND anti-park.

[savage]

Well stated. Both options,Parks and mines, are only about minority objectives. The local public want neither.

[fernielocal101]

I was born and raised in Fernie… My family goes back to the beginning of the valley, I grew up hearing stories about underground mining, logging trees the size of the train, making moon shine up the valleys, running from the big fires and how much the hunting has deteriorated.
Well, of course growing up here allowed me the opportunity to take part in nearly every outdoor activity the valley offers, I was in grade 5-6 when the ski hill sold…. We had just come out of a major local depression when the mines shut down in 93’… guys were selling their stuff for what they owed, people packed up U-Hauls and left in the middle of the night with their families in search of work… All of a sudden the ski hill sold, land prices sky rocketed and in came the money…

By the time I graduated houses were worth too much. A local kid had no hope buying a place, nor finding a job other than at the mines. I went to post secondary and found myself working in the Alberta oilpatch…..

Now… here I am, pretty high up in the scale of things, making the kind of money needed to buy a house there… I had to give up my early 20’s to do it… living in camps, working in the cold, wind and toxic conditions.

I’m a father now… raising my son in an Alberta Boom town and it breaks my heart. I can’t wait to move back to the valley, get a job at the mine, come home every day, make way less money but have a quality life with the woman I love and live in the most beautiful place in Canada.
Talk of this drilling in the flathead should be good news for me then right????… I mean, I could walk into a very high paying job there with no problem, especially boasting I’m a long time local… I could have the life I want, buy new and shiny things whenever I want…. Work my way up there… they say there is a good 15 years drilling there if this project goes thru… I bet I could damn near retire off it….

The problem is tho……….. if they drill there, most of the reasons I want to go home will be gone. The idea of drilling the flathead scares me, the roads they will build, the services they will need, the chemicals they use, the WATER they use, the water they contaminate… for short term gain on Coal Bed Methane….Not worth it!!! The industry in inherently environmentally destructive… despite their efforts…

I’d rather save my pennies then buy shiny stuff whenever I want…. I’d rather take my son out like my father took me, deep into the Flathead, fishing hunting and sharing stories over the fire.

I think as long as we still get to hunt, fish, use ATV’s and snowmobiles responsibly… they should protect it…. All we need to do is keep big industry out. I’m an educated slacker redneck with goals, one who believes strongly in long term sustainability…..

I’m not interested in listening to politicians, or green peace…. They’re both ugly and look dumb.

[fernielocal101]

I agree with your point on “canned wildrness”, having to pay 28 bucks a night in some poorly maintained campground guarded by a wannabe cop with a clipboard surrounded by red and white license plates and 80 thousand dollar fifth wheels is long way from my definition of “protected”…. Simply put…. If it aint broke, don’t fix it.

I’m alright with logging, as long as they do it properly and leave good chunks of land alone, corridors riparian zones ect…. It’s the open pit mines and drilling that need to stay out… mclache pass to the border I figure… that big valley back there really is something else. I want to be able to hike up mountains, build a camp, shoot an elk… hang it in the trees…. Eat fresh bulltrout, get a few cords of larch for winter…Wherever I want…. Like we always have done… with none of the BS that goes along with parks… I’d image if I pulled up to Waterton with a old beat down camper, a wall tent , 3 quads, 2 chainsaws a few flats of beer and a cheap bottle of whisky the guys at the gates might look at me funny..

[slacklocal]

this argument that exploration is fine, it hardly ever leads to actual production is crazy. doesn’t make me very comfortable.

and someone mentioned that BP has no intention of drilling in the Flathead… well that is a misconception. Go to http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_interne … 50k_sm.pdf and check out their project maps. They all include the flathead still. And the BC government’s own documents state that BP may be allowed to apply for drilling rights in the flathead in the future.

Why don’t you get over the fact that wildsight supports one thing that you don’t and support them in their other initiatives, their bigger goals. Like actually changing the land use plan to stop mining and oil and gas in the Flathead.

[mikes]

Wildsights bigger goal is collect more money from donators. They produce these anti hunting adds will cute little baby black bears why? To get more donation money from people. They sell fear. Thats what all large environmental groups do. Sell fear. Get donations. It reminds me of the Large Environmental groups protesting the seal hunt. They put a picture of a "white coat" seal pup, with huge puppy dog eyes, on a poster, and ask for donations. When the truth is they havn’t hunted baby white coats for 10-12 years. I would never be a part of anything any large, lying, fear selling environmental group does.

[Author]

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