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Update

The United Nations plans to send a fact-finding mission to Canada to investigate environmental threats to the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park due to proposed coal and energy mining activity in the area.

Representatives of U.S. and Canadian conservation groups opposed to mining activity that could harm the water quality and wildlife of the Flathead River Valley are in Seville, Spain, this week for a meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), petitioning to have Waterton-Glacier declared a “World Heritage Site in Danger.”

By a unanimous vote, the 21-country panel that governs those issues decided Friday to send a mission to the region to “evaluate and provide recommendations on the requirements for ensuring the protection” of Waterton-Glacier, according to Will Hammerquist of the National Parks Conservation Association, who has been attending the conference in Seville this week. The committee requested a report on the potential impacts of proposed natural resource development operations in the Flathead River Valley due Feb. 1 of next year. [more]

There was much evidence last week that the infamous era of “Timber Wars” in northwest Montana seems to have gone out with, not so much a bang, as a whimper. That isn’t to say that disputes over land use, timber, recreation and wilderness won’t continue as long as there is public land. But the interests involved in such disputes seem to be looking toward processes that might get them some of what they want, if not everything, while avoiding some of the deep acrimony that arises from such disagreements.

Take, for example, the “Three Rivers Challenge,” a plan assembled by the Lincoln County Coalition, a diverse group of residents that includes everyone from fishing guides to mill operators, from motorized vehicle lovers to conservationists. The group’s plan to participate in the management of the Kootenai National Forest’s Three Rivers Ranger District was borne out of a collective feeling of exhaustion and frustration that so many land use issues end up being decided in the courts, and too often divide communities in the process.
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While no special interest group, whether left-leaning or right-leaning ever emerges from a Legislature declaring total victory or total defeat, the dismal state of the economy and a number of bills aimed at expediting natural resource development by rolling back certain environmental regulations made for a tough 90 days when it came to conservation issues, says Ryan Busse, the vice chairman of the state board of the Montana Conservation Voters.

“There were some really unveiled, outright, right-at-the-heart attacks on environmental and conservation measures,” Busse said. “Several of these bills presented this kind of false choice of ‘it’s either jobs or it’s environmental protection’.” [more]

The Consequence of Pricy Cigarettes

On April 1, the price of a pack of cigarettes rose 62 cents across the country when a new federal tax kicked in – causing the average price of a pack to hit around $6 in Montana. The result of President Barack Obama’s reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which helps pay the healthcare costs of kids in families whose incomes are too high to receive Medicaid, the new tax is expected to raise tens of billions of dollars in CHIP funding. The decreasing number of smokers due to the higher cost of cigarettes is also aimed at decreasing national healthcare costs.

But while the long-term effects of the cigarette price hike may prove beneficial, the dramatic increase in smokers trying to quit, because they can no longer afford the habit, has put enormous strain on Montana’s tobacco prevention program. And with a statewide smoking ban set to hit bars and casinos in October, the number of smokers trying to quit in Montana seems as if it will only grow.
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Retail Slump

Two major retailers with long-term plans to construct new stores in Kalispell’s north side have recently backed out, due to factors including the deteriorating economy and the city’s deliberation over adopting traffic impact fees.

Kohl’s department store, which was scheduled to begin construction this summer, and PetSmart pet supply store will not be building in Spring Prairie Center, according to its developer Mark Goldberg.

Goldberg said he learned two weeks ago Kohl’s, the anchor retailer for the third phase of his development, wasn’t moving forward. With its departure, other smaller tenants that would only build if there were an anchor store opted out as well. The result is that the entire third phase of the development is essentially shuttered until a new anchor tenant can be located, Goldberg said, and his reaction to the news was succinct: “Disappointment.” [more]

Montana National Guard Sees Record Enlistment

The recession has hit Roger McCrea hard. Around Christmas, the 20-year-old Kalispell man was laid off from his job delivering hot tubs. Since then, he has been working at a fast food restaurant. The new job flipping burgers brings some money into McCrea’s household, but he would like to do better – which is why he hopes to be accepted into the United States Marine Corp.

“I want a change,” McCrea said, after a visit to the local recruiter’s office in Kalispell last week. “It’s a guaranteed job with benefits.”

McCrea has family members in the armed services, so he understands the lifestyle. And the prospect of health coverage for him and his wife, along with a steady paycheck sounds like a good deal, especially in light of the few jobs presently available in the Flathead. [more]

State Party Chair Eyes House Seat

Though it may feel as if Election Day 2008 was just a few weeks ago, for those with their sights set on higher office, the game is just beginning. As he does every year, Dennis McDonald, Montana Democratic Party chairman, has been traveling the state to meet with local central committees. But he has also been gauging support for his plan to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg for his House seat in 2010.

While he hasn’t formally announced his candidacy, McDonald intends to decide by the Democrats’ annual Mansfield-Metcalf Dinner, March 21, and he admits that he is likely to run. Passing through Kalispell last week, McDonald met with the Beacon to explain why he thinks he can beat Rehberg, recently re-elected to serve his fifth term in Congress with 64 percent of the vote.

In the mold of recently victorious Montana Democrats like Gov. Brian Schweitzer and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, McDonald comports himself like the rancher he is, with a weathered face and a wide, off-white cowboy hat. With 800 head of Angus cattle and several hundred registered quarter horses at his Melville ranch, McDonald is quick to turn a colloquialism into a dig at Rehberg. [more]

In the first week of December, U.S. government agencies carried out one of the largest wolf pack removals ever conducted in Northwest Montana. Over the course of three days, USDA Wildlife Services shot and removed 19 wolves from the Hog Heaven Pack in the Brown’s Meadow and Niarada areas, southwest of Kalispell. The wolves had been killing livestock for over a year, with the most recent killing involving a 2-year-old bull.

Montana’s Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, along with Wildlife Services, have been carrying out “control actions” on the Hog Heaven Pack for much of the last two years, killing eight wolves in separate instances after livestock attacks in the area. By the time the last nine wolves were killed on Dec. 5, government agencies had taken out 27 wolves total from the Hog Heaven Pack, which FWP Wildlife Manager Jim Williams believes is the entire pack. [more]

Snow News Isn't Good News

While the ski industry in northwest Montana employs many people, there is only one who decides when the ski season begins and she doesn’t answer to anybody: Mother Nature. And while her schedule may not be totally in sync with the executives at Whitefish Mountain Resort, it’s not too far off either. Resort officials delayed their planned Dec. 6 opening date due to lack of snow, but – as of this writing – planned to open Tuesday of this week, with skiing on the north face of Big Mountain, off of Chair 7.

For local skiers and riders, the delay has been unwelcome, but not exactly unexpected after weeks of mild weather. Kalispell Airport reported its first measurable snowfall – a half-inch – on Dec. 2. That’s the latest measurable snowfall on record for Kalispell since 1953, according to Dan Zumpfe, a meteorologist for the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration’s Missoula office. [more]

Timber Industry

Sun Mountain Lumber of Deer Lodge, Montana, has laid off 23 employees who worked in the finger joint and planer operations.

The layoffs were effective Thursday.

Owner Sherman Anderson says poor market conditions led to the decision.

Mills in Bonner, St. Regis, Columbia Falls and Libby have announced layoffs totaling nearly 180 workers since May. [more]