World Heritage Sites Under Threat

MONTANA, Nov 21 (Neo Natura) - The following is an article released by the AFP on November 19th. It highlights the continuing fight Montana has been taking against Canada to stop industrial development on the national border.

VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) — Two ambitious energy exploration projects in western Canada are raising fears among US environmentalists of irreversible ecological damage to a pristine expanse of the famed Rocky Mountains.

The rugged northwestern US state of Montana is hoping to convince the Canadian province of British Columbia to abandon proposals to explore for coal and natural gas in the Flathead valley -- an expansive, mountainous region shared by Canada and its southern neighbor the United States.

On the American side of the valley lies the famous Glacier National Park, while the Canadian section forms the Waterton Lakes National Park.

Together, they comprise the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which is listed by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as one of its world heritage site.

Both the Canadian and US parks also have been declared by UNESCO to be Biosphere Reserves. World heritage sites are said to have outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of all humankind.

Critics also say the mining project runs the risk of spoiling the pristine waters and fragile ecosystem of parks on both the Canadian and US sides of the Rocky Mountains, which have come to symbolize peace and friendship between the two countries.

Chief among environmentalists' concerns are the impact on the area's abundant wildlife, including lynx, wolves and especially grizzly bears, whose mating habits could be adversely impacted by the noisy and intrusive mining equipment.

Scientists worry about the release of nitrate, selenium and harmful sediments which have proven harmful to the reproduction of some fish species in the United States.

Canadian authorities have assured officials in Montana that exhaustive efforts will be taken to ensure that the ecological wonderland on their shared border remains unspoiled.

"We've been assured that the environmental processes are equal to ours. But let's be frank, we are not convinced," said Hal Harper, chief policy adviser to the governor of Montana.

Both energy exploration projects are in the initial application stage, as officials seek construction permits. The outdoor mining project is being led by Cline Mining Corporation, while the methane gas project is being led by oil giant British Petroleum (BP).

BP, for one, insists however that US environmental interests have nothing to fear.

"We will not be putting sediments into the streams," said Christopher Revington, vice-president of coal-bed methane at BP Canada, who said new technology allowed his company to extract the gas while minimizing the environmental impact of the planned 1,500 wells.

Environmentalists, however, are not convinced.

They are fearful that a forest of new gas ducts and an expansive network of roads to allow the transport of more coal, equipment and workers will wreak potentially dire ecological consequences.

Already in 1988, an international commission charged with resolving such cross borders disputes concluded that British Columbia should abandon a mining project on the Canadian-US border deemed too polluting.

But those in favor of the energy exploitation projects point out that there are already some 250 kilometer of roads in the valley.

John van Dongen, British Columbia's Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations told AFP in a written statement that the concerns are overblown, and that the plans for the new development are in keeping with what has occurred in the past.

"Historically, this region has been an area of economic activity, particularly forestry," he said.