North Fork bill is back in Congress
Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester
reintroduced legislation Jan. 31 to prevent new oil and gas
development and mining in the North Fork watershed and portions of
the Haskill Basin.
The North Fork Watershed Protection Act
of 2011 calls for placing a moratorium on future federal land
leases on 382,000 acres in the North Fork and Middle Fork drainages
of the Flathead River, which border Glacier National Park and drain
into Flathead Lake.
S. 3075 passed committee review last
year and reached the Senate floor, but it didn’t go to a final
vote. The bill will not impede timber production, hunting or
fishing and has the support of a broad coalition of Montana
businesses, local officials and conservation groups.
The bill also calls for protecting land
on the west side of the Whitefish Range that forms the watershed of
the city of Whitefish’s drinking water reservoir.
“This protection has been a long time
coming, and we greatly appreciate our senators’ efforts and
perseverance,” Whitefish mayor Mike Jenson said.
The Congressional Budget Office
estimates S. 3075 will have no effect on the federal budget because
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Bureau of Land
Management in 1985 to suspend mineral leases on the affected
lands.
The 115 North Fork oil and gas leases
were issued between 1982 and 1985. Based on information from BLM
and the Forest Service, CBO expects the court’s decision will
remain in effect for another 10 years.
Faye Krueger, the Forest Service’s
acting associate deputy chief, told a Congressional subcommittee
last April that the Forest Service supports the bill.
She pointed out, however, that the bill
doesn’t affect the Forest Service’s right to remove surface
materials needed to maintain local roads.
Noting that the S. 3075 does not affect
valid, existing rights of current leaseholders in the North Fork
area, BLM deputy director Marcilynn Burke told a Congressional
subcommittee that the BLM is committed to protecting the
“ecological integrity” of Glacier Park and supports the bill.
Meanwhile, there is the question of how
to retire mineral leases in the North Fork drainage north of the
Canada border. British Columbia’s government has asked that private
corporations be paid about $17 million for retiring those Canadian
Flathead leases.
Last year, a minor furor arose over how
Sens. Baucus and Tester intended to secure the needed funds. The
solution could be private money.
“Retiring the leases in the North Fork
is moving along better than I thought it would,” Tester said.
“Corporations and citizens are stepping up.”