Bill could open up Park to Homeland Security projects

Glacier National Park's border with Canada is marked by broad prairies and majestic mountains. A bill in Congress co-sponsored by Rep. Dennis Rehberg could conceivably allow the Department of Homeland Security to put roads and other access venues in areas currently managed as wilderness.

The proposed "National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act" would give Homeland Security broad powers over land that borders foreign countries.

According to the bill, "The Secretary of Homeland Security shall have immediate access to any public land managed by the federal government (including land managed by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture) for purposes of conducting activities that assist in securing the border (including access to maintain and construct roads, construct a fence, use vehicles to patrol, and set up monitoring equipment)."

The bill also would allow Homeland Security to waive a host of environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and the National Park Service Organic Act. In addition to Glacier Park, the bill could impact the Flathead and Kootenai national forests and Blackfeet tribal lands.

Supporters like Rehberg claim the bill will not only increase border security but also stem illegal immigration.

"The U.S. - Canadian border is the longest land border in the world, and the Montana portion of the border is longer than every other state except Alaska," Rehberg said in a statement to the Hungry Horse News. "Montanans understand the importance of securing that border. It's not just about preventing terrorists from entering this country, although that's a big part of it. It's also about stemming the flow of illegal immigrants who cost Montana our fair share of federal representation and resources.

"And it's about addressing the illegal importation of drugs and the abuse of our public lands by criminals and drug cartels. This bill provides the Border Patrol access to do the job Congress has mandated, which is to gain operational control over the border. Since 1952, the Border Patrol has the authority to access private lands to accomplish this, yet on federal land, a land manager can literally lock them out at the gates.

"That's nonsensical and dangerous. At the end of the day, I never want to have to tell a Montana family that their loved one was killed by someone on drugs that got into our state because some federal bureaucrats couldn't work together to control the border."

The bill is opposed by Sen. Jon Tester and the National Parks Conservation Association.

"This is a whole lot worse than just granting agents access to certain federal lands," Tester said in a statement to the Hungry Horse News. "It gives one federal department the ability to run roughshod over the rights of law-abiding Americans and seize vast swaths of land we all own and use - like Glacier National Park - with no public accountability. This nation is very capable of fighting terrorism without turning into a government police state. But that's exactly what this unpopular plan would do."

Will Hammerquist, National Parks Conservation Association's Glacier Park field representative, said the group strongly opposes the bill. Hammerquist said he recently traveled through the Goat Haunt area in the Park and found it well run, with Park Service and Homeland Security personnel present. He also saw Homeland Security patrol helicopters flying the border between Canada and Glacier Park.

"This law is a solution in search of a problem," he said.

Rehberg claims terrorists and criminals use remote areas to their advantage.

"Remember the Arizona fugitives who hid out in Montana's backcountry?" he asked. "Or David Burgert who shot at police and then disappeared into the woods? Or the nearly $8 million of marijuana recently found growing in the Lolo National Forest. Criminal cartels don't respect the Wilderness Act, therefore our Border Patrol is placed at a significant disadvantage."

None of those incidents, however, actually occurred along the border.