High-Profile British Columbians Join Locals for Launch of "Friends of the Flathead”

Local adventure photographer Pat Morrow and Fernie Councilors Randal Macnair and Aaron Goos are joining hundreds of kootenay residents and over a thousand people from across British Columbia including the mayors of Vancouver and Victoria and former federal Environment Minister David Anderson in the growing campaign to protect B.C.’s Flathead River Valley. These high-profile British Columbians are joining citizens from across B.C. in kicking off the new on-line group “Friends of the Flathead” (www.friendsoftheflathead.ca), which will show the B.C. government that people across the province are demanding permanent protection for the globally-significant Flathead River Valley in southeast B.C. “More than 1,500 British Columbians have already become Friends of the Flathead, and we expect that number to soar following today’s website launch,” said Casey Brennan, Wildsight’s Southern Rockies program manager. “The Flathead River Valley is compared with Africa’s Serengeti for its richness of species, and Earth Day is a fitting occasion to demonstrate to the government that British Columbians want permanent protection for this special place — and not strip mining or other energy development.” Protecting the Flathead River Valley is a test case for whether climate change is being taken seriously in British Columbia,” said David Anderson. “Coal developments have major greenhouse gas emission consequences—in fact, they are likely the clearest example of how global scale greenhouse gas emissions increase. When you combine that climate change impact with the loss of biodiversity, water quality and other environmental values at risk from coal developments in the Flathead River Valley, you have a near classic lose-lose development proposal for British Columbia. It is time for British Columbians to give a straightforward “no” to this bad idea.” Wildsight, Sierra Club BC and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society are calling for the lower one-third of the Flathead River Valley to be protected as a National Park, and for a Wildlife Management Area to be established in the rest of the valley and adjoining habitat. The first step towards permanent protection is for the BC government to declare an immediate no-staking reserve in the Flathead, which is long-recognized as the missing piece of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park—a World Heritage Site and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. “It is incredible to see so many people coming together to stand up for protection of the Flathead and for a true balance with nature in our region,” said Fernie City Councilor Randal Macnair.”British Columbians have a precious opportunity to become part of one of the greatest stories of peace and protection in the world.” “The Flathead is one of the few ecologically intact ecosystems remaining on the continent. To consider industrialization of this area, whether it be mining or experimental drilling for coalbed methane, is a clear indication that the value of wildlife and natural spaces is being ignored” said Aaron Goos, a new City of Fernie Councilor. “It is encouraging to see so many concerned citizens and groups such as Friends of the Flathead who are working to protect the Flathead.”