Waterton – Glacier In Danger is an unprotected Flathead in BC endangering a World Heritage Site?

Media Stories on the UNESCO Decision-

Some news clips from across North America on the UNESCO decision:

In Canada, Kelly Cryderman at the Calgary Herarld has a smart piece on the role science will play in the UNESCO mission. Colleen Kimmett at the BC-based online news source thetyree.ca has a nice piece with quotes from Ryland and Chloe Loughlin at the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.  Larry Pynn of the Vancouver Sun has a short piece here.

In Montana, Dan Testa at the Flathead Beacon got ahold of me on Friday via Skype.  We had a good chat and the Beacon may have been the first media to break the story in either country.  I also chatted with Missoulian city editor Gwen Florio (covering for Michael Jamison who along with Mark Hume at the Globe & Mail is one the reporters of record on this issue).  Gwen’s story is here.

The Associated and Canadian Press both ran a very similar story across the wire in both the United States and Canada.  It is concise piece that provides an accurate summary the UN action.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – 1 day ago

HELENA, Mont. — UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has voted to send representatives to Canada to investigate threats to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park posed by energy and mining proposals in southeastern British Columbia.

The 21-member committee, meeting in Seville, Spain, unanimously adopted a resolution Friday expressing concern about potential coal and coal-bed methane extraction the headwaters of the Flathead and asking the governments of the United States and Canada to work together to prepare a report on the development threats by Feb. 1, 2010.

“This is an important step forward,” said Will Hammerquist of the National Parks Conservation Association, who attended the meeting. “Today the United Nations recognized that both Canada and the United States have a global responsibility to protect Waterton-Glacier, the world’s first international peace park.”

The committee’s decision was in response to a petition written by Earthjustice on behalf of 11 environmental groups in the U.S. and Canada, asking that the peace park be declared a World Heritage site in Danger.

The UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization declared Waterton-Glacier a World Heritage site in 1995, a designation bestowed on 878 places worldwide that recognizes extraordinary cultural or natural resources. An endangered designation can heighten sensitivity about a locale and raise its profile. About 30 sites have been so recognized.

An unsuccessful petition for endangered status a few years ago presented concern about climate change and its effects on the parks, which feature stunning alpine scenery and extraordinary wildlife habitat. The new petition is tied to potential coal and coal-bed methane extraction.

The NPCA and Wildsight, one of the 11 petitioning groups, say water pollution in Waterton-Glacier is among the risks from potential coal mining and coal-bed methane work in southeastern British Columbia. The Flathead River system spans the international border and the North Fork of the Flathead forms Glacier’s western boundary.

“There are world class national parks on both sides of the border that would be polluted by industrial development in the Canadian Flathead,” said Jessica Lawrence of Earthjustice.

Officials in the provincial government have said no projects will be permitted without meeting rigorous environmental requirements.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.