In wake of oil spill, a push to fund land and water conservation

A Silver Lining in the BP Gulf Disaster?

By Dan Testa, 7-28-10



	Caption: The renovation of the Lone Pine Visitors Center is one of the most recent projects in the Flathead Valley to receive money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

A loosely organized but unified campaign is underway to garner support for a little known federal funding mechanism with the potential to bolster money for recreation, public land acquisition and wildlife habitat restoration in Montana by millions of dollars. And in the wake of the BP oil spill, the program, known as the Land and Water Conservation Fund, stands its best chance in decades of seeing full funding after Sen. Max Baucus inserted such a provision last week into an energy bill increasing federal oversight of offshore drilling.

“All along the way it has been kind of in the background and no one’s really known about it,” said Walt Timmerman, who administers the Land and Water Conservation Fund as the recreation bureau chief for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “People are just now becoming aware of the fact that they need to get behind the program.”

Established in 1965, the LWCF takes money from fees paid by companies drilling offshore for oil and gas, mostly on the outer continental shelf, and allocates it to recreational areas in the form of parks, forest and wildlife areas. The idea behind the program, as first conceived by President Dwight Eisenhower and eventually signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, was that a portion of funds generated by the extraction of one natural resource would be used to help preserve another.

In the Flathead, projects that have received funding through the LWCF stretch back decades, from the Columbia Falls swimming pool, which received $45,000 in the 1960s, to the Lone Pine State Park visitor center west of Kalispell, which received $496,000 in 2005.

“It has touched everyone at one point,” Madeline Pope, director of national outreach for the Trust for Public Land in Bozeman, said. “It can also help build a new bathroom, build a soccer field; it’s everything from state parks down to local parks.”

The fund is divided between federal dollars that go toward agencies for public land purchases, preservation or easements, and state assistance grants, where municipal governments apply for matching dollars on local projects. According to a 2006 analysis, the LWCF has distributed $14.6 billion since its inception, the majority going toward federal land purchases and nearly $4 billion appropriated through state grants. Since the 1960s, Montana has received more than 770 LWCF grants totaling $37.4 million.

But though the authorized spending level of the fund is $900 million annually, its allocation from Congress has traditionally been sporadic. For example, in fiscal year 2008, the U.S. government collected $18 billion from offshore energy production, but allocated only $155 million toward the LWCF, according to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition.

Timmerman, who oversees the LWCF state assistance grants, said Montana receives $250,000, on average, through the program, ranging as high in recent years as $1.28 million in 2002 to zero dollars from 1996 to 1999. Were the LWCF to consistently receive full funding, he believes the benefit to the state would be substantial.

“We’d be talking probably about $3 or $4 million a year, which would be spectacular for the state of Montana,” Timmerman said.

In recent weeks, the Missoulian published an op-ed in support of the LWCF, along with The New York Times. On July 15, a Billings cycling group rode to the offices of Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester to present them with “Golden Wheel” awards to raise awareness for the LWCF.

The timing is no coincidence. Last year Baucus, along with Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., introduced legislation to permanently provide $900 million annually to the LWCF in a dedicated account protected from the appropriations process. In July, the House Natural Resources Committee passed a complementary bill sponsored by its chairman, Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.V., that would do the same.

“So all of a sudden you have legislation on both sides,” Pope said. “Between that and renewed interest from the (Obama) administration, there starts to be a momentum built around the need for this.”

The impetus to increase the LWCF stems from the catastrophic BP oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico, which, as of this writing has been tentatively capped, though the spill remains. Advocates for LWCF say the way the gulf spill has reminded Americans of the environmental costs of fossil fuel development could raise awareness and spur popular support for land and water conservation programs. Earlier this month, Land Tawney, the National Wildlife Federation’s senior manager for sportsman leadership, traveled to Washington to lobby Tester and Baucus on behalf of the LWCF.

“I really think that the nation’s eyes are on this right now, there’s some opportunity we need to capitalize on,” said. “We have a tragedy down there – it’s time to really fully fund this and use this program the way it was intended back in the 1960s.”

“You can’t really go to a fishing access site in Montana that doesn’t have a piece of this,” he added.

Democrats in Congress are pushing legislation that would crack down on the oil industry in the wake of the spill, forcing higher royalty payments, enacting more stringent environmental requirements and possibly removing the cap on liability payments should another accident occur. In addition to Rahall’s, three other House committees are considering spill-related measures, which could eventually be combined into one so-called “spill bill.”

In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid announced last week he was abandoning plans for a so-called “comprehensive” energy bill that would have included a controversial cap on greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, Democrats will push a more scaled-down measure aimed at responding to the oil spill and tightening energy efficiency standards – legislation that stands a better chance of passing in the heated political environment of impending midterm elections.

The day after Reid’s announcement, Baucus said he had successfully included his provision fully funding the LWCF in what is now known as the “Energy Bill.”

“My provision is vitally important to the future of Montana’s outdoor heritage and I’m very pleased to hear it will be included in the Energy Bill,” Baucus said in a statement. “I’ll fight like the dickens to make sure this is passed into law.”

Timmerman has watched the LWCF nearly die several times in recent years – including an episode in 2003 when he credits former Sen. Conrad Burns with almost singlehandedly saving the program when the Bush Administration looked to cancel it – so he’s naturally skeptical about the prospect of fully funding it. But he conceded this time might be different.

“There’s no question that if it were to come back in full force and we were to get several million a year, it would be a big help,” Timmerman said. “So maybe something will happen this time.” [End of article]

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Visitation and spending up after dismal 2009

Montana Tourism Rebounds From Slump

By Myers Reece, 7-28-10



	Caption: File photo by Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

In 2007, a report indicated that tourism was worth more than $4 billion to the Montana economy. Out-of-state travelers were flocking to the Treasure State and happily spending money when they got here.

But in 2008, rising fuel prices and early symptoms of the national recession kept more people home. And the travelers who did come were tighter with their money. By the time 2009 arrived, tourists were downright stingy.

The Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) at the University of Montana measured the total economic impact of tourism in the peak year of 2007 at $4.3 billion. In 2008, it dropped to $2.8 billion. The figure fell to $2.3 billion in 2009.

The discrepancy between 2007 and 2008 is a combination of significantly fewer visitors and less spending on behalf of the visitors. But visitation can’t take the blame for the half-billion-dollar decline from 2008 and 2009.

“In 2009, visitation didn’t drop that much,” said Kara Grau, a research associate with ITRR. “They were just spending less.”

Now in the heart of the 2010 summer tourism season, it appears travelers are again willing to spend money in Montana, according to state tourism officials. Not to mention, there are simply more tourists than last year.

Glacier National Park’s June visitation was 337,120, the highest June total since 2003. And its year-to-date visitation is nearly 4 percent higher than last year. Glacier is celebrating its 100-year anniversary and events are scheduled throughout the summer. Also, Yellowstone National Park broke its all-time June record with nearly 700,000 visitors.

Alicia Thompson, director of marketing and business relations for Glacier Park, Inc., said retail sales are up at the park’s shops, and lodging reservations “are going along at a nice pace this year.” She said she is “thrilled” by the number of visitors in and around the park.

“The remainder of our 2010 season looks strong for lodging reservations and discretionary income spending on activities,” she added.

In addition to Glacier’s centennial events, Northwest Montana has hosted a variety of other large gatherings, including the annual conference of the Western Governors’ Association in Whitefish.

Jan Metzmaker, executive director of the Whitefish Convention and Visitor Bureau, said the city’s Fourth of July celebration saw a huge crowd, while the weekly farmers’ markets have been packed. Echoing others in the tourism industry, Metzmaker said discretionary spending is up as well.

“I don’t know if it’s because of the park centennial or if they just want to go on a vacation after not going anywhere last year,” Metzmaker said. “They’re tired of staying home and not doing anything.”

Tourism officials look to UM’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research for insight into market trends, and now they will have more frequently updated information at their fingertips.

Grau said the institute has traditionally sent researchers into the field every five years, for a full year, to learn detailed information about Montana’s tourists and their habits. But beginning last July, the institute now has researchers in the field year round, every year.

The seven researchers work two or three days a week, rain or shine, Grau said. They are spread out across the state, focusing on gas stations, rest areas and airports.

“If (visitors) are driving in the state, there’s a good chance we’ll catch them at rest areas and gas stations,” Grau said. “If they’re flying, we’ll get them at the airports.”

Field researchers conduct onsite surveys with visitors and then give them another detailed survey to fill out at home and mail it back to the institute. From these surveys, researchers are able to identify spending patterns and other useful information.

Now that surveyors are constantly in the field, the ITRR plans to release quarterly reports, Grau said.

“When things do start to change a little bit, we’ll be able to catch it a little more quickly,” Grau said.

Last year, the ITRR reported that nonresident travelers directly spent $1.54 billion in Montana, compared to $1.84 billion in 2008 and nearly $3 billion in 2007. Travelers annually spend the most money on gas, followed by restaurants and bars, retail and then lodging. Researchers at ITRR also measure indirect contributions from tourists to formulate a total economic impact figure.

Grau hopes this year’s positive signs translate into a long-term trend for the state’s tourism industry.

“Things are starting to look up,” Grau said. “Hopefully we’ll start to see that upward trend again.” [End of article]

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Monument Designation

New Monument Might Be a Great Idea

By Bill Schneider, 7-28-10

Back in February somebody leaked seven pages of an Interior Department "vision document" and started a political uproar. Top brass in the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service and a few green groups were caught chatting about creating 14 new national monuments. Worse, it seems, they planned to use the same end-run strategy employed by former President Bill Clinton when – only three days before handing the keys to the White House to George W. Bush – he used the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate the 377,000-acre Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument in north central Montana and 12 more monuments in other states.

Now, President Barack Obama might do the same thing. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar claims it's just "false rumors," but recent reports verified that Interior Department higher-ups were indeed discussing the monument idea. Salazar should have been proud to admit it.

Now, all those people who didn't vote for Obama have their shorts jerked up tight. They consider it an abuse of presidential power and insist Congress must approve any new monument.

For starters, let's be honest about motivations. Republicans want congressional approval because they know it won't happen, and since the Obama administration proposed it, they have to oppose it. Democrats might look neutral, publicly, but in the end, they'll let it happen because it comes from their president. Conservationists and scientists support using the Antiquities Act because they know it's the only way.

I say, keep our guns in their holsters until we consider the real ramifications a new Montana Plains National Monument.

Secondly, I'm betting the politics resemble that of 1910 when Congress went against the local business community by designating Glacier National Park – and we all know how that turned out for the local economy.

And finally, we might as well go right to the pivotal issue, federal land grazing allotments leased by local ranchers. Ranchers fear, as they should, that a monument designation would be the beginning of the end of their public land grazing privileges.

Proponents shouldn’t pretend grazing privileges won't be affected, because they should be affected. Grazing allotments within the new monument should be phased out, retired or purchased, as they should, incidentally, on the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument.

I realize that I'm risking giving a few local ranchers heart attacks, but stockgrowers have had their way with most of our public lands for the past century, and the time is long overdue for a few places where natural systems emerge as the management priority. Besides that, increased economic benefits from tourism and new government jobs should more than compensate the local economy for any loss from reduced public land grazing.

While up in Canada fishing this June, our guide had grown up on a farm adjacent to Canada's new Grasslands National Park just over the border in Saskatchewan, contiguous to the "non-proposed" monument in Montana. We asked him how that went down, and he said lots of locals opposed the park, but then new jobs and money started flowing into the struggling rural community, and only one year later, locals can already see the positive benefits.

The same will happen in Montana. This could be a rare opportunity for economic growth so hard to come by in declining rural environments. Give the monument idea some serious consideration instead of automatically opposing it because the evil federal government lurks behind the scenes.

As far as the environmental impact, well, that's a given. A Grasslands National Monument south of the border to link, physically and ecologically, with its Canadian counterpart is a long-held pipe dream of scientists and conservationists – the protection of a sizeable section of prairie to be returned to something close to its natural condition.

But how can we get it done? Nowadays, politicians from both parties worship "local consensus." This means all stakeholders agree on a plan so their political representatives can carry it without controversy. In this case, though, there's little chance of consensus. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and predict local ranchers will never agree to a new monument.

That leaves the Antiquities Act as the only realistic option. If our senators and representatives don't like it, well, tough cookies. Congress has become so politically divisive and convoluted that it's next to impossible to do anything controversial.

Politically, the president can't lose. Six of the 14 proposed monuments are in key swing or "purple" western states where Obama needs a few more points in 2012. Six of the 14 proposed monuments are in key swing or "purple" western states where Obama needs a couple of more points in 2012 – Arizona (Northern Sonoran Desert), Colorado (Vermillion Basin), Montana ("referred to as "Montana Plains"), New Mexico (Lesser Prairie Chicken Preserve and Otero Mesa), and Nevada (Heart of the Great Basin). Six are in fairly secure blue states – California (Bodie Hills, Modoc Plateau and Berrysessa-Snow Mountain), Oregon (Cascades Siskiyou and Owyhee Canyonlands), and Washington (San Juan Islands). The remaining two are in the internally red Utah (Cedar Mesa and San Rafael Swell) that will never turn blue regardless of what Obama does, so there's nothing to lose.

And let's not forget that Obama has done pathetically little to pay back the millions of environmentalists who voted for him to get relief from the Bush administration's endless attack on environmental laws and regulations. If Obama comes through for us on the monuments, perhaps disenfranchised Democratic and independent voters might vote for him again in 2012. Most people who oppose the new monuments voted against Obama in 2008 and will do it again whether he uses the powers granted the President under the Antiquities Act. [End of article]

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Far from the coast, Montana harbors sailing community

Setting Sail Under the Big Sky

By Myers Reece, 7-27-10

Click the image or use the arrows to see more photos from a Tuesday night race.

From Mexico to Seattle, when Pete Sauer raises a sail, he raises eyebrows. People see his company logo and the words seem out of place: “Sail Montana.” Isn’t that like “Deep Sea Dive Kansas?”

Montana is known for big sky, not big water, yet in pockets of its vast landscape it harbors active sailing communities. Roaming these communities are sailors, both hardcore and casual, who have found enough water among the mountains to let their sails fly.

Northwest Montana is especially crowded with sailors. Sauer’s one of them. As a competitive sailboat racer, he travels the world and has even lived in a sailboat in Mexico. But he always comes home to Flathead Lake.

“We go compete on a national level or in Mexico and people start to laugh,” Sauer said. “People ask you all the time, ‘What are you going to do with that boat in Montana?’ They don’t realize we have Flathead Lake here and it’s actually quite famous for sailing.”

Sauer is a member of the North Flathead Yacht Club and the owner of Sail Montana, which is officially based out of Kalispell but is really anywhere you can find him: “It’s me, my truck and a cell phone.”

Raised on the shores of Flathead Lake, Sauer has been a child of the water since birth, sharing a unique mountain lake upbringing with other Northwest Montana natives. In a state known for blue-ribbon trout streams out west, and meandering rivers that pour into the vast plains out east, large lakes are rare. But where there are sizeable lakes, there are likely sailors.

“Pretty much any body of water with enough depth and enough public access for a sailboat,” Sauer said.

Among Montana’s sailors is a population of competitive racers like Sauer, and many of them can be found each year at the Montana Sailing Championships, battling for statewide bragging rights. The 2010 event is scheduled for July 30-Aug. 1 on Flathead Lake, hosted by the North Flathead Yacht Club.

The roots of the Montana Sailing Championships trace back to the 1970s, Sauer said. A yacht club out of Canyon Ferry Lake challenged other clubs around the state to a sailboat race. Sauer said the North Flathead Yacht Club won, earning a silver cup.

The silver cup has since bounced around between several clubs. The championship is generally hosted by the North Flathead Yacht Club, Sauer said, because of its location on Flathead Lake and because the yacht club owns its own facility. Other Montana clubs use marinas, and asking marina owners to host such a large event is a tall order.

“We can easily overrun a place when you get 30 to 40 boats with three to 10 people per boat,” Sauer said. “There’s going to be a couple hundred people floating around.”

Clubs from Dayton, on Flathead Lake, and Canyon Ferry Lake participate in the annual championship, along with teams from Canada and Idaho. Sauer said the Glenmore Sailing Club from Calgary will bring a few boats this year, as will a team from Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille. The Dayton club, called the South Flathead Sailing Association, is made up largely of Missoula residents, Sauer said.

Over the years, sailing has gained in popularity on Flathead Lake and throughout Montana, but Sauer said sailboat racing is staying steady. It’s one thing to buy a boat and take it out for leisurely cruises, but it’s quite another to assemble a crew hell-bent on rising at dawn to unleash their competitive spirit.

“It’s hard to get into the sport, especially if you weren’t born into it,” Sauer said. “You don’t just pick it up one day. It’s not like golf – you pick up a club and there’s golf courses everywhere.”

And sailing is expensive, for even the casual sailor and more so for the competitive racer: buying the boat, maintaining it, paying for a place to keep it and, for some, transporting it.

Montana’s sailboat racing population consists of both longtime residents like Sauer who arrive at it “organically” and those who arrive at it from out of state. The out-of-staters often come from sea coastal cities or the Great Lakes region, bringing a love of sailing to their favorite Montana lakes.

The homegrown racers typically begin sailing as a non-competitive activity, become more infatuated, and then join a skipper’s crew. Some of them eventually become skippers, manning their owns boats and crews during races.

But, as of late, Montana’s sailboat racers are increasingly coming from out of state, Sauer said. They might have a second home here and money in the bank during an economic downturn when many other folks aren’t willing to spend what little cash they have on a sailboat.

“That’s where the growth is coming from,” Sauer said. “We’re not getting much organic growth.”

For Montana sailors, transitioning to the ocean, with its sea winds and currents, can be tricky. But Sauer does it on a regular basis, through racing and business.

In March, racing in the J/24 class and partially funded by the Mexican transportation department, Sauer took a crew to the Copa de Mexico and placed 14th out of 54 teams from around the world. Sauer’s team also placed ninth out of 35 teams at a North American championships earlier this year in Seattle.

Also, a component of Sauer’s sailing business is Big Sky Yacht Delivery. People sail across the ocean and then discover they don’t like sailing as much as they previously thought, or they run out of time or they simply don’t feel like making the trek back. So they pay somebody to retrieve their boat, somebody like Sauer.

Sauer has taken boats from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to California and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., up to Georgia.

“There’s a small contingent of (yacht delivery) captains right here in Kalispell,” Sauer said. “It’s really interesting because people don’t think of Montana as being a center for anything like that.”

Ginjer Yachechak, a member of Sauer’s crew, left for Hawaii on July 23 to retrieve a sailboat to take back to California. Her crew planned to spend a week in Hawaii and then two weeks sailing back to California. She met the crew while working at sail-making shop in Mexico. Yachechak sews sails in a small town in Mexico in the winter and works at Sportsman and Ski Haus the rest of the year.

“I’m very excited,” Yachechak said shortly before she departed for Hawaii. “I’ve never done any open water like this.”

And that, Sauer said, is precisely what drives sailors – the thrill of new experiences. Even for the most veteran crews, each outing on the water can seem fresh, with oscillating winds and lively water altering the landscape.

Unlike a basketball court or a golf green, the playing field in sailboat racing is always shifting. It’s what keeps Sauer returning to Flathead Lake, and to distant oceans.

“That’s one of the greatest things about sailing and sailboat racing, it’s what makes it so exciting,” Sauer said. “I need change in my life all the time. In other sports, at least there are constants. That’s why people want to do it. It’s completely new every time.”

For more information on the Montana Sailing Championships, go to www.nfyc.org. [End of article]

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Commission agrees to transfer $118,000 to Kalispell for city’s portion of trail

County Awards Bibler Trail Project to Apex Contracting

By Molly Priddy, 7-27-10



	Caption: Courtesy Flathead County Planning and Zoning

The Sam Bibler Commemorative Trail took a significant step forward on Monday after Flathead County awarded the project to Apex Contracting Inc. and signed an agreement to help the City of Kalispell fund its portion of the trail.

Apex Contracting, a local firm, bid $447,814 for both of the county’s sections of the trail, the lowest out of the six companies to turn in offers. The trail is designed to follow Willow Glen Drive from FFA Drive to Woodland Avenue.

The first section of the project runs from FFA Drive north to Woodland Avenue, and the second section navigates roughly 700 linear feet of the hill and would tie into Kalispell’s Woodland Connector Trail.

The county’s decision on Apex Contracting comes with a backing from the Montana Department of Transportation and the county’s consulting engineers from Robert Peccia and Associates.

There was discussion about the contracting firm’s lack of experience with projects funded by Community Transportation Enhancement Program (CTEP) money, and the commissioners decided to increase the consulting engineer’s oversight from three hours a day to eight hours a day to ensure all appropriate protocols are followed.

The increase comes at an additional cost of roughly $13,000, but the commission noted Apex Contracting’s bid is still nearly $30,000 lower than the next bid even with the extra cost.

CTEP funds are distributed by the state to develop non-motorized transportation access for the public. The money comes from federal highway tax dollars and requires a local match. In this case, the local group behind the Bibler Trail project is responsible for the match.

The commissioners also agreed to transfer $118,000 of its share of CTEP funds to the City of Kalispell to help the city complete its share of the Woodland Connector Trail.

Kalispell City Manager Jane Howington requested the money in April. She wrote it would take the city two years to raise $118,000 in CTEP funds, which could delay the project.

As part of a memorandum of understanding between the city and county, Kalispell will pay the county back by applying $118,000 in its CTEP funds toward the segment of a proposed shared trail network along Conrad Drive, from Woodland Park to Willow Glen Drive, within five years.

“I think this is a great opportunity for the city and county to work together,” Commissioner Dale Lauman said.

According to county planner Alex Hogle, construction on the trail could begin within the next few weeks.

The Bibler Trail project was proposed to commemorate longtime Kalispell resident and benefactor Louis A. “Sam” Bibler. [End of article]

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Owners hope to stimulate rafting industry for whole region

A New Era at Great Northern Resort

By Myers Reece, 7-26-10



	Caption: Victoria Lee, left, and Nicolas Lee are recent new owners, along with Carl Motes-Conners, of the Great Northern Resort in West Glacier. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

WEST GLACIER – Nicolas Lee spent years in the corporate world, establishing a foothold in Hong Kong’s import trading market and building up his resume at Christie’s auction house in New York.

But none of that could properly prepare him for the challenge of operating a rafting business in Northwest Montana. A peak season that lasts eight weeks at most and unpredictable weather are just two of the puzzles Lee must figure out as one of Great Northern Resort’s three new owners.

And out of Glacier National Park’s 2 million annual visitors, only between 1 and 2 percent go rafting. There are four rafting companies in West Glacier alone dipping into that limited tourist demographic.

So Lee and other raft company operators have reached a conclusion – they need to get more people on rafts and they need to work together to do it.

“If we can get that 2 percent up to 3 percent or more, it’s not unreachable and it would help this whole industry immensely, ”Lee said.

Darwon Stoneman, co-founder of Glacier Raft Company, said such cooperation requires a less conventional business approach, one in which the philosophy is to pool resources and “not take each other’s business.” He said his close relationship with the new owners of the Great Northern Resort is a good start.

“For years, I’ve wanted all of the rafting companies to work together to promote rafting rather than fighting over pieces of the pie,” Stoneman said. “I want to create a bigger pie. We can advertise together and promote whitewater rafting and it would be to all of our advantages.”

Lee owns the Great Northern Resort with his wife Victoria and Carl Motes-Conners. They officially took over on April 1. The previous owner was Reno Baldwin, a whitewater pioneer who opened Great Northern Resort in the late 1970s, around the same time the Glacier Raft Company started up.

Sally Thompson, one of Glacier Raft Company’s three owners along with Stoneman and Onno Wieringa, said her business is “the oldest continuing raft company in Montana, and probably one of the oldest in the West.” The business operates the Glacier Outdoor Center.

Before buying Great Northern Resort, the Lees and Motes-Conners worked at Glacier Raft Company. During their time there, they established friendly relationships with the owners and staff. When they moved down the street to run their own business, they kept those relationships alive.

The owners of both raft companies communicate regularly about marketing strategies and industry trends. Lee said he also keeps in touch with the owners of Montana Raft Company and Wild River Adventures.

The four West Glacier rafting businesses teamed up for June’s Middle Fork Marathon, an event that raised more than $7,000 for Columbia Falls’ Historic Red Bridge restoration project. First Best Place Task Force was also involved with the fundraiser.

Part of the Stoneman’s marketing vision is working with groups such as First Best Place Task Force. He is also active in a newly formed entity called “Gateway to Glacier – the Canyon,” which is focused on stimulating the area’s economy during the shoulder seasons.

Thompson, of Glacier Raft Company, said it’s important to create memorable outdoor experiences for visitors, whether it’s through her own company or one across town, to keep them coming back.

“It’s a combination on everybody’s part – assuring that everybody who goes on the trip has a good time and tells other people about it,” Thompson said. “That’s the best kind of advertising.”

Thompson calls West Glacier the “whitewater capital of Montana.” But while the area is best known for whitewater rafting adventures down the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, the companies also offer more leisurely scenic floats and guided fly-fishing trips.

Glacier Raft Company, with 86 employees and 38 full-time guides, is the biggest of the four companies. It also offers year-round activities, including 10 kilometers of cross-country skiing trails and snowshoeing in the winter. The Lees and Motes-Conners plan to keep Great Northern Resort open all year, and they acknowledge that part of the business plan is “piggybacking” off of Glacier Raft Company’s winter success.

Nicolas Lee said the Belton Chalet is also holding winter events. The more businesses that try to make it work during the cold months, the better chance the region has of creating a viable winter season, Lee believes.

“If there’s a critical mass of stuff open here, people will come up,” he said.

Working together, Lee said, is the best way to counteract the disadvantages of having a two-month peak season.

“There’s going to be snow on one end of the season and snow on the other end of the season,” Lee said. “Cooperation is really the key to grow this.” [End of article]

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Heritage Days

FEATURE PHOTO: Beating the Heat

By Lido Vizzutti, 7-26-10

A patron at the Heritage Days festival in Columbia Falls over the weekend runs through falling water sprayed by a Columbia Falls Fire Department hose at the Don Anderson Fire Hall. According the the National Weather Service, the temperature is expected to remain in the mid- to high-80s until Friday. Here's the five-day forecast. [End of article]

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New database breaks down local stimulus funding

18 Months Later: Recovery Act’s Impact on the Flathead

By Dan Testa, 7-25-10



	Caption: A road crew works on a section of the U.S. Highway 93 bypass. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

The effectiveness of the $787-billion federal stimulus bill is among the more politically loaded topics of this midterm election season. Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg, who has long been an opponent of the stimulus and is seeking reelection, pointed in a July 20 release to an e-mail survey he conducted that found a majority of respondents believe the economy is worse than when the stimulus passed, and that it actually hurt the economy.

But regardless of one’s opinion of the stimulus, officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, its tangible impacts on local economies can sometimes be hard to see. The ongoing construction of the Kalispell bypass is one obvious major project where stimulus dollars allowed work to get underway this summer. As for some of the less apparent uses, nonprofit investigative journalism group ProPublica has compiled a massive “Recovery Tracker,” that allows for searching how stimulus dollars were spent in every county in the United States – and some of its findings are surprising.

Out of the $1.7 billion Montana received in stimulus, Flathead County has been allocated $123,644,153, according to ProPublica. In terms of stimulus spending per capita, Montana received $1,744, well above the national average of $1,170. Flathead County came down in between, receiving $1,398 per person.

But the list of recipients that used or benefited from stimulus funding in Flathead County is long and varied, ranging from school districts to logging outfits. Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana (CAP), which administers various social and economic assistance programs, is among the biggest recipients of stimulus dollars. According to Jane Nolan, ARRA oversight officer, CAP has so far spent roughly $4.75 million out of the $6.75 million it is obligated, on approximately 1,500 clients.

Those programs include a weatherization service that has helped residents of 158 homes improve energy efficiency and reduce heating and other bills. CAP also co-sponsored Homeless Connect, on June 9, an event aimed at helping the homeless by offering medical care, counseling, food and other assistance. An attorney is now on staff at CAP, paid for by stimulus dollars, to provide free legal advice to those with questions on landlord-tenant issues, bankruptcy or other inquiries.

“We’re really proud of that,” Nolan said. “That program did not exist before the stimulus.”

Nor did the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing program, which Nolan said has helped some 370 people in danger of falling into homelessness stay in their homes through helping with utility, rent or deposit payments, exist prior to the stimulus. A new subsidized employment program, that paid for job training in fields like nurses’ assistants or commercial truck drivers, has put 46 people to work, Nolan said. And the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, in partnership with the City of Kalispell, buys foreclosed homes – 15 so far – and establishes community land trusts to renovate and put the homes on the market at affordable rates.

Dozens of businesses, from dentists’ offices to coffee shops, are listed on ProPublica’s spreadsheet for obtaining loans through the Small Business Administration they wouldn’t have been able to get in the private credit marketplace. Among those was a $1.2 million loan for Bitney’s Furniture and Appliances Inc.

Sid Bitney, president of Bitney’s Furniture, said it was simply a loan taken out in November 2009 through Three Rivers Bank, but having a portion of it guaranteed by the SBA allowed for better terms on the deal.

“Because of the economy, having a lower payment and spread out longer helped in our payment structure,” Bitney said.

John King, president and CEO of Three Rivers Bank, said loans to Bitney’s and others like it, backed up almost entirely by the SBA with no fees, have allowed Three Rivers to become the third largest SBA lender in Montana in the second quarter of 2010.

“This made the SBA very attractive for the banks who used it,” King said. “It gave us another arrow in the quiver to help with a loan to get people into business or keep them in their business.”

King now supports an effort underway in Congress to keep the program in place, even if SBA raises its fees slightly, since he believes it has facilitated business lending for banks and entrepreneurs.

Darlene Schottle, superintendent of Kalispell’s School District 5, said the roughly $3.2 million it has been awarded in stimulus funds have been used for everything from purchasing heating and cooling units for Flathead High to hiring on additional, temporary educators to help high school students in danger of dropping out graduate on time.

A large chunk of the City of Kalispell’s $1.8 million in stimulus will pay for renovations of the downtown fire station, and a new roof and heating and cooling system for the police station and city court. Other grants will pay to staff three firefighters for a two-year period and a new police cruiser. City Manager Jane Howington said many of the grants Kalispell applied for existed pre-stimulus, but may have had more funding available as a result of the ARRA.

While this is a mere sampling of local beneficiaries, the list illustrates that, right or wrong, the stimulus has impacted the Flathead. Whether it was worth it’s price tag, however, remains debatable. For the more info and the full list on ProPublica, visit: http://projects.propublica.org/recovery/locale/montana/flathead#top300. [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/18_months_later_recovery_acts_impact_on_the_flathead/18800/

Public meeting with YMCA official on Aug. 3 at library

Effort Underway to Bring YMCA to Kalispell

By Molly Priddy, 7-25-10

A Kalispell woman who hopes to bring the YMCA to the Flathead is hosting public meeting in August to gauge public support for the project, which she believes would be beneficial to the valley.

“There’s such a need for it,” Layla Dropps said.

Dropps said the YMCA’s mission – “to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all” – could help a great number of people in the Flathead, especially the youth.

She noted that some kids end up turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as drugs or alcohol, if they are emotionally unequipped to handle life’s stresses. A place like the YMCA could help teach these skills, as well as provide an outlet for physical activities, Dropps said.

“If you didn’t go to school and learn algebra, you wouldn’t just know it,” Dropps said. “Making emotional choices, people need to help other people learn how to do that.”

A YMCA could also help out struggling families, Dropps said, with classes and activities meant to strengthen family ties and childcare options.

So far, Dropps has led two public meetings on the project. The first one garnered about 16 people, she said. The second meeting, during which Missoula YMCA CEO David Ports spoke and answered questions, had fewer participants, Dropps added.

Dropps said she hopes for a crowd of at least 50 to show up for the next meeting, taking place on Aug. 3 at the Flathead County Library building in Kalispell at 5 p.m. A representative from The Y USA will be on hand to answer questions, Dropps said, and community members are encouraged to share their opinions.

Ports said this grassroots type of organization is typically how a new YMCA takes root.

“Generally, community leaders identify needs that they feel a YMCA might best meet,” Ports said. “So often, it is just one or two or three folks who say ‘We have a lot of kids who need physical activities,’” as well as other necessities.

It takes a lot of hard work for a community to establish a YMCA, Ports said. It usually starts with reaching out to a neighboring facility to ask questions, he said, followed by the establishment of a steering committee. Then comes fundraising to start programs and a charter from YMCA USA, he said.

The Missoula facility had a very similar start in 1967 with just a few volunteers, Ports said.

The national organization evolved from a safe haven for displaced young men during England’s industrial revolution to today’s family oriented workout facilities, which are stationed in about 10,000 communities throughout the United States.

The YMCA is a federation of independent non-profit organizations, which means they are volunteer-driven and volunteer-led, Ports said.

“The Kalispell group needs to decide if they’re ready to do the hard work it takes to start a Y,” Ports said.

This group has passion for the project, Ports said after meeting them earlier this month. He said he got the impression that a YMCA could be “vibrant and sustainable” in the Flathead, though he noted it may not be the only organization that could bolster the area.

For her part, Dropps, 34, said her urge to bring a YMCA to Kalispell started after a particularly rough time in her life.

“I know how important it is to have ability to see the brighter side,” Dropps said.

She said she saw how easily someone could fall into despair if they are not surrounded by a supporting community, and a place like the YMCA could end up being that backbone for someone else.

Though there is not a yet a structured group pursuing the project, Dropps said she believes the project is gaining support.

“The more I talk about it, the more responses I get and the more energy is created,” Dropps said.

And while she might have brought up the idea, Dropps said a community-wide effort would be needed to bring the YMCA to the Flathead.

“The community has to stand up and say, ‘We want this. We want to make our community stronger and healthier and we’re going to bring this here,’” Dropp said. [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/effort_underway_to_bring_ymca_to_kalispell/18798/

Kalispell

PLACES: Bibler Gardens and Home Tour

By Lido Vizzutti, 7-25-10



	Caption: Jaci Kovnesky works among flowers lighting up the Bibler Gardens above Foy's Lake. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

This year’s Bibler home and garden tours kick off with a special wine and hors d’oeuvres reception on July 26 that will include an exclusive tour by ornamental metal artist Jeffrey Funk. Funk will showcase the one-of-a-kind gates, sculptures and railing he created for the gardens.

Bibler is a private display garden designed by Louis A. “Sam” Bibler who planted and maintained the grounds surrounding his home. The impressive landscaping includes ponds, waterfalls, sculptures, an arboretum, a log stable with miniature animals and acres of colorful annuals and perennials in full bloom overlooking stunning views of Foys Lake and the surrounding Flathead Valley vistas.

Tours of Bibler’s home are included in the evening. Browse Bibler’s exquisite collection of Inuit tribal art and 18th and 19th century furnishings that include an overwhelming number of Persian carpets in both palace and tribal styles. When complete, the collection of rugs will be the only one of its kind in North America.

All proceeds from the tours go to benefit the Student Scholarship Program at the Flathead Valley Community College. Tickets for the special event on the July 26 are $50 for adults and $90 per couple. The one-and-a-half hour tours on July 27 through July 30 are $10 for adults and $3 for children. All tickets must be purchased in advance.

To purchase tickets, or for times and availability, visit http://www.biblergardens.org, or call the FVCC Foundation office at (406) 756-3963.

How to get there: From downtown Kalispell take U.S. Highway 2 (West Idaho Street) west toward Kila. Turn south on North Meridian Road. Continue on Meridian, which becomes Foys Lake Road after a curve to the west. Turn west on Lakeshore Drive. Continue on Lakeshore up the hill until it dead ends at Lake Hills Drive. Turn right on Lake Hills Drive to access the Bibler property. [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/places_bibler_gardens_and_home_tour/18720/

Chef Jim Gray

No Ordinary Slice of Toast

By The Kitchen Guy, 7-25-10

We start this week’s column with a pronunciation lesson: broos-KEH-tah (not broo-sheh-tah). Promise.

This most simple of appetizers can actually turn into a very tasty and light summer meal using many of the vegetables and herbs you’re growing in your garden (or buying at the farmers market) right now.

Let’s start with the basics: the bread. You need crusty bread – something like a baguette or even a loaf of country white. Slice it into one-inch thick pieces, and lay the slices on an ungreased baking sheet. Place the tray of bread slices under the broiler for just a short time until one side is golden, then flip the slices and toast the other side under the broiler.

Now brush the toasted bread with the best olive oil you have, then peel several garlic cloves (you’ll definitely need more than one) and rub the garlic directly on each slice of oiled toast.

The classic bruschetta topping is a simple mixture of chopped tomatoes, minced parsley, minced shallot, salt and pepper, chopped basil and finely chopped black olives. Some folks like to top it with a little fresh Parmesan.

That’s the basic formula and now you have the foundation to make variations on a theme. For instance, you can add sautéed sweet peppers with onions, add a little zip with crushed red pepper flakes and some sherry vinegar as well as fresh thyme leaves to the aforementioned garlic-rubbed toast with tomatoes, basil and parsley.

Or you can take one can of cannellini beans, fresh lemons, fresh rosemary and some red onion, along with balsamic vinegar to make a spread. In a food processor, add two-thirds of the beans, some olive oil, two tablespoons of water, some freshly squeezed lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse until the mixture is smooth. Add remaining beans with the rosemary and pulse until incorporated.

Next, whisk oil, vinegar and finely chopped onion with salt and pepper and add to the pureed bean mixture. Spread the paste on your basic bruschetta toast. Yum!

Finally, here’s a version that most folks won’t expect: a sweet bruschetta made with cherries. It’s summer, so you can use fresh pitted cherries or, at other times of the year, canned cherry pie filling. You’ll also need a half cup of finely chopped red onion, and a half teaspoon each of basil and oregano.

In a medium saucepan, combine cherry filling, onion, basil and oregano; mix well. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat 5 minutes, or until mixture is bubbly and flavors are blended. Let cool to room temperature.

In a small bowl, combine garlic and olive oil. Brush both sides of each bread slice with oil mixture; place on an ungreased baking sheet. Broil, 4 to 5 inches from the heat, 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

Top each slice of toasted, oiled and garlic-rubbed bread with a generous tablespoon of cherry mixture.

I’ve just given you the foundation for a bruschetta cocktail party. Make and serve all four versions. What a treat. And what an easy party. [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/no_ordinary_slice_of_toast/18722/

Glacier National Park

Visitors to Glacier Top a Half Million

By Web Master, 7-24-10



	Caption: Missoula resident Nate McCrady skips rocks across Lake McDonald while visiting the park earlier this year. - file photo by Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

Recently released figures indicate that visitors have been flocking to Glacier National Park this summer. Park officials say that visitation in June 2010 was 2.9 percent higher than in June 2009. Meanwhile, year-to-date visitation in 2010 is 3.8 percent higher than in 2009.

According to a National Park Service press release, the 337,120 visitors recorded during June 2010 is the highest June visitor count since 2003 when the park tallied 370,119 visitors. Meanwhile, the year-to-date visitor count through June 2010 is 503,010, the highest since 2005.

When the Going-to-the-Sun road opened this year on June 24, it was the earliest the entire roadway had opened since 2006 when Logan Pass opened on June 23. In 2007 and 2008, late spring snow accumulation and road damage delayed the opening of the pass until early July.

Visitors to the million-acre park can take advantage of three more fee-days or weekends this year: Aug. 14-15, Sept. 25 (Public Lands Day) and Nov. 11 (Veterans Day). While no entrance fees are charged these days, camping and other fees still apply.

A calendar of centennial events can be found online at www.glaciercentennial.org while other information about the park can be found at www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/index.htm. [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/visitors_to_glacier_top_a_half-million/18795/

Votes against nine-mill levy increase

No Fire, Police Layoffs as Whitefish Hammers Out Budget

By Myers Reece, 7-23-10



	Caption: The recently finished Whitefish Emergency Services Center. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

WHITEFISH – At a three-and-a-half hour meeting that occasionally turned heated this week, the Whitefish City Council hammered out a budget plan that staves off proposed layoffs in the fire and police departments, while calling for a lesser property tax increase than expected.

The turnaround, which veers from City Manager Chuck Stearns’ preliminary budget proposal released in early June, was made possible by an anonymous $30,000 donation to the police department, higher-than-anticipated resort tax collections, and a plan within the fire department to cut expenses. Also, recent drawdowns in the law enforcement fund created more than $30,000 in revenue.

In addition, the police and fire associations have agreed to pay freezes. Stearns had initially recommended cutting two police officers, saving more than $80,000, and a paramedic-firefighter, saving about $73,000. The accepted pay freezes are worth roughly $50,000 for police and $47,856 for the fire and rescue fund.

Combined with the anonymous donation, to be paid in quarterly increments of $7,500, the pay freeze allows the police department to avoid layoffs. Meanwhile, Fire Chief Tom Kennelly said he’s found a way to cut about $25,000 in expenses to make up for what the pay freeze doesn’t cover in his department.

“It’ll be a tight year, but we’ll do it,” Kennelly said.

The Parks and Recreation Department is still slated to lay off a full-time employee as of July 31. And other dilemmas remain, including meager cash reserves, how to pay the salary of a valued Public Works employee and lingering doubt over building revenue projections.

The city must also wait to see if an agreement with the rural fire service board can be finalized, which would provide a $300,000 reserve fund to be used for fire services. City officials have been in negotiations with the Whitefish Fire Service Area board.

Council will address the remaining budget questions at an upcoming meeting in mid-August and subsequently vote on a finalized budget for fiscal year 2011.

In his preliminary budget, Stearns called for $242,000 in projected building permit and license revenues for the fiscal year. But council asked Stearns to lower that figure and at the July 20 meeting, after much discussion, council voted 3-2 to peg the figure at $200,000. Council will revisit the issue in the fall to check up on building revenues.

Councilors Chris Hyatt and Phil Mitchell were opposed, arguing that the projection is overzealous in light of a still-struggling construction market. Turner Askew was absent at the meeting.

Hyatt asked Planning and Building Director Dave Taylor if his department could handle more cuts if construction doesn’t pick up. Taylor said his department has lost three planners and two building inspectors in the last two years due to layoffs.

“It’s almost impossible to serve the public with less staff than we have now,” Taylor said.

Hyatt said he doesn’t feel comfortable subsidizing the building code fund with money from the general fund. As Hyatt continued to press Taylor, Stearns interrupted.

“Why don’t you talk to me, I’m the manager,” Stearns said.

Stearns said Taylor’s department couldn’t be diminished any further, a sentiment echoed by Mayor Mike Jenson and Councilors Ryan Friel, Bill Kahle and John Muhlfeld. If anything, Stearns said, the Parks and Recreation Department should be the first to get hit if financial problems persist, as its duties aren’t mandated like those in the Planning and Building Department.

Council also considered levying the full 24 mills approved by voters in August of 2008 to fund emergency services. The council had backed off levying the full amount because the city received a federal grant to help the city transition into 24-hour, seven-day emergency service operations.

But council disagreed over whether the city should levy nine more mills, as proposed by Stearns. Hyatt and Mitchell said everybody they’ve spoken with from the community is adamantly opposed to any tax hike in this economy. Jenson and Kahle, however, both said they know of residents who are willing to pay more in order to salvage city jobs and services.

Kahle said he would like residents to contact him to discuss their views on the debate over services versus taxes, calling it “an easy philosophical conversation to have without setting a technical (mill) amount.”

“I don’t want my taxes increased, but I don’t want my services cut,” Kahle said. “I think there’s a balance there.”

After much debate, council voted 4-1 against levying the full amount, with only Friel in favor. Muhlfeld introduced a motion to levy five mills next year and four in 2012. It passed 4-1, with Friel dissenting.

Stearns was dismayed by the vote.

“I think this is as ill-advised as you can get,” he said. “When you look at the reserves, we don’t have much to work with.”

Also at the July 20 meeting, council directed staff to find a way to save the job of a Public Works project manager. Stearns had recommended cutting the position from full time to half, but both the employee and Public Works Director John Wilson said it should be all or nothing.

Other council decisions at the meeting included: increasing parking fines from $5 to $15, decreasing the street maintenance district assessment by $100,000 and increasing the Greenway assessment by $27,000, and directing the Public Works Department to search for a used replacement loader rather than a new one. [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/no_fire_police_layoffs_as_whitefish_hammers_out_budget/18797/

Montana Economy

The Long Road Ahead

By Kellyn Brown, 7-23-10

There are two extreme camps at each end of the debate over how the economy will fare in the coming years: one that predicts unemployment rolls rising to 20 percent or higher and another that sees the economy sharply turning a corner over the next several months. The reality, most likely, lies somewhere in between, meaning the climb back to pre-recession jobless levels is still daunting.

A chart compiled this month by the Brookings Institute – and dubbed by Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein “the scariest jobs graph you’ve seen yet” – shows how hopes of a speedy recovery remain elusive.

The study measures the nation’s jobs gap, which it pegs at 11.3 million, and predicts how long it will take to erase that margin based on average and optimistic job-growth predictions. In either case, a full recovery would take five to 10 years, if 200,000 to 320,000 jobs were created each month.

The Great Recession, of course, has affected every state differently and Montana – at least outside the northwest portion of the state – is often thought to have weathered it better than most. But as the Brookings Institute points out, this state lost a large percentage of jobs when taking into consideration its population and miniscule pre-recession unemployment levels.

In fact, Montana saw the 19th-biggest decline in “employment to population ratio” (tied with the District of Columbia) among states over the last three years. In that time, Brookings estimates that the ratio has dropped 4.5 percent, which puts the jobs gap here at 34,815.

That last number pales in comparison to California’s 1,514,625, but is sizable since Montana has only about 1 million residents and has actually seen its unemployment rate tick up the last few months to 7.2 percent. Meanwhile, Flathead County’s employment rate stands at 11.5 percent, a number that has actually dropped each month since April.

Nationwide, while Nevada and Michigan have the highest jobless rates in the country, Brookings says Alabama, Delaware, Georgia and (to my surprise) Colorado have suffered the biggest declines in their labor markets since the recession began. The survey debunks conventional talking points, which simply equate the hardest hit states with the highest unemployment numbers.

The recession has punished, from the Rockies to the Florida Panhandle, every corner of the country to some degree. Here, like elsewhere, the question being posed to local officials is what can be done to close these job gaps.

At a Whitefish Chamber of Commerce meeting last week, there was guarded optimism among some in the service industry as summer hotel bookings are up. The focus has now turned to attracting visitors to that city during the shoulder seasons.

In Kalispell, Montana West Economic Development recently announced that local firm WaveSource, Inc., secured $600,000 in private equity funding to continue to “move forward with their innovative eye exam technology and the production of custom multifocal contact lenses.”

Both are good signs. And many local businesspeople who survived the economic downturn have said that this year’s numbers are better than last. But the problem is 2009 was the worst many had experienced – ever.

For this state, and especially the Flathead, replacing lost jobs will continue to require creativity and persistence from those in the business development fields. It will also require patience from everyone as the road to full recovery appears to be growing in length.

Montana may have escaped the worst of the recession, but it is certainly not, as often stated by our public officials,“better than most states.” [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/the_long_road_ahead/18731/

Your Weekend Guide

On Tap: The Event, Art in the Park, Heritage Days

By Molly Priddy, 7-23-10

Live Music:
Friday: Jarod Kerney at City Brew South; Open Mic Night at The Boiler Room; Idol Time Karaoke at The Eagles; DISCO - Pre Party at Stonefly Lounge; The Cold Hard Cash Show at Great Northern Bar; Bad Rock Canyon at the Raven; Blues Festival at Symes Hot Springs Hotel; Me and the Boys at Los Caporales; 20 Grand at Craggy Range;
Saturday: Blues Festival at Symes Hot Springs Hotel; Brent Jameson at Lodge at Whitefish Lake; The Cold Hard Cash Show at Great Northern Bar; Karaoke with Jody at Grizzly Jack's; Open Mic Jam Night at Ricciardi's; Dangerous at Los Caporales

Sports:
Saturday: 43rd Annual Skydive Lost Prairie Jumpmeet at Lost Prairie; Flathead Lake 3-on-3 basketball tournament at Polson

Arts and Events:
Friday: Kalispell Street Dance at downtown Kalispell; World Cup Equestrian Triathlon at Rebecca Farm (also Saturday and Sunday); 42nd Annual Arts in the Park at Depot Park Kalispell (also Saturday and Sunday); Heritage Days 2010 at Columbia Falls (also Saturday and Sunday); WAEA Barbeque/Auction, behind Columbia Bar; Honk Jr at FVCC; That's The Poop at John Dowdall Theatre; Alpine Theatre Project presents Hair at Whitefish Performing Arts Center; All Shook Up at Bigfork Summer Playhouse
Saturday: Kalispell Farmers' Market at Kalispell Center Mall; Bigfork Farmer's Market at Bigfork High School parking lot; Flathead High School class of 1990, 20 year reunion at Majestic Valley Arena; Stumptown BBQ Smoke Off in Whitefish Depot Park (also Sunday)

For a full listing of times, other events and what’s happening on Sunday go to www.flatheadevents.net. [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/on_tap_the_event_art_in_the_park_heritage_days/18793/

Whitefish

Storm Damage

By Lido Vizzutti, 7-23-10

Jerry Groesbeck uses a chainsaw to cut a felled elm tree into manageable pieces on his rental property on the east side of Whitefish. There was some speculation that the tree was hit by lightning during Thursday night’s storm. High winds and reports of lightning strikes during the afternoon storm caused damage throughout the valley, including small power outages, wrecked fences and vehicles damaged by trees and limbs. [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/storm_damage/18791/

Kalispell balloon operator battles the elements

Up, Up and Away

By Web Master, 7-22-10

Slide Show: Click the image or use the arrows to see more photographs.

Paul Fifield, owner and operator of Kalispell-based Fantasy Flights, says many balloon pilots are wary of heights.

“If you have me up on my roof, I’m not a real happy camper, but put me in a balloon and take me to 10,000 feet, I’m as happy as a clam,” he said.

Although some might have reservations about traveling inside a wicker basket suspended from a nylon balloon, Fifield calls the experience “magical” and “safe.”

“What a lot of people don’t understand about balloon flight is that it’s stable, very smooth and very different from standing on a roof or a ladder,” he said. “Those people who do get into the basket and are afraid of heights, 99.9 percent of them find out their fears are unfounded.”

As the sole balloon pilot navigating the Flathead Valley, Fifield has offered passengers one-of-a-kind views of the area’s spectacular terrain since 1996. Yet as his wife, Marlene, the company’s crew chief notes, the business’ operations are often “up in the air.”

Although Fantasy Flight’s ballooning season lasts from May through October, Fifield says “both ends are pretty open to not happening” as they are entirely weather dependent.

“We’ve seen Mays where it’s 80 degrees out and other Mays where it’s rainy and crummy and miserable,” he said. “If we get flights up in May and June, that’s kind of a bonus.”

Therefore, the season often doesn’t start in earnest until after the Fourth of July, when the warm weather holds.

Each balloon ride with Fantasy Flights begins with an early morning departure. Two ideal times exist for ballooning: in the morning at sunrise or about two hours before sunset.

“At those two times of day, the air is the most stable, so you won’t see balloons flying at noon,” Fifield said. “We want to get down on the ground before thermal activity begins.”

Although Fantasy Flights also used to operate evening flights, Fifield says the valley’s weather system has changed in recent years, preventing most dusk flights from happening.

“The wind was just too strong,” he said. “We’d launch the next morning and it would be fine.”

The evening before a flight, Fifield watches the evening news before calling Flight Services, an aviation weather forecasting service, where a briefer tells him predictions of upper level wind speeds and directions.

“From that I can get a rough idea of if the next morning is going to be appropriate for ballooning, but not always,” he said. “Sometimes it looks fine and I wake up the morning of the flight, get another update and it can be totally different from what they gave me the night before.”

Fifield says the final decision is sometimes determined on the launch field.

“We disappoint a lot of passengers by getting them out there at 5:30 in the morning and then send them home, but I’d rather disappoint them than take them up there and have someone get hurt,” he said.

Provided the weather conditions are favorable, Fifield conducts a pre-flight briefing in a field near the National Guard Armory and everyone starts assembling the balloon. For many customers it’s a return to concepts they may not have studied since grade school science class.

The balloon, or the envelope, as it is known to balloon enthusiasts, is spread out on the ground in preparation for the hot inflation. Fifield uses a 30-inch gas-powered fan to blow air into the envelope. After it’s been filled, the burners are lit. As hot air is more buoyant than cold air, the envelope starts to rise, causing the balloon to stand.

No two flights paths are ever the same. Once aloft, the course of the journey is up to the winds. Although he can change elevation to find a wind traveling in another direction, Fifield calls the winds “very fickle.”

Flight time lasts around one hour, depending on the availability of a good landing place. Fifield, who says that all his landings are “interesting,” says that while he’s landed before in Depot Park and in cul-de-sacs, his preferred landing pads are fields.

“We usually try to find pastures or cut hay fields and we stay out of actively growing crops,” he said. “Most often, because of the winds, I can’t say we’re going to land over in field X, which makes it hard to ask for permission, but most landowners are fine with it.”

Balloons have fascinated Fifield for years. His first exposure came when he spotted a balloon festival the 1970s when he was on his way to work in Bloomington, Minn.

“I went over to look at it and had a hard time tearing myself away from it,” he said. “I kept looking at my watch, knowing that I had to be at work, but I really wanted to be there.”

Despite his interest being thoroughly piqued, it wasn’t until his 40th birthday in 1992 that Fifield took his first ride.

“[My wife] knew I loved balloons and had always wanted to take a flight, so she booked a flight for my birthday,” he said. “Once we took that flight, both of us got hooked and decided we needed to do it more.”

Fifield contacted the pilot the next day and asked if he could crew for him in exchange for some more time in the air.

Soon after, he began training for his license and when he finished in 1994, he bought the balloon he took his first flight in. Fifield earned his commercial pilot’s license a year later and in April of 1996, Fifield and his wife decided to start Fantasy Flights.

When they began offering flights, two other balloon companies operated in the valley. But while the other business owners soon moved to warmer locales with more stable weather conditions, the Fifields have stayed put.

“We’re loving it here and don’t want to move,” Fifield said. “We love sharing the beauty of this valley with our passengers.”

For more information about Fantasy Flights, visit http://www.fantasyflights.com/index.htm or call (406) 755-4172. [End of article]

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Upcoming contest highlights the art in barbecue

Summer Pastime Slow-Cooked to Perfection

By Molly Priddy, 7-22-10



	Caption: Pit Master Rian Dawson flips racks of ribs being cooked on a barrel smoker behind Piggyback Barbeque in Whitefish. The local barbecue restaurant is hosting the Stumptown BBQ Smoke Off where professional and amateur cooks will pit their talents against each other. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

Competition adds a new flavor to almost any aspect of life, bringing with it a higher sense of purpose and pride in one’s work. The smoky, delicious world of barbecue is not immune to such forces; family get-togethers become testing grounds for new recipes and sauces are repetitiously remade to ensure perfection.

Just ask Larry Stammen, a member of the four-person team representing Don K Chevrolet in the upcoming Stumptown BBQ Smoke Off, sizzling in Whitefish’s Depot Park on July 24-25.

“I’ve done a lot of reading, I’ve done a lot of Internet searching,” Stammen said. “I’ve been barbecuing for two months, every weekend.”

Even something as routine as a grilling up a tender, barbecue chicken becomes a painstaking art. Stammen noted that the first time he barbecued with a competition mindset, “I thought it was horrible for the work I put in it.”

Lessons learned, the next try was decidedly better, Stammen added.

Stammen is new to the world of competitive barbecue, which is also a relatively novel endeavor in Whitefish. But elsewhere, especially in the barbecue bastion of the South, the contests are well-worn traditions.

Whitefish’s inaugural competition was born from both local and southern, namely Texan, influences. The event is sponsored by Piggyback Barbeque restaurant in Whitefish, which recently came under new ownership in April.

Former owner Clay Nelson sold his business to Buzz and Missy Laughlin, and Missy’s son, Reeves Stanwood. While shadowing Nelson to learn the ins and outs of Piggyback Barbeque, Stanwood said the two got to chatting about different aspects of the barbecue business and the curious lack of contests in Whitefish.

“Being from Texas, it seems like everybody and their mother down there had a different event involving barbecue,” Stanwood said.

The saucy competitions have also earned a bit of the national limelight and become more accessible to those not born in the culture of the smoke ring, Stanwood noted, with shows such as “BBQ Pitmasters” on TLC.

Stanwood has been in the business for years; he started as a busboy at a barbecue joint in Houston at 15. He keeps coming back to it, and now manages the restaurant in Whitefish.

While grilling in the summertime often conjures images of slow, lazy days, the competitors at these events are quite serious, Stanwood said, guarding their ever-evolving recipes.

“They try out different recipes at different events. They never really use the same recipe,” Stanwood said. “They’re always tweaking and modifying, whether it’s a rub or a sauce.”

The Laughlins expect at least 10 teams for the Stumptown BBQ Smoke Off, and maybe a few late entries as the weekend approaches. So far, entries include local teams, as well as those from Canada, Oregon and Tennessee.

It will be a two-day event, structured to run overnight for maximum cooking and smoking times. Teams can enter fare in several categories, including brisket, chicken, pork butt and ribs. There will be awards for the best in each category, as well as an overall award for those competing in all groups.

In all, there is a total of $5,000 in prize money up for grabs.

A panel of judges will inspect the meat prior to cooking and will blindly taste test each entry so as not to be swayed by the griller’s identity.

And since the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association has sanctioned the event, any points earned by the winners go toward their quest to be in bigger competitions, Buzz Laughlin said.

Anyone coming to watch the grilling magic happen will be entertained by seven local bands, he added, plus a hog-calling competition and a Miss Piggy contest.

Some competitors may sell their barbecue to the public and others will cook solely for the judges, Laughlin said, but there will be vendors and a beer garden available for the crowd.

The grilling begins Saturday morning at 10 a.m. and will go through the night. Activities finish up on Sunday at 8 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from the event will go toward funding the North Valley Food Bank.

“It’s a whole lot of work, but it should be an interesting thing,” Laughlin said. “You see professionals and amateurs all doing their thing.”

Stammen and the rest of the Don K team – Travis Squires, Jack Burns, and John Simpson – will take shifts watching their two smokers overnight, sleeping in a borrowed RV.

With the sauces and rubs already made and a homemade South African sausage called boerewors set to thrill the judges, Stammen and his crew think they are ready to step into the world of competitive barbecue.

“We’ve never done this before,” Stammen said. “We’re just going to have fun.”

For more information on the Stumptown BBQ Smoke Off, visit www.stumptownbbqsmokeoff.com or call Piggyback Barbeque at 863-9895. [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/summer_pastime_slow-cooked_to_perfection/18725/

Remembering the Great Fire of 1910

Trial by Fire

By Myers Reece, 7-22-10

With so much attention paid to Glacier National Park’s centennial this summer, it’s easy to overlook another 100-year commemoration, one with its own important place in American history: the anniversary of the Great Fire of 1910, also referred to as the Big Burn or Big Blowup.

The massive wildfires that year burned 3 million acres in northeastern Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana. Collectively, they formed the largest wildfire recorded in U.S. history. At least 85 people were killed, including 78 firefighters, and five towns were destroyed.

A vast Western landscape was left charred, prompting a new era in U.S. Forest Service fire policy and propelling the conservation movement into the national spotlight. And if the Big Burn was the flame that changed history, a fire in Northwest Montana could be considered the spark that triggered it.

On April 29, 1910, a wildfire broke out in the Blackfeet National Forest, an area that was later merged into the Kootenai and Flathead national forests. In the years leading up to that fire, the federal government had made efforts to improve and streamline its capacity to fight wildfires.

The Secretary of the Interior, in 1901, issued a statement outlining management practices in the nation’s forests: “The first duty of forest officers is to protect the forest against fires.” Then in 1905, management of the nation’s forest reserves was transferred over to what then became known as the U.S. Forest Service. By 1908, the Forest Service had prepared systematic plans for wildfire emergencies.

Those efforts were necessary progress, but hardly enough to prepare the fledgling Forest Service – or anybody – for what was about to come.

After the Blackfeet National Forest fire, other parts of western Montana went up in flames, burning bright and deep into May. The Butte Intermountain declared in a May 16 headline: “Terrible Losses By Forest Fires.”

By the end of June, forests were burning everywhere, and the flames raged into July and August. An account in the Montana Daily Record, titled “No Tools Available in Flathead County,” depicted a scene in which the region was woefully unprepared for the spreading fires.

“No tools are to be had in the Flathead valley today with which to fight the forest fires,” the story began, “which are raging in the heavy timber areas in the northern part of the county, and the men who are being sent out are but poorly equipped.”

The same mutterings one might hear today about slow-responding government agencies could be found in the Kalispell Bee, which published an editorial on Aug. 2, 1910.

“Having put 75 per cent of this county into forest reserves,” the editorial stated, “it would seem that the government should be under some obligation to protect the forests from the ravages of fires.”

“For more than a month,” it continued, “settlers, including women and children, have been fighting to save their homes and in nearly every instance the fires have originated on the government lands.”

Then, in a frantic two-day period on Aug. 20-21, hurricane-force winds stirred the flames, creating unbearable conditions for firefighters and destroying entire towns. Fueled by wind, the scattered, isolated fires whipped together to form something akin to a giant, fiery, and rapidly moving beast. Those two days are known as the Big Blowup.

Of the 78 firefighters who perished, 72 were in the Couer d’Alene National Forest, four in the Cabinet National Forest and two in Pend Oreille National Forest. No fatalities occurred in the Flathead region, though the nearby Cabinet National Forest deaths hit close to home.

Rose Davis, media liaison for the Forest Service’s Northern Region, said 1.2 billion board feet of timber burned in Montana. The hardest hit areas in the Treasure State were Trout Creek, Taft, De Borgia, Saltese and Haugen, including the Savenac Nursery that burned. The fires came just short of St. Regis.

Elers Koch, the supervisor of Lolo National Forest at the time, wrote about receiving a call from a ranger on the night of Aug. 21. Fire was taking over the town of Wallace, Idaho.

“Mr. Koch,” he recalled the ranger telling him, “the fires have all gone wild.”

“The flames are just breaking into Wallace,” he continued. “I don’t know where my family is, and my men and pack strings are all out in the path of the fire, and I am afraid many of them can’t escape alive.”

In the aftermath of the Big Burn, large national fire campaigns were launched, altering the nature of U.S. forest ecology and ultimately leading to the creation of Smokey Bear.

One-hundred years later, the potential of large-scale wildfires is ever-present in the West. When a large fire erupts, the nation shifts its collective attention to the flames. And while the nation is undoubtedly better prepared to combat wildfires today, each time one breaks out, people hold their breath, hoping Koch’s words are prophetic.

“It is possible that such burning conditions might again occur,” Koch wrote after the 1910 fires, “but with the present organization of the Forest Service it is not likely that sufficient fires will ever again be uncontrolled at one time to build up such a widespread conflagration.” [End of article]

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Lakeshore Heights is first in Montana to receive DEQ mandate for gross alpha

Radioactivity: The New Water Rights Dispute?

By Myers Reece, 7-21-10



	Caption: Houses are seen along Hillcrest Drive between Middle Foy's and Lower Foy's lakes. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

The state Department of Environmental Quality is requiring 43 homes in the Lakeshore Heights Homeowners Association outside of Kalispell to install reverse osmosis water systems because of concerns over radioactivity in the drinking water.

It is the first public water system in the state to receive a mandate from DEQ to treat for gross alpha radioactivity. There is also one public water system in Jefferson County treating for uranium-derived radioactivity, according to the DEQ.

Water issues are always touchy, and this one is no different, as it raises that age-old concern of government influence on private property. And, since it involves a relatively foreign concept such as gross alpha radioactivity, skepticism may be heightened.

The Environmental Protection Agency defines gross alpha as a form of radioactive contamination, and warns of health risks, including the potential of cancer after long-term exposure.

One Lakeshore Heights resident calls the DEQ requirement “government intrusion at its worst.” A neighbor calls it “a hoax,” another says the state is “shoving this down our throats” and yet another calls it “intimidation.”

But the DEQ calls it necessary, as dictated by federal law and health standards. And, to be sure, there are residents in the Lakeshore Heights Homeowners Association who agree with that assertion.

No matter where the homeowners stand on the issue, it appears their situation could be used as a model for years to come, as both science and government become more aware of the potential consequences of radioactive contaminants in drinking water.

“We’re breaking new ground here,” said Andy Hyde, an engineer at Kalispell’s Carver Engineering. “Lakeshore Heights is kind of at the cutting edge of finding a solution.”

The homeowners association must also construct a water chlorination facility to treat for coliform contamination, a separate requirement that has also irked some residents. Lakeshore Heights is a subdivision built in the 1960s and is located west of Kalispell between Middle Foy's Lake and Lower Foy's Lake.

Emily Gillespie, an environmental engineer with DEQ in Kalispell, acknowledges the opposition, but said “EPA selected this threshold” and her agency must comply with the federal law.

“There’s nothing easy about implementing this into an existing community,” Gillespie said. “We certainly understand that. But we don’t have any room to negotiate that.”

The DEQ has determined that gross alpha particle levels in the drinking water at Lakeshore Heights exceed legal limits and are potentially harmful. Gross alpha particles are naturally occurring radioactive substances. Unlike better-known radioactive contaminants such as radon, gross alpha radiation consists of solid particles and is not a gas.

At Lakeshore Heights, samples dating back to 1992 showed non-detectable gross alpha activity, Gillespie said. But over the years, possibly as more water was pumped through the wells, Gillespie said the levels have risen, coming out of the bedrock walls.

Federal law, as mandated under the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act, states that the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for gross alpha activity is 15 picocuries per liter. Gillespie said Lakeshore Heights has been averaging over 30. According to a 2009 Environmental Working Group report, Lakeshore Heights has the highest recorded gross alpha levels of any public water system in the state.

Because tests at Lakeshore Heights revealed above-maximum levels over the course of four quarters, or a year, the homeowners association was required to form a treatment plan, Gillespie said. It was decided that all 43 homes must install a reverse osmosis water system under their kitchen sinks.

Systems were installed in five homes in January as part of a one-year pilot program. Shortly after the program runs out, the rest of the homes will have to put in the Culligan devices, likely by June of 2011, Gillespie said. If homes don’t comply, the homeowners association can be fined $10,000 per day and the non-complying home could have its water turned off.

For Gary Robbins, a retired doctor and one of five board members of the homeowners association, the root of his frustration is his neighborhood’s designation as a “community” or “public” water system. By DEQ definition, a system is considered public when it provides water for consumption to at least 15 service connections or regularly serves at least 25 people.

Robbins said neighborhoods surrounding the Lakeshore Heights Homeowners Association subdivision likely derive their drinking water from the same aquifer and presumably also have high gross alpha levels. But they are not labeled as public water systems, so they are not subject to the same EPA laws.

Robbins wonders why the association can’t dig more wells so that it no longer has more than 15 homes – or service connections – per well. He sees this as an easier pill to swallow than allowing government influence to come into his home.

“We just want to un-become a community water system and then we can take care of our own problems,” Robbins said.

But Gillespie said once a system is labeled public, “there isn’t really any going back,” even if wells are built to bring a neighborhood under the service connection limit. And Hyde, of Carver Engineering, said the cost of digging more wells far outweighs the cost of installing the Culligan devices. Carver Engineering is the engineer of record for the pilot program.

Hyde said the systems, at a reduced wholesale rate, cost $682 each. Robbins pegged the price at $1,200 per household plus a couple hundred dollars to replace the filter every few years.

Tina Malkuch thinks drilling more wells would cover up the problem and create new problems. In fact, she would like to see more government oversight over all wells in the state. Malkuch works at Carver Engineering, lives in Lakeshore Heights and is the water operator along with her husband for the neighborhood.

“I care about water quality,” she said. “I don’t like the idea of trying to circumvent the threshold.”

Robbins, who has lived in Lakeshore Heights for 33 years, said he has done his own research, consulting scientists, poring through research documents and utilizing his own medical experience to conclude that Lakeshore Heights’ gross alpha levels aren’t dangerous. He doesn’t think there’s enough evidence to justify the EPA’s requirement.

According to the EPA, “some people who drink water containing alpha emitters in excess of the MCL over many years may have an increased risk of getting cancer.”

“It’s a joke,” Robbins said. “It’s no more dangerous in these amounts than if you go out in the sun or if you get chest X-rays.”

One of Robbins’ neighbors said she knows of independent tests conducted in neighborhoods surrounding Lakeshore Heights that have found gross alpha levels above the legal limit.

“If it’s such a health hazard, why aren’t they sending them letters telling them how dangerous it is?” she asked. “Why aren’t they alerting the whole valley? Why don’t more people know about this?”

Just as the concept of gross alpha is new to residents of Lakeshore Heights, so is the reality of enforcing treatment plans to DEQ. As the only public water system in the state being treated for gross alpha, DEQ officials are watching carefully to see how the Lakeshore Heights situation unfolds. The pilot program, Gillespie said, has “worked beautifully so far.”

“Most readings are non-detectable afterward,” she added.

When the pilot program is through at the end of the year, Malkuch thinks everybody will sign on to the plan. She believes the majority is already in favor, despite the vocal opponents. Malkuch said she’s most concerned about young people who begin drinking the water now and then drink it the rest of their lives.

“At my age, it’s not as crucial for me,” she said. “It’s for the babies and young kids who are developing. Their bones and their brains are developing, and I wouldn’t want my kids to have that.” [End of article]

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Second Amendment

Firing Blanks

By Dave Skinner, 7-21-10

I like the Bill of Rights. Not just the First, the Second, or the Fourteenth, but the whole darn American civil-liberties arsenal. Unlike many of my media colleagues, the Second is my fave over the First. After all, bad people with guns can shut up good people with keyboards pretty darn quick.

So, I’ve been watching the gun-rights cases in the Supreme Court pretty closely, along with both of our Montana U.S. senators, Jon Tester and Max Baucus.

Back in March, after attending oral arguments in the McDonald v. Chicago case, Baucus pumped out a press release stating his “bottom line” was the right to bear arms which is “spelled out right in the Constitution, and we’ve got to protect it. You can bet I’ll be keeping a close eye on this case as it moves forward.”

Tester joined outgoing senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) in leading the preparation and filing of a pro-gun Congressional brief for McDonald. The brief was signed by 309 senators and congresscritters, including Baucus and Denny Rehberg. In June, Tester called the McDonald decision “a major victory for America’s gun owners and I’ll keep fighting hard to protect our gun rights.”

But that “major victory” came on a wispy-thin 5-4 vote, and McDonald’s several opinions, concurrences and dissents are some of the most divergent and vitriolic I’ve ever read.

Therefore, as Baucus put it, the confirmation processes for President Obama’s Supreme Court picks, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, warrant a close eye, too.

I wasn’t real impressed when Sotomayor asserted her vast firearms knowledge by telling senators “one of my godchildren is a member of the NRA” and she had “friends who hunt.” She further declared that she “completely” understood the individual right recognized in the Heller case. How so?

While on the Second Circuit Court in January 2009 (significantly after the Heller decision), Sotomayor concurred in a ruling that “it is settled law that the Second Amendment applies only to [federal] limitations,” not states, a “longstanding principle.”

That case, Maloney v. Cuomo, came before Sotomayor from a federal judge who had in turn ruled that nunchuck possession could be banned by New York state law “because the Second Amendment does not apply to the States.”

Rings a bell, doesn’t it? Yep, the states’ rights bell, the same shameless “longstanding principle” from the dirty days of the civil rights era. The argument was, while the federal government couldn’t trash the fundamental civil liberties of American citizens, states could. That was wrong then, it’s wrong today, and wrong forever.

Finally, a year after her confirmation kabuki dance, everyone understands what Sotomayor understood: She was one of the four justices who found “nothing” in history about the Second “characterizing it as ‘fundamental’ insofar as it seeks to protect the keeping and bearing of arms for private self-defense purposes.”

Now, every single Democratic senator, including Baucus and Tester, voted to confirm Sonia Sotomayor. Party loyalty, of course.

With Elena Kagan up for confirmation, they’ll get to vote again.

It’s safe to say that Kagan’s understanding of the Second Amendment is well-developed. She co-signed a May 1999 memo to President Clinton referring to “an aggressive strategy” to “press for quick passage of our gun control proposals,” happily passing on the good news about a front-page New York Times article “perfectly conveying our intended message.” In other words, Kagan understands the politics of crisis and how to take advantage of press fellow travelers – a top-drawer political operative. Before the Senate, she was the picture of moderation as she declared that the freshly-minted McDonald ruling was “binding precedent” and “settled law, entitled to all the weight precedent usually gets.”

Care to guess what Kagan meant by “usually?”

Whether we find out is partially up to both Baucus and/or Tester. They may yet vote for Kagan, which is their right. I, and most Montanans, can live with that, at least until the next election. But if they do vote for Kagan, I would ask them to please shut up about “fighting hard to protect our gun rights.” Even the First Amendment has limits. [End of article]

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Stokes may appeal and plans to begin new satellite radio show

Bankruptcy Deal Turns KGEZ Over to Gardners

By Dan Testa, 7-20-10



	Caption: John Stokes enters his vehicle on Sept. 24 after authorities shut down the KGEZ radio station south of Kalispell. - File photo by Dan Testa/Flathead Beacon

Local conservative radio talk show host John Stokes will lose his station, the easement upon which his transmission towers stand and his federal broadcasting license as part of a bankruptcy settlement approved by a judge last week.

As part of the settlement, Todd and Davar Gardner, owners of a nearby recreational vehicle dealership and auction barn, agreed to pay $875,000 in cash for the KGEZ station property along U.S. Highway 93 south of Kalispell, including the towers and the license. That sum is part of deal reducing the amount the Gardners were owed by Stokes, based on a 2008 judgment that they were defamed by the radio host, from roughly $4 million down to $1.5 million.

“It was worth it to our family to put some finality and hopefully some closure to it,” Todd Gardner said. “We were never going to see a dime of that judgment anyway.”

The deal will also pay $787,500 to a party known as the Boone Group, which is comprised of members of a profit-sharing trust with priority claims of $1 million against Stokes’ property from prior loans.

Reached Monday, Stokes said his attorney has advised him not to talk to the press, but called the settlement, “totally one-sided,” and “not really a settlement at all.”

Stokes added that his attorney, Bob Barr of Atlanta, has “already prepared the appeal” of the court decision. That appeal could either be filed in U.S. District Court or the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the 9th Circuit Court.

Reached at his law office, however, Barr would not confirm whether Stokes would appeal the settlement.

“We’re very disappointed in it and we’re very actively exploring our options,” Barr said. “The property really was never valued or assessed.”

Barr, a nationally known conservative attorney, represented Georgia as a congressman for eight years, served as a former federal prosecutor and was the Libertarian Party presidential nominee in 2008. He traveled to Montana several times as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.

Judge Ralph B. Kirscher, of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Montana District, also denied a motion by Stokes that would have allowed his appeal of the 2008 Gardner defamation judgment to proceed to the state Supreme Court – the aspect of the case Barr said he was hired to handle. Nor does the settlement prevent Stokes’ creditors from going after his home near Bigfork in Lake County.

Stokes’ broadcasting license, through the Federal Communications Commission, is set to expire Sept. 23 and any transfer of the license must have FCC approval. As part of the settlement, Gardners reserve the right to assign the license, and will put $125,000 in escrow pending its transfer. If the license is transferred, the Boone group receives $50,000 and $75,000 goes to the KGEZ estate, which is currently managed by a court-appointed trustee. If the license doesn’t transfer, the Gardners get their money back and the Boone group retains a security interest in it. Todd Gardner said there are “several” people interested in purchasing the station or its parts, and he is “fairly confident” the license will be sold before expiring.

In an objection to the settlement agreement, Stokes’ other attorney, Edward Murphy of Missoula, called the deal a “give away to the Gardners.” The objection criticized management of the KGEZ property since it was converted to a trustee, saying no attempts have been made to put it on the market to determine its highest value, nor have there been any attempts to sell the KGEZ license.

“The entire focus since the conversion has been to sell the land to the Gardners and no attempt has been made to obtain a higher price elsewhere,” Murphy wrote. “There is no reason why this deal could not have been presented to the court in January or February, long before the license was at risk and the Gardners should not be allowed to benefit from their delay in making the offer.”

Kalispell City Attorney Charles Harball testified during the bankruptcy proceedings on whether the city is close to purchasing the KGEZ radio towers that conflict with municipal airport space. Harball said he told the court, based on the expiration of an environmental assessment of any airport expansion or improvements, that the city is likely years away from making a decision on the towers.

“It doesn’t really impact us at all other than perhaps we might have different parties to deal with in the future,” Harball said of the settlement.

The court decision marks another turn in the years-long saga of Stokes’ legal battles. In September authorities seized KGEZ, ejecting Stokes and his staff from the property, following a ruling by Kirscher converting Stokes’ bankruptcy proceeding from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, which allows for the liquidation of the debtor’s assets. Stokes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in March 2008 after a jury ordered him to pay the Gardners $3.8 million as part of a defamation lawsuit.

At an August meeting with creditors, Stokes testified that “he had never filed an income tax return for the State of Montana and that he has not filed a federal income tax return since 1985,” according to the September 2009 decision. Stokes also owed money on several mortgages and loans.

Stokes has long been a controversial figure in the Flathead for his criticism of environmentalists on his radio show and public displays like burning a green swastika on the station’s front lawn. In recent years his radio show has been less provocative as the tensions between environmentalists and the timber industry have waned, but he retained a small and loyal audience.

That audience will get to hear Stokes again, despite his legal entanglements, since he said he is set to begin broadcasting a nationally syndicated show for the Rense Radio Network, a satellite station, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, beginning July 26. The Rense radio website lists Stokes among its hosts, saying, “the veteran patriot talk show legend John Stokes brings his unique and searing truths to Rense Radio SOON!”

Stokes said his show will be similar to KGEZ, though he acknowledged it is likely to contain more commercials because he is, “getting a lot of national advertisers.”

“It’s going to be the same format,” he added. “We’re going global now.” [End of article]

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unemployment

Flathead’s Jobless Rate Decreases Slightly

By Kellyn Brown, 7-20-10



	Caption: File photo by Lido Vizzutt/Flathead Beacon

Flathead County’s unemployment rate continued to inch downward in June, dropping to 11.4 percent from 11.5 percent a month prior. It was the third month in a row the county’s non-seasonally adjusted jobless numbers decreased. Meanwhile, Montana’s rate continues to rise.

Flathead’s unemployment rate has fallen considerably since March’s record-breaking 13.8 percent rate, but it is still well above the 9.6 percent mark recorded in June 2009. The county has the fourth-highest jobless rate in the state, behind neighboring Lincoln, Sanders and Glacier counties, according to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.

Statewide, the unemployment rate continues to climb into territory last seen in the 1980s.

Montana's unemployment rate increased to 7.3 percent in June, from 7.2 percent a month earlier.

The state's unemployment rate has climbed steadily from less than 4 percent at the start of the recession in 2007. The current rate is the highest the state has seen since the 1980s, when unemployment rose above 8 percent.

The national unemployment rate currently stands at 9.5 percent.

Labor Commissioner Keith Kelly says that Montana's economic recovery has slowed down since the first quarter. But he says some employment sectors saw small gains and the number of unemployment claims has continued to decrease.

Flathead unemployment rates by month:

June: 11.4%
May 2010: 11.5%
April 2010: 12.2%
March 2010: 13.8%
February 2010: 13.3%
January 2010: 13.2%
December 2009: 10.9%
November 2009: 10.1%
October 2009: 9.3%
September 2009: 8.8%
August 2009: 8.7%
July 2009: 9.1%
June 2009: 9.6%
See unemployment rates for every Montana county here (.pdf).

The Associated Press contributed to this report. [End of article]

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Kalispell one of 12 cities across the world hosting equestrian event

Entering the World Stage at Rebecca Farm

By Web Master, 7-20-10



	Caption: Ryan Starley, flight supervisor with H.E. Sutton Forwarding Company, escorts a horse from a 727 at Glacier Jet Center. Eighteen horses traveled from the east coast to participate in The Event at Rebecca Farm. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

It’s not often that Kalispell finds itself on a roster of international cities stretching from Minsk, Belarus to Sydney, Australia. That is, of course, unless Rebecca Farm is involved. As the host of one of 12 stops of the 2010 HSBC/Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Cup, nearly 500 competitors and 20,000 spectators will descend upon the farm during The Event, held July 22-25.

“Every year The Event is growing and it’s getting bigger and better and more and more people continue to come,” Sarah Broussard Kelly, co-manager of The Event, said.

Along with The Event’s growth since its inception in 2001, more elite eventing riders are flocking to Rebecca Farm this year than ever before.

“Almost 50 of the top-level horses in the U.S. are competing here this weekend,” Kelly said.

This includes 18 horses that arrived at Glacier Jet Center Monday afternoon on a chartered flight from the East.

While the expense of shipping horses across the country by plane is astronomical, the transport highlights the logistical difficulties faced by elite riders attempting to place in the FEI Eventing World Cup.

Yet the rewards for the winners are rich. When the final competition concludes in Schenefeld, Germany, the top 15 riders will split a pot worth $180,000 and many of those riders will go on to represent their countries at the World Equestrian Games this September and perhaps the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. But as a rider’s top two placements count toward their final score, European riders have the historic advantage, as eight of the 12 stops will take place on their continent.

“The thing with the FEI is the game keeps changing,” Kelly said. “Part of it is that it wasn’t an extremely well-conceived idea in the beginning and wasn’t executed properly.”

Originally, 12 different World Cup qualifier events were held across the globe to determine which riders would compete in the final World Cup, which was held every year in a European location.

“It was very difficult to draw people to the final because it was a worldwide event,” Kelly said. “Geography got in the way.”

Due to the poor attendance, the FEI decided to scrap the final World Cup this year but still hold the qualifying events. Now, instead of qualifying to reach the final, riders compete in the any of the 12 competitions they can attend and their best two scores determine their overall placement.

For those unfamiliar with eventing, the sport consists of three separate disciplines: dressage, cross country and show jumping, earning it the moniker of a equine triathlon. The three components allow for a horse to display its full athletic prowess.

Dressage tests the balance and relationship between a horse and rider and highlights the horse’s obedience. The cross country test involves navigating a course strewn with obstacles. Show jumping, meanwhile, tests a horse’s leaping agility, similar to the human high jump. The horse and rider acquiring the fewest number of penalty points are declared the winner.

One unique aspect of eventing is that because horsemanship overrides physical strength, men and women are treated as physical equals and compete against each another.

The FEI’s original plan entailed that each country selected to host an event would only host one.

“We had to work hard to get two here because Europe has a difficult time grasping the size of the United States,” Kelly said. “Someone in France can feasibly go to six of them, while here, one person might have to drive across the U.S. to go to one.”

The FEI conceded in allowing the U.S. to host two, one held at Rebecca Farm and the other was held in Tallahassee, Fla., in March. Kelly expects some riders will compete in both states.

“If you want to compete and compete hard and fast and furious, which is what you have to do to be top in the sport, you need to go to where the events are,” she said.

Yet while geographical disadvantages are present for North American competitors, no events are held in South America, Africa, Asia or the Middle East.

“They actually have it worse than we do,” Kelly said. “We kind of forget about them.”

Like most equestrian events in the Northwest, The Event at Rebecca farm is free to spectators. Rebecca Farm operates through Montana Equestrian Events, which is a non-profit organization.

“We in no way shape or form make money on The Event,” Kelly said. “For us it happens to serve a purpose, which is providing an event for the competitors and their horses.”

Not only does the farm spend a lot of money on competitors, but Kelly ticks off a long list of other expenses the farm accrues, including horse stall construction, water and electricity bills, hiring and flying in officials, feeding and paying workers and purchasing the lumber for the jumps and the dressage arenas.

“I was a competitor for years and didn’t realize how difficult it was to make an event a business,” Kelly said.

Rebecca Farm also hosts an arts and crafts fair and concessions during The Event. Another tent was added to house the trade fair, which Kelly estimates is 30-40 percent larger than last year.

“I was listening to the messages last night and there are people still wanting to get in,” she said.

Besides the farm’s 100-member staff, nearly 400 volunteers offer their time to help pull off The Event.

“We could not do this without the support of the valley,” Kelly said. “It’s long and they get hot and tired from being in the sun all day but they manage to pull up their bootstraps.”

Despite the intensity and the lists that never get shorter, Kelly hates to see The Event end.

“It’s kind of depressing when it’s over,” she said. “Before it starts, we’re like frantic ants running around after our line gets disturbed, and then come Monday, there we are back in the line.”

To get to Rebecca Farm: From the junction of U.S. Highways 93 and 2, travel 2 miles north on Highway 93 to West Reserve Drive and go west 2 miles to Springcreek Road, then south on Springcreek. The Event entrance is 3/4 of a mile on the right. [End of article]

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Ballot Initiatives

Three Initiatives Qualify for Montana Ballot in November

By AP News, 7-19-10



	Caption: File photo by Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

HELENA – The state said Monday that three proposed initiatives received enough signatures of support from voters to qualify for the November ballot.

Secretary of State Linda McCulloch said a fourth initiative, the constitutionally required question on whether voters want a Montana constitutional convention, will also be on the ballot.

Initiative 161 qualified for the ballot and seeks to change the way hunter-access programs are funded. Another, I-164, caps the interest rate that payday loan operators can charge.

Constitutional Initiative 105 aims to prevent the Legislature from ever implementing a tax Montana currently does not have on the transfer of real estate.

McCulloch said her office is finalizing signature totals, which county offices were required to turn in by Friday.

"Out of 26 proposed ballot measures, three have successfully met the requirements needed to qualify for the November ballot," McCulloch said. "Even after we tabulate the remaining signatures, none of the other ballot issues will have enough signatures to qualify."

Backers of the campaign to cap payday loans at an annual percentage rate of 36 percent said they expect voters to approve the measure because current fees are unreasonably high and predatory.

The payday loan shops oppose the initiative, which they say would become unprofitable because the 36 percent annual rate is a small amount on short-term loans and the cap would such loans no longer worth the risk.

I-161 is largely driven by an opposition to the way outfitters operate on public land and would take away the guaranteed outfitter-sponsored, nonresident hunting license. Its backers say access to wildlife has decreased due to the for-profit fee hunting of outfitters.

The outfitters have largely come out in opposition to the measure.

Among the proposed initiatives that didn't not receive enough support to qualify for the ballot was an anti-abortion effort to constitutionally declare that life begins at conception, and a late effort to undo the state's medical marijuana law. [End of article]

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Amputation does little to deter athlete

Pedaling For Gold

By Web Master, 7-19-10



	Caption: Sam Kavanaugh. - www.nolimbitations.com

Sam Kavanagh spent 10 consecutive days at home in Bozeman last week, his longest span since April. As an elite Paralympic cyclist, the Coram native has spent much of the year training and competing across the U.S. and Europe. The layover’s timing was fortunate, as Kavanagh was able to celebrate his nine-year wedding anniversary with his wife on July 14.

While he enjoyed the respite, which included spending precious time with his daughter Amelia, 1, his racing calendar dictated a precise end date. Kavanagh is scheduled to compete at the 2010 U.S. Paralympics Track Cycling Championships July 24-25 in Colorado Springs before traveling to Baie-Comeau, Quebec for the 2010 UCI Para-cycling World Championships in August.

“It’s a lot of travel,” he said of his lifestyle. “It takes an amazing wife.”

As a boy growing up in Coram, seven miles south of the west entrance to Glacier National Park, cycling was Kavanagh’s first form of transportation. Upon receiving his driver’s license, the first thing Kavanagh did was borrow the family car and drive to a bike shop where he purchased a new mountain bike.

“My father wouldn’t let me buy the bike before I got my license because he thought I would want to use the money toward a car,” he said, laughing at the memory.

In his sophomore year at Montana State University, Kavanagh found a competitive outlet for his hobby within the school’s cycling club. He married classmate Sara Rogers his junior year, graduated a year later from MSU with a civil engineering degree and settled in Bozeman, where he took advantage of the area’s numerous outdoor activities. He had no way of foreseeing the wrench life would soon throw in his tracks.

On New Year’s Day 2005, Kavanagh and four friends were backcountry skiing in the Centennial Mountains when an avalanche was triggered. One friend perished in the icy assault, while Kavanagh’s left leg was severely injured. After two days spent waiting for rescue, in a mountainside yurt, he was airlifted to Bozeman Deaconess hospital. On Jan. 13th, doctors were forced to amputate his leg below the knee.

A difficult period passed for Kavanagh. Yet after receiving a prosthetic leg in April, and with his wife’s encouragement, Kavanagh slowly began cycling again. He says he learned to look at what happened to him as being a “life-changing but not life-limiting” event.

A year after his amputation, he competed in the U.S. Paralympics National Championships, where his inner athletic spark returned.

“I’m a competitive person,” Kavanagh said. “Competition is the opportunity to measure oneself and bring out your best as an athlete.”

He paused a minute before adding, “I’d be lying to say that I’m not an adrenaline junkie.”

A year and a half ago, with his star rising in the sport, Kavanagh quit his civil engineering job and committed his life to training.

“It’s a full-time job,” he said. “I dedicate my work time to getting faster on my bike.”

Kavanagh trains with an ultimate goal in mind: competing in the 2012 Paralympics in London. Kavanagh missed qualifying for the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing by a haunting margin of two seconds.

“Every day I’m making a step forward to get there,” he said.

Kavanagh says he spends around 25 hours a week on the bike, but around 40 hours altogether are dedicated to training. During his rides he focuses more on the intensity rather than the overall mileage.

In order to fuel his training, Kavanagh must consume around 6,000 calories a day when in the heart of the season.

“To eat that much, you pretty much have to eat every time food crosses your path,” he said. “That being said, I make smart choices and stay away from the Doritos and whole pizzas.”

His progress is overseen by Craig Griffin, head coach of the U.S. Paralympic team. As Griffin lives in Colorado Springs, the two stay in contact via e-mail and cell phone and both use a computer program to measure Kavanagh’s outputs.

“It’s quite scientific,” Kavanagh said. “Sometimes we joke and say our coaches are wearing lab coats as they look at the information.”

Kavanagh adheres to a strictly regimented training because he knows the competition is fierce.

“The division I compete in is the fastest it’s ever been,” he said, noting that some Paralympic racers have contracts with teams that are primarily stabled by able-bodied racers. Yet Kavanagh comes off fresh from a number of recent victories, including two gold medals in June; one for the 55-kilometer road race and another for the 20k criterium at the Paralympic Road National Cycling Championships in Bend, Ore.

While Kavanagh serves as a role model to many, he says he has scores of his own, including, previous Paralympics athletes such as Ron Williams, a cyclist who medaled at the 2004 Paralympic Games.

“He was the first person to contact me, push me and mentor me,” he said.

But Kavanagh says he wouldn’t be anywhere near where he is today without the support of his wife.

“Without her love and encouragement through those dark and depressing times after the amputation, I don’t know where I’d be,” he said.

Kavanagh’s progress can be followed on his blog, www.nolimbitations.com. [End of article]

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County reacts with reductions in funding, staffing for planning department

Recession Echoes in Flathead’s Low Subdivision Lot Numbers

By Molly Priddy, 7-18-10



	Caption: Photo illustration by Lido Vizzutti/Flathad Beacon

The Flathead County Planning and Zoning Department released its year-end count of lots created and proposed in the valley during fiscal year 2010, which showed a considerable drop in activity from the previous year and forecasted financial reductions for the department.

The report consists of development numbers from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010.

One of the report’s most telling statistics is the difference in lots approved by final plat in fiscal year 2010 compared to the previous year. When a project reaches final plat, it means the lots officially exist and can be sold, Assistant Planning Director BJ Grieve said.

This differs from preliminary plat status, which instead gives an idea of how many more lots could hit the market if the project reaches final plat, Grieve said.

In fiscal year 2009, the county approved 422 lots by final plat. In fiscal year 2010, there were only 64 lots approved by final plat.

Preliminary plat numbers also presented a bleak picture for development activity. The county approved 53 total lots for both major and minor subdivision projects in fiscal year 2010, whereas 384 preliminary plat lots approved for major subdivision projects alone in 2009.

While subdivision lot numbers reflect the recession’s nosedive-effect on the Flathead’s construction and contracting industries, they are also directly linked to planning department funding.

The county relies on application fees, property taxes and money from the county’s state entitlement share payments to pay department costs. When a resident proposes a subdivision project, they must pay a fee to help cover processing costs, which can vary depending on the time and energy spent on each individual project, Grieve said.

“Some (application fees) don’t even come close to covering what we’re expending on it,” Grieve said.

Application fees have steadily declined since fiscal year 2006, when they hit a high of about $470,000. The department was going “gangbusters” at that point, Grieve said, and every planner on staff was busy processing applications.

In 2007, the number dropped to roughly $342,000. By fiscal year 2008, fee revenue was down to $257,000.

In fiscal year 2009, the planning department brought in about $162,000 in fee revenue. Last fiscal year, that revenue stream dropped to a little over $114,000. Grieve said the department is already anticipating further decline in 2011, forecasting only $100,000.

With fewer applications coming in, the county plans to cut the department’s other revenue streams to account for a lighter workload. According to County Administrator Mike Pence, the planning department received $369,876 in state entitlement share funds last year.

Those funds are expected to drop to $100,000 when the county approves its budget for fiscal year 2011, Pence said. The department’s share of property taxes is expected to decrease from $273,582 to about $255,000, he said.

While the decreases in revenue and development activity may be significant, they are not unexpected. Grieve said the planning department had already taken preparatory steps to reduce staffing – its single highest expenditure – when the downward trend began in 2008.

At that point, the planning department had 11.5 full-time employees, Grieve said. By 2009, one full-time position had been eliminated; in 2010, three and a half more positions were gone.

“The layoffs which occurred in fiscal year 2010 were a reaction to anticipated further reduction in revenue,” Grieve said.

With one more full-time position eliminated this year when Planning Director Jeff Harris’ contract expires in September, the planning department will have 6.5 full-time employees on staff.

Flathead County Commissioner Jim Dupont said he was not surprised by the planning department’s year-end numbers, and the county will continue its hiring freeze to compensate for similar revenue losses in other departments as well.

“Right now, we’ve made some significant cuts already and we’ve frozen everything,” Dupont said. “Our planning department really has taken a pretty big hit.”

Dupont noted, however, that the county is wary of reducing planning staff too much. If application numbers and activity begin to increase, an understaffed department could be a bottleneck for progress, he said.

“You’ve got to be careful when you’ve got a pretty good staff,” Dupont said. [End of article]

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In interview, Gordon Campbell downplays need for treaty

B.C. Premier Expects to Know Mining Costs Soon on North Fork Deal

By Dan Testa, 7-18-10



	Caption: B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell. - Courtesy photo

YELLOW BAY – Accepting the Flathead Lakers’ 2010 Stewardship Award for signing an agreement with British Columbia protecting the North Fork from mining and drilling, Gov. Brian Schweitzer gave much of the credit to his counterpart in the negotiations: Premier Gordon Campbell.

Describing the fragile talks, held secretly in Spokane, Schweitzer emphasized that – from mining royalties to political capital – it was Campbell who had the most at stake.

“He came to power with a coalition that was pro-mining, pro-logging,” Schweitzer told the crowd gathered at the Flathead Lake Biological Station last week. “He was negotiating against his own base.”

“It is British Columbia who is walking away from $7 billion,” Schweitzer added. “It is Gordon Campbell who moved the furthest in order to get this done.”

And though Campbell wasn’t in the Flathead to accept the award, in a phone interview with the Beacon this week, the B.C. premier signaled his solidarity with Schweitzer on lingering issues regarding the memorandum of understanding, including the question of whether international four-party talks are necessary to buttress the agreement.

Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, Democrats, on June 28 called for four-party talks between the governments of B.C., Montana, the United States and Canada to move toward negotiating an international treaty to permanently protect the transboundary Flathead.

When asked about such a treaty, Campbell replied: “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Between partners like Montana and British Columbia, you can count on the MOU,” Campbell said. “We’re glad to work with Washington and Ottawa, but you know, we’ve done the work. We’ve done the work with local communities. We’ve done the work to protect the Flathead. The MOU’s there. Let’s protect the Flathead. That’s what we’re after and there are a couple of steps toward compensation we have to do. That’s what the real key is here.”

The compensation Campbell referenced is the estimated $17 million owed two private mining companies, Max Resource Corp. and Cline Mining Corporation, for investments made exploring the Canadian Flathead prior to the MOU signing in February, which banned mining.

“They obviously have some proprietary interests that they’re trying to protect,” Campbell said. “We’re trying to be, you know, very open about the fact that we’re going to cover their sunk costs; the governor has been a very strong proponent of us doing that.”

Schweitzer has criticized Montana’s federal delegation in recent weeks for not being forthcoming about providing the necessary compensation to these companies detailed in the MOU, despite the fact that the exact amount owed remains unclear.

Campbell affirmed that $17 million is “the ballpark of what we’re looking at,” and expects, “that within the next couple of weeks we’ll have a much cleaner number and we’ll be able to go and hopefully be able to resolve this with the help of Washington D.C.”

As for some of the public sparring between Schweitzer and the senators over compensating the two companies, Campbell said he was unconcerned.

“What my concern is: Let’s get on with resolving the agreement and getting it concluded, that’s what I’d like to do, the sooner we do it the better,” Campbell said. “A lot of people acted in good faith and came to the agreement working together, and that’s really what the key to this is, it’s: We can accomplish all of our goals. We can respect the desires of the people of Montana, the people of British Columbia, we can respect the very positive relationship between Canada and the United States, and we should get on and execute this plan.”

The memorandum of understanding marked a historic turning point in the decades-long struggle to prevent mining companies in the northern reaches of the Flathead basin from exploiting the rich coal, gas and gold deposits in southeastern B.C., the byproducts of which would flow south to harm water quality and wildlife in the Flathead Valley.

Campbell made clear, however, that once the sunk costs owed the companies are known, he expects the matter to be resolved quickly.

“We want this sooner rather than later. I think this is about us negotiating directly with the companies and making sure that we understand what their sunk costs are, knowing where the resources are going to be to meet those obligations and getting on with it,” he said. “So this isn’t a question of, sort of, can we tread water for a while.”

Campbell was quick to praise Schweitzer, and indicated that though the remaining details are important, much of the difficult negotiation is complete.

“This is a complicated issue that took a lot of work from both Montana and British Columbia,” Campbell said. “Gov. Schweitzer has come to this with a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish and with a clear view, with us, that we have to do it with people from Montana, with people from British Columbia; that’s what we’ve done. That’s what a real friend does, that’s what a real partner does, and that’s what Montana and British Columbia are.” [End of article]

This article was printed from flatheadbeacon.com at the following URL: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/b.c._premier_expects_to_know_mining_costs_soon_on_north_fork_deal/18679/