By Bill Bennett - East Kootenay MLA

The Flathead Valley is a beautiful, wild valley that we all love. The issue is not who loves it the most. It is, rather, a question of how should the Flathead Valley be managed to keep it wild and beautiful. Those who advocate for a federal park believe the only way to keep the Flathead the same as it is today is to create a national park. These folks aligned themselves with the NDP in the recent provincial election and lost.

The majority of my constituents believe the Flathead can continue to be managed as it is currently managed today to allow for hunting, fishing, guide outfitting, trapping, logging and some limited motorized recreation. And I, of course, was recently re-elected to represent the views of the majority of my constituents. The management model in use for the past 50 years has been good for the Flathead and the proof is the very high density of grizzly bears that inhabit the Valley and the other abundant wildlife.

The real question in this debate is not whether the Valley needs a park but whether new industrial activities should be allowed in the Flathead. There is natural gas there plus many valuable minerals and metallurgical coal. As you know, I am a strong supporter of the mining industry and the jobs that are created by mining. However, in this case, none of the major coal companies are interested in operating in the Flathead Valley and the majority of my constituents are generally opposed to open pit coal mining in the Flathead.

Last year, I took a public position against open pit coal mining in the Flathead Valley. So the recent efforts by Wildsight to create the illusion that the Flathead Valley is at imminent risk or “in danger” is a dishonest fabrication and a clear attempt to hoodwink the public. The Flathead Valley is very carefully managed for a variety of uses and this management model has worked well for the past 50 years. There is a need for government to review the allowable uses in the Flathead Valley with a view of not allowing mining and/or gas extraction. But there is absolutely no need for a federal park.

Those who try to go around the democratic process, like Wildsight keeps trying to do on this issue, seem to believe that the views of ordinary people in the East Kootenay don’t matter. They seem to believe that if they disagree with the majority who elected government, they can simply join forces with the United States and go to the United Nations to force an unnecessary and unfair policy on British Columbians.

The Flathead Valley is part of British Columbia and British Columbians should say how it is managed, not American Senators, not small special interest groups from Montana or Fernie, and not people from the United Nations who have never even set foot in the Flathead Valley. For your thoughts on this issue, feel free to send a letter to my office or email me your comments.