Doing What’s Right for Montana’s Outdoor Heritage

Protecting the Flathead

The North Fork of the Flathead River, a federal Wild and Scenic River, rises in Canada and serves as the western boundary of Glacier National Park before feeding into Flathead Lake.  Glacier National Park, the Flathead River system and the clean, clear waters of Flathead Lake are critical to Montana’s economy. Proposals to mine coal and develop coal bed methane in the British Columbian portion of the Flathead would put some of Montana’s most valuable treasures at risk.

We won a major victory in February of 2008 when the CEO of BP America, Bob Malone, informed me that BP was taking its proposal to develop coal bed methane in the Flathead off the table.  I met with Mr. Malone several times and let him know that no coal bed methane development in the North Fork of the Flathead was my bottom line.  Stopping the BP proposal was a huge victory, but other challenges remain.

I have also been working hard to stop a proposed coal mine in the Canadian portion of the North Fork.  This mountaintop removal coal mine would release selenium and other toxic contaminants into the Flathead River, forever damaging one of the best trout fisheries in North America.  I have worked with officials on both sides of the border, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Canadian Ambassador Joseph Wilson, to bring strong Federal scrutiny to this project.  I am pleased that at my request, Canada’s Ambassador to the United States, Joseph Wilson, announced in the spring of 2007 that the Canadian Federal Government would be conducting a federal level environmental assessment of the proposed mine.

Rest assured I will not stop fighting until the environment and the economy of the Flathead is protected.

Secure Rural Schools

The Secure Rural Schools program, which expired in 2006, is a critically important program for Montana.  It provides funding for schools and road improvements that keep schools open and teachers employed in many Montana communities.  I am proud to have passed a measure last year to provide an emergency one-year extension of the Secure Rural Schools program.   Now my top priority is to provide a long term extension.  I have drafted a provision that would extend the program for another four years and provide more than $90 million for Montana’s counties and schools.

Other proposals to fund the Secure Rural Schools program would require selling off public lands to do so.  This is totally unacceptable.  Public lands are important to our outdoor heritage and conservation legacy in Montana.  We hunt, fish, and camp with our kids.  The public lands we enjoy should be well managed and passed on for future generations to enjoy.  My proposal would extend the Secure Rural Schools program for four years without selling an acre of public land.

Securing our Energy Independence

America must become energy independent.  Our dependence on foreign oil is hurting our national security and our pocket books.  Gasoline prices are too high.  To lower high gasoline prices, I am committed to increasing energy production here in the United States. 

I’m proud that we in Montana are doing our part to increase oil production.  I have been very supportive of the development of the Bakken Oil Formation, which at 3.6 billion barrels is the largest oil field discovered in the United States in the last 50 years.  In addition, I have consistently voted in favor of drilling for oil and gas off the Gulf Coast, including voting in favor of opening Lease Area 181 in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which is known to contain about 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

We need to do more, though, to develop domestic energy sources, and I am in favor of opening additional offshore areas to oil and gas drilling.  I think this can be done in a way that both takes advantages of our domestic oil resources and protects this country’s outdoor heritage.

In addition to increasing domestic oil and gas production, we need to further develop our other energy resources, which Montana has in abundance.  Montana is poised to become a leader in the energy industry.  From wind to oil and gas to solar to biomass to biodiesel to clean coal, Montana has it all.  With new clean energy technologies we can create good paying jobs and protect our outdoor heritage.

I am using my position as Chairman of the Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes, to make sure Montana takes advantage of this opportunity.  As Chairman of the Finance Committee I have created numerous tax incentives to help spur investment in the newest and cleanest energy technologies.  As part of the Farm Bill, I passed the first ever tax credit for cellulosic ethanol made from feed stocks such as wheat stalks.  My energy tax package would also create incentives for carbon capture and sequestration from coal fired power plants as well as an extension of the production tax credit which helped get the Judith Gap wind farm off the ground.

We have to make sure we conserve our resources by using them more wisely and efficiently.  That is why in December of 2007 I helped pass the first increase to CAFÉ standards in over 30 years.  By 2020 this provision will reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 1.7 million barrels per day and save consumers over $25 billion dollars per year in lower gas bills.

The challenges of rising oil prices, energy independence, and climate change are significant, but with the ingenuity of hardworking Montanans we are up to the task.  I am doing my part to make sure Montana plays a leading role in securing our country’s energy independence.

Cleaning Up Libby

The cleanup of Libby is personally important to me, and I am working hard in the 110th Congress to ensure that folks in Libby get all the assistance they deserve.  My top priorities in Libby are to make sure that a public health emergency is declared, that the cleanup gets done right, and that every resident in Libby gets access to affordable healthcare.

In my efforts on behalf of Libby, I have held listening sessions and hearings, supported the opening of the CARD clinic for medical screenings, and collaborated with my Senate colleagues on health care and liability reforms to help victims of asbestos exposure.  Libby has come a long way, but more work remains.
I am 100 percent committed to seeing the cleanup in Libby through to the end.  That is why in the spring of 2007 I forced the EPA to complete the necessary toxicity studies to determine how clean homes must be in order to be protective of human health.  I have also pressed the EPA to declare a Public Health Emergency.  This declaration would ensure that EPA has clear authority to remove all the asbestos from the walls and attics of homes in Libby.  It would also allow the Federal Government to provide better health care for the people of Libby.

This cleanup is a job the EPA needs to do right.  I am fighting to make sure that Libby gets the clean bill of health it deserves.

Slowing Climate Change

Montanans take the call to be good stewards of the environment very seriously.  This means that we must address the issue of climate change.  We cannot be good stewards if we ignore the fact that climate change threatens to result in longer droughts, more severe wildfire seasons, and no glaciers in Glacier National Park.  I believe dealing with climate change is a moral imperative.  It’s also key to developing Montana’s economy and bringing good, high paying green jobs to Montana.

To stop climate change we need a cap and trade program that will do three things—provide incentives for clean coal technology, spur development of renewable energy, and allow Montana farmers and ranchers to be part of the solution by developing offset projects.  In the Senate, I have helped draft legislation that would do just this.

Montana can be a leader in addressing climate change and developing the clean energy sources of the future.  Our farmers can practice no-till farming to generate carbon credits which will provide an additional source of revenue for our hardworking farmers.  We can use our abundant coal in power plants that capture and sequester their carbon.  We can produce other clean energy in the form of wind power and biodiesel.  There are many exciting opportunities for Montana industries as our nation leads the fight against climate change.

Accessing Public Land

Montana is an outdoors state.  We hunt.  We fish.  We take our kids hiking and camping.  Our public lands are part of our recreational heritage as Montanans.   We should be looking for ways to boost access to hunting and fishing lands, not putting more padlocks on more gates.  That is why I am proud to have had a leading role in the Montana Legacy Project, which was announced earlier this summer. 

The Montana Legacy Project will permanently preserve 320,000 acres of formerly private land in the Swan Valley, the Fish Creek Valley, and around Potomac and Lolo for hunting and fishing and other outdoor activities for all Montanans.  The Montana Legacy Project will also ensure that the forests remain working forests, providing sustainable timber harvests that will create jobs and support the local economies that have relied on timber for generations. 

I'll continue to fight to ensure access to public land, to protect the habitat of Montana's abundant game, and to uphold the rights of Montana gun owners.  Public lands provide valuable resources, jobs, and recreation opportunities, and need to be managed in ways that protect a wide variety of responsible uses.  Rest assured that I will always oppose putting our outdoor heritage and environmental legacy up for sale to the highest bidder.