Right
Honourable Jean Chrétien
Office
of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A2
April
2, 2002
Honourable
Gordon Campbell
Premier
of British Columbia
PO
Box 9041, STN PROV GOVT
Victoria,
BC
V8W
9E1
CANADA
Dear
Prime Minister Chrétien,
The American Fisheries Society,
the oldest professional society in North America dealing with the natural
resources, was organized in 1870. The
Montana Chapter of
the American Fisheries Society (MCAFS) was chartered in 1967.
Among its objectives are conservation, development and wise utilization
of the fisheries, promotion of the educational, scientific and technological
development and advancement of all branches of fisheries science and practice,
and exchange and dissemination of knowledge about fish, fisheries and related
subject.
The MCAFS is pleased to learn that negotiations are
in progress in Canada to incorporate 100,000 acres into Waterton Lakes National
Park and to determine the long-term dispensation of approximately 700,000 acres
of public lands in the upper Flathead River and the Wigwam, Elk and Bull River
Valleys in the Kootenai Watershed. The
Flathead and Kootenai Rivers are international ecosystems that cross provincial
and state boundaries and the Canada-U.S. border. These drainages support critical habitat for a variety of
threatened and sensitive fish species in Canada and the U.S.
We encourage actions throughout the region that help conserve, protect,
and restore native fish and the habitat on which they depend.
Over the past several years, the B.C. Ministry of
Environment and the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks have been using radio
telemetry and fish marking techniques to track native bull trout and westslope
cutthroat trout in the Flathead and Kootenai Watersheds.
Similarly, these agencies have also tracked the movements of burbot in
the Kootenai Watershed. Results have shown that many native trout and burbot migrate
to spawn in the Canadian portions of these river drainages, attesting to the
importance of Canadian tributaries to the maintenance of these transboundary
species.
In the Flathead and Kootenai Watersheds, migratory
trout populations have declined because of human impacts on the environment such
as habitat degradation and fragmentation and negative interactions with
nonnative fish species. In response
to declines, the bull trout was listed as a threatened species under the
Endangered Species Act and the westslope cutthroat trout was classified as a
sensitive species. Genetically pure
strains of migratory westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout are now sustained
by populations inhabiting headwater tributaries in the U.S. and Canada. These
stocks are critical to the restoration of native fish species throughout their
historic range.
We believe that expanding Waterton National Park and
designating a Wildlife Management Area in the Flathead River will protect and
conserve contiguous tracts of critical fisheries and aquatic habitat in Canada
and the U.S. The North Fork
Flathead River, which flows across the US-Canadian border just over the divide
from Waterton Lakes National Park, is recognized as a regional stronghold for
migratory bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout throughout their native
range. Studies have shown that a
majority of spawning and rearing occurs in the upper reaches of the Flathead
River in Montana and British Columbia. Montana's
Glacier National Park and National Forest lands on the U.S. side of the border
provide a habitat stronghold for fish populations. A sparse human population, limited development and high
biodiversity make the North Fork Flathead River one of the most intact
watersheds within the U.S. portion of the Rocky Mountains.
Protection of critical habitat throughout the entire Flathead system,
including the headwaters in Canada, is imperative to the persistence of native
trout in the Flathead drainage.
We believe that legislation of a Wildlife Management Area in the Wigwam,
Elk and Bull River valleys will protect and improve key ecosystem processes and
critical habitat for native fish recovery.
Investigations in the Kootenai Watershed have revealed that the Wigwam
River, which originates in Montana and flows into British Columbia, provides
important spawning and rearing habitat for one of the strongest populations of
bull trout in North America. The Wigwam, Elk, and Bull Rivers contain adfluvial-spawning
migrations of bull trout and are part of the contiguous population that supports
bull trout in Libby Reservoir (Lake Koocanusa). Canadian tributaries also
contain some of the most important remaining populations of pure westslope
cutthroat in the Kootenai Watershed. Similarly,
radio tagged burbot in Koocanusa have been tracked into the Canadian headwaters.
Land management decisions on both sides of the US-Canadian border should
consider potential impacts to these species of special concern.
Transboundary
fisheries populations support a valued cultural and economic heritage in Canada
and the U.S. We applaud and support
Tembec’s endorsement to add 100,000 acres of relatively pristine lands to
Waterton Lakes National Park. Further,
we encourage legislation to designate 700,000 acres of public lands as Wildlife
Management Areas to protect and conserve critical fisheries habitat.
Human development and resource extraction continue to expand to remote
areas and, unless strategically planned, will impact fisheries resources.
Decisions made today represent a unique and irreversible opportunity to
sustain our natural heritage for future generations.
We urge you to consider the value of these international fisheries during
your deliberations.
Sincerely,
Pat
Clancey, President
Box
1336
Ennis, MT USA 59729
Back to Chapter Correspondence Page
viewers since 4-8-02