Page 18 - Flathead Beacon // 7.2.14

18 | JULY 2, 2014 IN DEPTH FLATHEADBEACON.COM
People fly fish from a boat as they float down the North Fork Flathead River. FLATHEAD BEACON FILE PHOTO
How the North Fork Became Mired in Politics
Montana’s delegation exchanges barbs over campaign donations, blockage of North Fork Watershed Protection Act
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
When the state’s congressional lead- ers introduced the North Fork Water- shed Protection Act last year, the mea- sure to ban new energy development on 430,000 acres of wild and scenic river corridor near Glacier National Park stood out for its singular brand of bipar- tisan support.
The Montana-made bill gained near universal esteem, even at the height of partisanship, and was hailed by conser- vationists, oil tycoons and politicians alike as a commonsense piece of legis-
lation – 80 percent of energy leases in the area have been voluntarily released, and it dovetails with an effort by British Columbia’s parliament to place similar protections north of the border, on the headwaters of the Flathead River.
Representing the first public lands bill in recent memory to garner the full support of Montana’s entire congressio- nal delegation, it also provided a conve- nient platform for the state’s electorate to display the kind of esprit de corps that Washington lacks, a welcome departure from the gridlock that has stalled Con- gress, and a rare display of bipartisan teamwork greeted by much local fan- fare.
Montana’s representatives even ap- peared sincere about their commitment to the pristine North Fork Flathead River, while its dearth of opposition and glut of support made it politically innoc- uous.
Not only was it good legislation, it
seemed it was good politics.
But just as the North Fork bill ap-
peared poised to transcend the morass, it fell victim to the same political arrest that has come to typify Congress – a fa- natical brand of doctrinarian politics from which the measure and its backers attempted to distance themselves.
Mired in election-year politicking, the measure now sits squarely at the center of a dispute between the two can- didates for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat – U.S. Sen. John Walsh and U.S. Rep. Steve Daines – who have traded jabs over sus- pect campaign donations and cast al- legations of back-channel deals to stall the bill in an effort to portray the other as incompetent.
Former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus’ suc- cessor by appointment, Walsh began advocating the North Fork bill with gusto as soon as he’d taken office, while Daines, also an early champion of the bill – so much so that he introduced his
own version of the bill in the House – made waves by ushering the legislation through the Republican-led House.
But recently, Walsh criticized Daines for accepting $10,000 in campaign do- nations from U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R- Pennsylvania, one of three senators who blocked the passage of the North Fork Watershed Protection Act in the Senate.
Both Walsh and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., have accused Daines of lobby- ing Toomey and the other senators, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, to block the bill’s passage.
“Congressman Daines is ready to accept political contributions from his Senate allies, but didn’t want to do the tough work of getting the bill passed,” said Lauren Passalacqua, a spokesper- son for the Walsh campaign. “Leader- ship is doing what’s right even if it’s hard – and that includes standing up to mem- bers of your own party.”
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