Page 20 - Flathead Beacon // 12.30.15

YEAR IN NEWS
2015
NEWS 2015 IN REVIEW By BEACON STAFF
across the state. A bill expanding Medicaid eligibil- ity to about 45,000 low-income Montana residents survived and went into law. One of the most promi- nent and signi cant topics of the session, the water compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, was passed into law after a series of divisive, heated debates. Gov. Steve Bullock signed Senate Bill 289 into law April 22 at the Capitol, calling the Mon- tana Disclose Act a major step in making Montana elections among the most transparent in the nation. And last but certainly not least, Rep. David Moore of Missoula lost his war against “provocative clothing” when his bill seeking to strengthen the state’s inde- cent exposure law failed. The bill could have made it illegal to wear yoga pants in public.
White sh Voters Approve Resort Tax Hike for Haskill Basin Easement: In a watershed victory for conservation advocates and city o cials who saw the need to permanently protect White sh’s munici- pal water supply while preserving recreational access to a 3,000-acre tract of land, voters overwhelmingly approved a 1 percentage point resort tax increase that will help nance the purchase of a conservation ease- ment in Haskill Basin. The special election in April saw 83.6 percent voter approval to raise the city’s re- sort tax on lodging, restaurant food and drinks and retail items from 2 percent to 3 percent.
CFAC Permanently Closes While Superfund De- bate Lingers: O cially marking the end of an era, owners of the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company announced in March that they were permanently closing their aluminum reduction plant on the banks of the Flathead River. The plant, located just north of Columbia Falls and closed in 2009, has been at the center of a debate over whether the facility should be listed as a Superfund site under the National Prior- ities List. In late November, Glencore said it would lead a comprehensive investigation into the environ- mental contamination in and around the site. Work is expected to begin in early 2016 with the instilla- tion of wells on the aluminum plant site to test the soil and groundwater.
Prominent Scientists Retire from Flathead Lake Biological Station: Two prominent scientists cred- ited with world-renowned research at the Flathead Lake Biological Station in Yellow Bay retired this past year, marking the end of an era at one of the old- est active biological stations in the U.S. Bonnie Ellis, who led the development of a long-term monitoring program for Flathead Lake, retired in February af- ter 37 years at the biological station. Jack Stanford, who has worked at the station since 1971 and became the director in 1980, spearheading the facility’s rise as a preeminent research center, retired at the end of the year. He will remain involved with graduate stu- dents at the site through next summer. James Elser is taking over as director of the biological station in Yellow Bay.
White sh Tears Down Old City Hall to Build New Downtown Landmark: After decades of de- bate and hopeful planning, White sh is building a new city hall in downtown. In late October, the 98-year-old city hall came down, making way for a new 21,000-square-foot facility with a parking structure and adjacent retail space in the heart of town. But as the building comes together, the city
Drought, Heat Wave Drive Tumultuous Wild- re Season: One of the driest springs on record in Kalispell transitioned into the driest summer on re- cord, leaving Western Montana in the clutches of an historic dry spell with triple-digit temperatures. As a natural result, the threat of re danger worsened. By the end of June, dozens of res began wreaking havoc on the region in a three-month long stretch of smoky skies and volatile conditions. The Flathead Coun- ty Sheri ’s O ce issued a pre-evacuation notice to the residents of Essex and the surrounding commu- nity as the Sheep Fire threatened homes and closed the highway. The Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park was temporarily closed in the thick of tourist season, a ecting thousands of visitors. In August, Gov. Steve Bullock declared a state of emer- gency. The U.S. Forest Service depleted its re ght- ing budget in August as the costliest re season in U.S. history destroyed hundreds of homes across the West. Wild res burned a near-record 15,000 square miles nationwide. In this corner of the state, it went down as one of the worst re seasons in decades.
Montanore Gets Green Light As Poor Market Shutters Troy Mine: It’s been a year full of ups and downs for Lincoln County’s fragile mining in- dustry. After more than a decade of work, regula- tors tentatively approved the Montanore Mine and it is expected to get its state and federal permits in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Revett Minerals was sold to the Hecla Mining Company, which decided to shutter the Troy Mine due to a weak copper and sil- ver market.
Plum Creek Merger to Create Global Timber Gi- ant: In early November, the two largest owners of timberlands in the U.S. announced a major merger that will create a $23 billion timber, land and forest products company, the largest in the nation. Weyer- haeuser will purchase Plum Creek, the largest land- owner in Montana, and the combined companies will hold more than 13 million acres of timberland across the U.S., including this corner of the state, where Plum Creek operates mills in Columbia Falls and Ev- ergreen. What this means for the 750 Plum Creek em- ployees in Northwest Montana, as well as public ac- cess, remains unknown and a large topic of concern.
Tribes Take Ownership of Large Dam near Pol- son: The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes became the rst tribal government to own and oper- ate a major hydroelectric facility in early September when they acquired Kerr Dam along the Flathead River. The CSKT paid nearly $18.3 million to North- Western Energy to acquire the dam. The facility is now called Séliš Ksanka Ql’ispé Dam. The CSKT announced they would not help o set the loss of more than $1 million in tax revenue to Lake County schools and services.
Legislative Session Heats Up over Water Com- pact, Medicaid Expansion: The 64th Legislative session had plenty of reworks as lawmakers battled over lightning rod issues, from infrastructure fund- ing to Medicaid expansion and even yoga pants. The House voted down a $150 million infrastructure bill in the nal day of the session, killing an e ort to in- vest in water, sewer and roads and building projects
2015
BY THE NUMBERS
225,024
Acres burned across Northwest Montana this year.
23,728
Acres burned in Glacier National Park this year.
$45.64 MILLION
Cost to ght wild res in Northwest Montana.
46.3
Average temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, in Kalispell from January through Dec. 22, the second warmest on record and only 0.1 degrees below the warmest year on record, 1941.
11.22
Inches of precipitation that fell in Kalispell from January through Dec. 23, ranking in the top ve for driest years on record. The normal value for this period is 16.52 inches.
102 DEGREES
Temperature on June 28, a record for that day in Kalispell. An historic heat wave swept through the valley around the Fourth of July holiday week, with four records broken from July 1-5.
213
Fireworks complaints made to the local 911 center from July 4-5. All reworks were banned for the holiday week due to extreme re danger.
100 MILLION
Visitors to Glacier National Park since it opened 105 years ago, a milestone that was recognized June 11 in a ceremony
at Apgar Transit Center.
2.35 MILLION
Visitors to Glacier Park from January through November, marking the most ever for one year and surpassing the previous annual record set in 2014 with one month still remaining. This year marks the eighth time in 12 years that over 2 million people have visited Glacier Park. Only ve other years prior to 2004 saw that many people in the park.
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DECEMBER 30, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM