| Spring is always an active and
exciting time.
One of the annual spring activities sponsored by the Tribal
Natural Resource Department, Division of Fish, Wildlife,
Conservation and Recreation, is the River Honoring. This event
is special because it brings together community, Tribal
Government, educators and young students from throughout the
reservation and the area. It begins with a community event on
the first evening at which the CSKT present awards to
individual honorees who exemplify, through their actions, the
spirit of dedication and support for the environment.
(Congratulations to this years honorees.) The River Honoring
continues for two more days during which teachers take
approximately 1000 students through a series of stations aimed
at teaching cultural, natural resource, conservation and
stewardship ideas. This year is special also because it marks
the twentieth year for this event.
I also want to say thank you to all of the staff and community
members who make the River Honoring happen each year. It is
because of your dedication and support that this event
continues to be successful. Also, we want to thank the Tribal
Council for their continued support. The Confederated Salish
and Kootenai Tribes continue to be recognized as a national
leader in environmental protection and it is appropriate that
this event is part of that effort.
Finally, I want to seek your help in supporting the river
environment in the coming year. While unconfirmed, I imagine
that one of the reasons for the creation of the River Honoring
event was the threat to the Flathead River posed by potential
coal mining in the Canadian Flathead, twenty years ago. We are
faced with the same threat again today. The Confederated
Salish and Kootenai Tribes are engaged in the British Columbia
environmental review process with the State of Montana over
the proposed coal mining activities in the upper reaches of
the Flathead Basin, located in Canada. During the coming
months please find a way to express your support for
protection of our precious Flathead River.
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