**NEWS RELEASE**

Flathead British Columbia announces ban on mining, oil and gas in Upper Basin:  Assessment by Wildlife Conservation Society documented importance for trans-boundary wildlife

CONTACTS:
Toronto: Dr. Justina Ray 416-795-1636 jray@wcs.org

New York: Stephen Sautner: 718-220-3682 ssautner@wcs.org

Toronto, Ont. (February 11, 2010)  The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) commended the Government of British Columbia today for its decision to ban oil and gas drilling from the Canadian portion of the trans-boundary Flathead River basin.

"The trans-boundary Flathead is an ecological gem", said Dr. John Weaver, senior conservation scientist for Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. "It harbors a diverse community of carnivores such as wolf, lynx, marten, wolverine and grizzly bear and other wildlife that move back and forth across the international border. The announcement today by the BC government recognizes these world-class ecological values and bodes well for a new era of integrated conservation of a critical trans-boundary watershed."

Weaver's 2001 report entitled The Trans-boundary Flathead: A Critical Landscape for Carnivores in the Rocky Mountains documented wildlife value in the area and provided scientific support for ensuing conservation efforts.

The North Fork of the Flathead River headwaters is in southeast British Columbia west of Waterton Lakes National Park and flows across the international border into Montana where it forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park. This international watershed in the heart of the Rocky Mountains is known as the trans-boundary Flathead.

The Wildlife Conservation Society Canada saves wildlife and wild places across Canada and around the world. Visit: www.wcscanada.org or www.wcs.org

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