Libby, MT
Dec. 12, 2003
A University of Montana
class came away from a field trip to Libby with more than they bargained.
Instructor Nicky Phear and
25 students from the Wilderness and Civilization Program met in Libby last
Friday with local representatives involved with the W.R. Grace cleanup and the
associated health problems.
“We go on weekly field
trips, trying to understand how the ecology, politics, history and culture of a
place interact,” Phear said.
In a classroom at the
Lincoln County Campus of Flathead Valley Community College, Phear and the UM
students listened to Gayla Benefield and Les Skramsted, local asbestos victim’s
advocates, Gordon Sullivan, Technical Assistance Grant director, and Pat Cohan
of the Center for Asbestos Related Disease.
The vermiculite mine near
Libby operated for nearly 60 years, with the final 30 under the management of
Grace. More than 2,000 local residents have been diagnosed in recent years with
asbestos-related disease from the mining and milling operations. The
vermiculite was contaminated with tremolite asbestos, a rare and dangerous form
of asbestos. Two hundred
deaths have been associated
with the mining operation due to asbestos-related disease.
Phear said students came
away with a more personal look at how a mining project can go wrong for people
in a community. For some it provided insight into a problem that was only
vaguely familiar to them.
“I had passed through Libby
many times, traveled there to play soccer and run track, and it was not until I
listened to these testimonies that I wanted to help,” said Mark Ruby of
Kalispell. “It put a face to the issue.”
For student Melisa
Beveridge, she was both moved by the comments and inspired by the strength of
the community.
“The sadness and tragedy is
overwhelming in Libby, but the strength of the community has been a huge help
in overcoming their anger,” she said. “I started crying when Les said that he
only had two years left to live, and his wife was behind him holding his
shoulders, recognizing the implications of that reality more and more every
day. It’s a very personal issue when you are face to face with the people who
are sick, such as the woman who will lose her husband too soon in life.” One student, Anna Bengston, sees the Libby
story as a call to all citizens to be more actively involved and not
complacent, especially on issues of health versus money.
“What happened in Libby can
happen anywhere in the world, and not only with the mining industry,” Bengston
said. “As individuals and citizens of the U.S. we need to be more critical and
questioning of our government and big business rather than putting unassuming
blind faith
and trust in them to look
out for our well-being.
Bengston said Libby was a
good example of where when it comes down to a choice between making money and
protecting workers, greed can easily impair the judgment of people.
“My hope is that something
good will come from what has happened in Libby, and I believe this is already
beginning to take place through education and awareness” she said “Hopefully
this will lead to protection or prevention from something like this happening
in another area.”
And another student, Adam
Lieberg, said nothing short of complete cleanup in the Libby community should
be acceptable.
“After listening to
everything the people of this town have been through, it is unimaginable that
anything other than a complete clean up would be acceptable,” he said “The fact
that this has not been the case is both frustrating and devastating. To witness
these people, like Les Skramstad and Gayla Benefield, invest so much energy in
fighting for their town — who do not all support them — and all the while doing
this knowing they are dying is inspirational.”
Many students found the
Libby tragedy inspirational in how truth found it’s way to daylight and
corrective action is taking place though the efforts of the Environmental
Protection Agency. Others were concerned that corporate greed and government
malaise were allowed to endanger the health of an entire community.
And others were simply
moved.
“My experience in Libby was
very powerful and dramatic,” said Andrew Henry. “I walked away with knowledge
of the community and an understanding of poor mining practices. I pray for the
community of Libby to have a strong future, a remarkable recovery, and
happiness. The
experience in Libby gave me
inspiration and an incentive to use my knowledge and play an active role to
prevent any other catastrophic calamities from happening again.”
The Wilderness and
Civilization program is a yearlong program that integrates classroom learning
and field study to educate students about land use and community conservation
across western Montana. The program is a part of the College of Forestry and
Conservation. Students,
however, take coursework
from across the campus in ecology, policy, law, Native American perspectives,
literature, and economics. Students are also required to do an internship and a
service project.
“After Libby we went to the
Yaak Valley and met with folks up there to try to better understand forest
management, the culture of the region, and the ecology of that unique forest,”
Phear said “Our field trips always introduce us to a range of land managers and
community leaders —
foresters, ecologists,
tribal members, conservation activists, land managers, and others.”
The class has taken field
trips to the Rocky Mountain Front, where they met with ranchers, people from
the Nature Conservancy, and from the Blackfeet Reservation. They went on a
forestry field trip to visit the Stimson Mill in Bonner, where they met with
local loggers, and participated in a mock timber harvest.
“We’ve also explored the
Missoula Valley quite a bit-learning about the infestation of weeds, urban
sprawl into important agriculture lands, local food systems, and open space
planning,” Phear said.
http://www.thewesternnews.com/wnnews/decnews.htm#Class%20trip%20to%20Libby%20provides%20look%20at%20mining%20gone%20wrong