Whitefish climate-change plan ready for initial review

Whitefish has put the finishing touches on a climate-action plan that aims to strengthen local resilience to future climate-change impacts and make the transition to a clean-energy economy.

The Whitefish City Council will take its first look at the draft plan during a work session on Monday, April 2, and has scheduled a public hearing for April 16.

The city of Whitefish, Whitefish schools and the nonprofit Climate Smart Glacier Country joined forces in the effort to be part of a national effort to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and prepare for climate change, according to the plan’s executive summary.

In June 2017 Whitefish Mayor John Muhlfeld joined 391 other mayors in the United States by committing Whitefish to do its part in upholding the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, a pact in which the U.S. committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025. The 26-percent reduction target within seven years was adopted by the city as its initial goal.

Muhlfeld appointed a volunteer committee that has spent hundreds of hours researching and consulting with local and regional experts on the topic of climate change and its potential effects on Northwest Montana.

The draft plan points out that Northwest Montana has warmed by 2.5 degrees on an average annual basis since the 1950s, while average precipitation has declined slightly.

“Snow is melting earlier in the spring and fire seasons are longer,” the plan states. “Longtime residents have observed these gradual changes, such as less-frequent freezing of Whitefish Lake.”

With Whitefish’s tourist economy vitally tied to skiing, hiking, biking and fishing ­­­— all activities affected by the weather — it behooves the city to do what it can “to minimize negative effects and create new opportunities by looking ahead and taking action,” the draft plan recommends.

In developing the plan the city conducted a greenhouse-gas inventory in 2016 to serve as a baseline to measure future reductions and determine Whitefish’s carbon footprint. The city hired an Energy Corps coordinator, shared with the Whitefish School District, to assist with the development of the climate-action plan and compile a greenhouse-gas inventory for city operations.

That inventory process determined the city emitted the equivalent of 1,760 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2016. That level of emissions is the equivalent of 1.9 million pounds of coal burned, or 198,042 gallons of gasoline consumed. Whitefish’s emission level is higher than Missoula and Bozeman, but lower than Helena, the plan noted.

Beyond reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 26 percent in 2025, Whitefish aims to become carbon neutral by 2050.

The plan outlines numerous strategies for conservation:

- Shift to clean energy.

- Establish Whitefish as a fire-adapted community.

- Support climate-friendly land use and transportation.

- Maximize cost savings by conserving water and energy.

- Support community businesses and increase local production of food.

- Reduce consumption of carbon-intensive goods and services.

The council work session on the climate action draft plan runs from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 2, at Whitefish City Hall. The public hearing is part of the council’s regular meeting at 7:10 p.m. April 16.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.