Bear Paw Development receives national award for work on Wild Horse port

Havre Daily News staff

A local effort to expand the hours of an international port of entry has earned a Havre economic development agency a national award.

A press release from the National Association of Development Organizations announced that the association awarded Bear Paw Development Corp. a 2016 Innovation Award for the Wild Horse Border Project.

“We are pleased and humbled that we have received this prestigious national recognition for a project that has such incredible potential in both Montana and Alberta,” said Paul Tuss, Bear Paw’s executive director. “Our cross-border cooperation with this effort is aimed exclusively at diversifying our regional economy by creating jobs and increasing commerce, exports and trade between our two nations.  We remain hopeful that the federal governments in both the United States and Canada will expand the hours of operation for this important international border crossing and thus increase the economic growth and diversification for our area.”

The efforts began under then-Havre Mayor Bob Rice and then-Medicine Hat, Alberta, Mayor Garth Vallely.

The Port of Sweet Grass north of Shelby is the only 24-hour commercial port between Montana and Alberta. The Wild Horse Border Committee, which is co-chaired by the mayors of Havre and Alberta, has been attempting to upgrade the Port of Wild Horse north of Havre, which now is part-time and requires truckers to obtain a permit before transporting freight through the port.

A feasibility study and business plan is being developed by the Van Horne Institute and PROLOG Canada, both from Calgary. The report will be complete by the end of 2016.

The committee now is co-chaired by Havre Mayor Tim Solomon and Medicine Hat City Council member Celina Symmonds, who was appointed by Medicine Hat Mayor Ted Clugston to represent the city.

The committee meets about every six months, and keeps up on issues about efforts to upgrade the port status with regular correspondence and an occasional conference call, Tuss said.