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METALINE FALLS – The Metaline Falls border station’s shortened crossing hours have caused economic woes in Pend Oreille County’s northern communities ever since covid closed the borders to traffic.
Seventh District state Sen. Shelly Short said the state has seen a huge economic downturn during and post-covid that still impacts the region’s northern borders.
“It’s just one more hardship,” she said.
Most commercial traffic from other manufacturing areas must be diverted to farther border crossings that have extended their hours.
“This causes more wear and tear and increases gas consumption,” Short said.
For example, in north Idaho, the crossing was closed at 5 p.m. until public pressure and the involvement of Idaho representatives extended the closing hours to 8 p.m. They are now putting pressure to extend the Idaho crossing to 11 p.m.
The Metaline Falls crossing is another matter.
The crossing from the U.S. border into Canada closes at 8 p.m. The crossing from Canada to the United States closes at 4 p.m.
Short said many businesses in Pend Oreille County are impacted by the limited hours.
“Canadians love the Cutter Theater (in Metaline Falls). The shorter hours impede them from using the Theater,” she said.
Short reasoned that U.S. Customs and Border Protection needs to conduct a study on traffic patterns to justify extending the hours.
“They say traffic doesn’t meet the needs for extending the hours,” Stephanie Sims, the executive director for the International Selkirk Loop, said.
“But the fact of the closing hours is like putting the brake on traffic through our local communities,” Sims said.
The International Selkirk Loop is a scenic drive that crosses north Idaho, eastern Washington and Canada.
Idaho, Montana and North Dakota have expanded their border crossing hours, according to Sims. “The Idaho crossing just fine. Traffic is increasing,” she said, saying many motorists must be retrained in their thinking on the extended hours.
However, the Metaline Falls border crossing causes economic issues for the region.
“It affects logging, churches and theaters,” Sims said.
She said even the Kootanai tribe is separated by international boundaries due to the border closings, causing social anxiety for native communities.
Congress has deliberated about expanding the ports of entry to all northern states crossings to pre-pandemic levels, essential for business activity.
“International travel between the United States and Canada is essential for the families who call Northeastern Washington home,” U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R. Spokane, said. “The ability for people and products to legally move between the United States and Canada in an efficient way is of paramount necessity, which is why it’s so important we restore hours at our border crossings to pre-pandemic levels.”
McMorris Rodgers, a member of the Northern Border Security Caucus in the House of Representatives, said she has fought hard to open the borders fully.
“This is something I will continue to push for in Congress with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle so we can make sure every person in our communities has access to the goods and services they need,” she said.
In the meantime, many businesses are hard pressed with the limited hours at the crossing.
Gale Thrasher, a volunteer at the Tiger Historical Center said on Saturday she had three visitors on their way to Canada. She said a lot of tourists want the border open longer hours.
“That’s where we get the complaints, that they have to find a place to stay.” She and other volunteers would also like to see the border open longer hours, “at least in the summer months.” Hannah Taylor works at The Farmhouse Cafe in Metaline Falls, which was full and busy on Saturday afternoon. She said customers would definitely like to see the border open longer hours.
“We get quite a bit of feedback, chatting with the customers who come in,” she said. “There’s been a few who get stuck here.” There is a bright side to the border closing early for those in the hotel industry.
“It’s a good source of business. They have to find a place to stay,” said Arlie Ward, owner of the Washington Hotel in Metaline Falls.
