To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. US Border Patrol Agent Lonnie Schweitzer at the US-Canada border near Pembina, ND. BETWEEN PORTS OF ENTRY IN MONTANA, THE TERRAIN IS OPEN AND VAST, ENCOMPASSING RUGGED LAND, MOUNTAINS AND WATER. “Sometimes you could be standing up there and you wouldn’t know if you’re in Canada or the United States. You can see for miles. It’s so expansive,” Dan McGowan, Montana homeland security advisor, told Homeland Security Today. “Unless you visualize it, it’s really hard to understand,” he continued. “In Montana, we can fit four eastern states inside of our borders. It’s not a small state. It takes you 15 to 16 hours to get from the western side of Montana to the eastern side of Montana.” One important element of US border security strategy is the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), which is about to hit the northern border in the coming months and which will face very different challenges from those it has encountered in the south. The varied topography and weather conditions combined with high mountains and bodies of water create difficult circumstances for establishing absolute security along the porous US northern border with Canada. Montana shares 562 miles of border with Canada, making it the state in the continental United States with the longest section of the world’s longest undefended border (which totals about 4,000 miles between the United States and Canada). While the security of the international border is clearly a federal responsibility, it is sometimes difficult for federal authorities to know exactly what is required to provide security in such difficult environments. Hence, McGowan and other security experts agree, a successful border security strategy for the northern border must include input from local, tribal, state, federal and international stakeholders who share an interest in guarding the border yet maintaining the open flow of legitimate travel and trade. Register online today for exclusive online content and eNewsletters HSToday Magazine | April 2009 31