Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) wrapped up a three-day tour of Northeastern Montana Wednesday (7/2) with a Senate Field Hearing in Havre.

Tester says that while the nation's Southern Border gets most of the attention, he wants to make sure Washington has not forgotten about the Northern Border.

"Its not the Southern Border. What we use on the Southern Border may not work up here," said Tester. "We need to have solutions that fit the needs of the Northern Border."

In front of a packed auditorium at Montana State University-Northern, Tester questioned and took testimony from eight witnesses to examine some of the threats and challenges facing security along the Northern Border.

While the number of agents on the border has tripled since the attacks of September 11, 2001, officials say funding continues to be a problem.

"The sustainability of our efforts will not be achievable without continued federal funding at the appropriate level," said Robert McGowan, an Administrator for Disaster and Emergency Services under the Montana Department of Military Affairs. "Montana receives reduced funding each year, but we still have the same priorities as all the larger states."

Montana maintains a 562 mile border with Canada, along with 42 ports of entry. Officials testified that many of those facilities need to be upgraded and more technology is needed to aid surveillance.

65 miles of the Northern Border passes through lands of the Blackfeet Nation. Tribal officials say they've recently discovered signs of illegal crossings on their land and would like to play a larger role in securing the nation's boundaries.

"Five of those illegal crossings have shown recent signs of activity," said Robert Desrosier, a Director of Disaster and Emergency Services for the Blackfeet Nation. "It's foolish to think our Northern Border is secure today, we have much to do."

Tester says a balance needs to be maintained on the border between security and easy commercial access. He hopes Wednesday's hearing will help persuade Washington that the Northern Border needs their attention.

"We got a lot of good information," said Tester. "We'll take it back to Washington D.C., and hopefully influence the process and make things better up here."