From the Monday, May 19, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

Area rivers topped flood stage on Monday, sending water into low-lying areas of West Glacier and Polebridge.

[…]

In Polebridge, the North Fork of the Flathead River rose gradually over the last few days, finally swamping the lawn at the North Fork Hostel on Sunday night.

“I have some water in my yard as of this morning,” said hostel owner Oliver Meister, who has been watching the National Weather Service online river forecasting closely. “Believe me, I’ve been looking at that for the last five days.”

The river gauge at Polebridge showed flows reaching 11.25 feet Monday, just below the river’s 12-foot flood stage. But the North Fork was forecasted to crest just above flood stage by this morning.

Meister said he was prepared to sandbag his house to keep water out of his kitchen.

The hostel has the lowest-lying structures in the Polebridge area, and Meister speculated that the river would have to exceed its forecasted peak by quite a bit to cause problems for neighboring homes.

Read the entire article . . .

From the Sunday, May 18, 2008 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .

With cooler than expected weekend temperatures, the National Weather Service revised earlier flooding predictions downward Saturday, though several rivers are still expected to near or reach flood stage.

[…]

According to Sunday

From the Friday, May 16, 2008 online edition of the Flathead Beacon . . .

With temperatures forecasted to rise into the high 80s in the next few days, melting snowpack is expected to bring several northwestern Montana rivers and streams to flood stage by the end of this weekend, the National Weather Service officials said Thursday afternoon.

Temperatures throughout the Flathead Valley are expected to reach the low 80s on Friday and peak near 88 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, according to NWS meteorologist Bruce Bauck.

From the Saturday, May 10, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

An expected warming trend has the National Weather Service projecting flooding in Northwest Montana rivers and streams by next weekend, a development that had the attention of more than 25 emergency responders Friday in Kalispell.

The group met at the Flathead County Office of Emergency Services, participating in a conference call with the National Weather Service and making early plans for local flooding.

Meteorologist Peter Felsch said the forecast calls for temperatures rising into the 70s or 80s late next week. That and mountain snowpack that has hardly melted combine for streamflow projections showing several Northwest Montana rivers approaching or exceeding flood stage by Sunday, May 18.

The service is forecasting “high water with possible flooding” in Flathead County, and “flooding expected” on the Yaak and Fisher Rivers in Lincoln County.

Read the entire article . . .

This is kind of old news, but still interesting. It is an April 24, 2008 AP article posted, of all places, on the KXMC-TV web site. KXMC is based in Minot, ND . . .

A Dumpster-diving grizzly bear has been captured near Stryker, south of Eureka, and has been relocated in the North Fork Flathead River Drainage.

State wildlife officials say the 500-pound, 6- to 8-year-old male grizzly was captured earlier this week behind the Point of Rocks Restaurant near Stryker.

The bear had been getting into a large metal trash bin near the restaurant.

The animal was released Thursday in the North Fork Drainage.

Grizzly Bear management specialist Tim Manley, with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, is working with the restaurant owner to install a bear-resistant dumpster.

Read the entire article . . .

From the Friday, May 2, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

The National Weather Service is projecting that there will be flooding in Western Montana because of a persistent mountain snowpack.

“We’re going to have some high water up in the Flathead, and it’s looking like it will be right at that flood level,” hydrologist Ray Nickless said during a Thursday conference call.

Read the entire article . . .

Here’s a short report from one of the attendees at the County Commissioner’s meeting today regarding a favorable vote on the North Fork Neighborhood Plan. Look for newspaper coverage tomorrow. . .

“[The Commissioners] passed the resolution of intent to approve our plan. Now there is a statutory 30-day comment period, then another vote. This vote was unanimous, with all three commissioners stating they recommended no changes.”

From the Thursday, May 1, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

A sheriff’s deputy specifically assigned to enforce speed limits on Flathead County’s gravel roads will conduct his first patrol today.

County commissioners authorized the Sheriff’s Office to spend about $60,000 this year to hire and equip the additional deputy