Aug 31 2010
From today’s Missoulian, here’s a good overview of the current status of Sen. Jon Tester’s proposed Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. Short version: Still stuck in committee because of debate over the logging mandate . . . The first questioner at Sen. Jon Tester’s Monday public forum in Missoula wanted to know how the Forest [...]
Aug 29 2010
Here’s a good overview from today’s Missoulian of the trade-offs involved with two recent federal court rulings concerning wolf and grizzly bear management. Chris Servheen’s comments regarding the potential negative impact on grizzly bear recovery are particularly interesting . . . Wolves and bears don’t behave well in courtrooms. But the two big predators are [...]
Aug 29 2010
It’s that time again. Here’s a good overview from today’s Flathead Beacon on dealing with noxious weeds, especially knapweed . . . As the summer weather begins to wane and most guests head home, a rather unwelcome visitor makes its presence known in the Flathead Valley. Knapweed is in full bloom, and officials say the [...]
Aug 19 2010
From today’s Daily Inter Lake . . . The Flathead County Planning Board last week recommended limiting the size of extractive industries in the North Fork, but took pains to disassociate itself from a much-publicized memorandum of understanding between Gov. Brian Schweitzer and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell. That memorandum, signed earlier this year, calls [...]
Aug 19 2010
Dave Hadden, director of Headwaters Montana, Robin Steinkraus, executive director of the Flathead Lakers and Will Hammerquist, program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association’s Glacier Field Office have a nice commentary piece in today’s Flathead Beacon . . . Here in Montana, August brings us the county fair and farm harvests. And this year [...]
Aug 15 2010
As many of you know, July 31st was Chuck Jonkel Night …er, uh… the NFPA Annual Meeting at Sondreson Hall. We had a great pot luck dinner and, following the business meeting and elections and such, hosted an excellent talk by Charles Jonkel, one the world’s preeminent bear researchers (more about him here). Chuck, as [...]
Aug 15 2010
Heavens! We’ve let two weeks go by without mentioning the road — in particular, the infamous Montana Department of Transportation’s North Fork Road Corridor Study (recent posts here, here and here). The Corridor Study has generated hundreds of public comments on all aspects of the issue — some carefully reasoned, many less so — but [...]
Aug 15 2010
Here’s an interesting article from the past week’s Hungry Horse News . . . A deal to permanently protect the North Fork of the Flathead could come soon, Montana Sen. Jon Tester said last week. “Maybe as soon as September we could get an agreement that is binding,” Tester said in a conference call with [...]
Aug 15 2010
From yesterday’s Daily Inter Lake . . . A diverse group of people and organizations who care about the Crown of the Continent are working with The University of Montana Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Policy to organize a conference that will celebrate and build upon the region’s remarkable natural and cultural heritage. The [...]
Aug 07 2010
From today’s Missoulian (we *ahem* covered this four days ago) . . . The smoke we’re seeing in western Montana is coming from wildfires in British Columbia Bridget DeRosa of the National Weather Service in Missoula said that while it was hazy in the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys, visibility was still more than 10 miles [...]
