Monthly Archives: September 2011

Proposed bill could open up Glacier Park to Homeland Security projects

An important story posted to this week’s Hungry Horse News concerning the so-called “National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act.” Recommended reading . . .

Glacier National Park’s border with Canada is marked by broad prairies and majestic mountains. A bill in Congress co-sponsored by Rep. Dennis Rehberg could conceivably allow the Department of Homeland Security to put roads and other access venues in areas currently managed as wilderness.

The proposed “National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act” would give Homeland Security broad powers over land that borders foreign countries.

According to the bill, “The Secretary of Homeland Security shall have immediate access to any public land managed by the federal government (including land managed by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture) for purposes of conducting activities that assist in securing the border (including access to maintain and construct roads, construct a fence, use vehicles to patrol, and set up monitoring equipment).”

The bill also would allow Homeland Security to waive a host of environmental laws…

Continue reading . . .

Grizzly population study planned for Idaho and Montana

From the Flathead Beacon . . .

Researchers are planning to collect grizzly bear fur samples snagged on barbed wire as part of a three-year study in northern Idaho and northwestern Montana.

The study, which begins next summer, should give a more precise estimate of the number of grizzlies in the 2.4-million acre Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem, said Kate Kendall, a U.S. Geological Service scientist at Glacier National Park.

She also said researchers will also be able to use DNA to determine blood lines and gender.

Continue reading . . .

‘Unlikely accident’ claims kayaker’s life on North Fork

From today’s Daily Inter Lake . . .

The woman who drowned on the North Fork Flathead River on Wednesday afternoon has been identified as Shawna Thomas, 51, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Thomas and her husband were in a rigid-framed collapsible kayak when they came around a corner on the North Fork four miles south of Polebridge, encountering tree root balls as obstacles on both sides of the river channel.

Continue reading . . .

Kayaker drowns in North Fork near Polebridge

A tragedy on the river yesterday, a couple miles south of Polebridge. The Daily Inter Lake has the story . . .

An Idaho woman drowned in the North Fork Flathead River on Wednesday afternoon after her inflatable kayak got tangled in tree roots.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said the woman and her husband were floating in a double-seated inflatable kayak about two miles south of Polebridge in the Home Ranch Bottoms area when the accident occurred shortly after 1 p.m.

Continue reading . . .

Larry Wilson: North Fork roads, weeds and toilets

Larry covers a lot of territory in this week’s column. There’s lots of good information on pending road improvement and weed control projects, as well as a brief discussion of a …uh… tourist traffic related issue.

I think almost all North Forkers have been pleased with the use of federal and Flathead County funds on the North Fork Road from Camas Junction to Polebridge.

That work, done with a 50 percent Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) grant and 50 percent county funds, has provided a smooth, virtually dust-free corridor on the section of the road that has the most traffic in the summer.

County maintenance on the paved portion from Home Ranch near Coal Creek to Hay Creek Bridge has also helped. The RAC grant was approved in 2009 and most work was completed in 2010. Additional dust abatement was approved in 2010 and applied in 2011 with county matching funds.

Also, a 2010 grant was approved for an additional eight miles of gravel mixed with bentonite binder to be applied from Polebridge north…

Continue reading . . .

Web site aims to protect Glacier Park and its surroundings

From this week’s Hungry Horse News . . .

A new Web site created by the National Parks Conservation Association aims to expose some of the threats facing Glacier National Park.

ProtectGlacier.com keeps an eye on the Park’s environmental news and showcases legislation NPCA and other partners support, most notably the North Fork Watershed Protection Act.

The Act, sponsored by Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, would ban any future mining and energy development in the North Fork watershed.

Continue reading . . .

Western Montana counties, including Flathead, to rescind Stage I fire restrictions

From today’s Missoulian . . .

Federal and state wildland fire agencies will rescind Stage I fire restrictions on Wednesday throughout much of western Montana.

Included in the order are Flathead, Lake, Mineral, Sanders, Missoula, Powell, Ravalli, Granite, Deer Lodge and Silver Bow counties.

Restrictions will remain in effect on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Continue reading . . .

U.S. Customs and Border Protection asks for input on Northern Border environmental study

Customs and Border Protection has completed a draft “programmatic environmental impact statement” on the effects of its entire operation along the U.S. northern border. This would, of course, include the North Fork.

I am not making this up.

Anyways, the “Northern Border PEIS” is in its 45-day public comment period. There is even a dedicated web site where the public can find information about the study and leave comments. The web site includes the full text of the study, as well as supporting materials and a schedule of public meetings.

A hat-tip to Richard Wackrow for pointing out this fine example of government-sponsored surrealism.

Related links:

Press release announcing the comment period for the Northern Border PEIS

Northern Border PEIS web site

The devil’s in the details: Resolving state mineral rights in the North Fork Flathead Valley

From the most recent Headwaters Montana newsletter . . .

When Gov. Schweitzer and BC Premier Gordon Campbell signed the historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the North Fork Flathead River in February 2010 Headwaters Montana heralded that event as an “historic breakthrough”.  And indeed it was.  But like all signed agreements, the MOU was only a beginning.

Unless fulfilled (i.e. made concrete with legislation and other actions) the MOU and the protections it promised could be lost for another generation to fight…

Continue reading . . .