Dec 29 2011
This week, Larry discusses the importance of preparedness when traveling in the backcountry during winter . . . As I write this on the Friday before Christmas, knowing that it won’t be read until after Christmas, I still can’t help but wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. As of today, we [...]
Dec 28 2011
This is pretty interesting. It seems Montana is getting more than its share of snowy owls this winter . . . More snowy owls appear to have migrated from the Arctic to Montana and other states this winter in search of food. The owls are identifiable by their brilliant white color, measure 2 feet tall [...]
Dec 28 2011
This AP article is referring to Wolf Management Unit 101, which covers a good portion of Flathead and Lincoln counties. Wolf hunting is still open in Unit 110, covering the North Fork. See the FWP Wolf Hunting Guide page for more detail . . . Wildlife officials say wolf hunting will close in portions of [...]
Dec 21 2011
The Daily Inter Lake has a story about boom and bust oil exploration in Montana, including its beginnings in 1901 near Kintla Lake . . . The history of oil in Montana began in an area that never had any substantial development of the natural resource — the Flathead Valley. The state’s first oil well [...]
Dec 16 2011
It’s official, Sen. Jon Tester’s “Forest Jobs and Recreation Act” is dead for this year . . . U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act was not included in a House version of the 2012 omnibus bill to fund the federal government that was released Thursday morning, setting off a round of finger-pointing [...]
Dec 14 2011
Larry addresses the importance of unity in diversity when it comes to land planning and other broad community issues . . . This week at the invitation of the Swan Valley Community organization, I traveled with Mark Shiltz, Montana Land Reliance staffer, to speak to that community about how the North Fork got involved in [...]
Dec 13 2011
This is a pretty big deal, with potentially significant impact on search and rescue operations in Flathead County, including the North Fork . . . FEAR is in the air. In this case, FEAR is not a formless feeling of terror, but Flathead Emergency Aviation Resources, a new nonprofit organization designed to give wings to [...]
Dec 12 2011
From today’s Missoulian . . . Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act may get a last-minute vote before Congress closes out 2011. But a lot of other Montana-related legislation will probably give the hurly-burly of December’s must-pass congressional action a pass. That includes Sen. Max Baucus’ Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, Rep. Denny [...]
Dec 12 2011
From the Associated Press . . . Wildlife biologists say that reports of grizzly bears are increasing in Montana’s Beartooth Front, but it’s difficult to tell if there are more bears or just more bear sightings. Barb Pitman, wildlife biologist with the Beartooth Ranger District in Red Lodge, told The Billings Gazette it’s not clear [...]
Dec 12 2011
This is kind of fun. Headwaters Montana started up a “Flathead River Otter” Facebook page to increase awareness of the Flathead watershed and provide a place for informal discussion. If you’re on Facebook, wander over there and “like” the otter’s page . . . Folks, no one knows the Flathead River and Flathead Lake better [...]
