North Fork Preservation Association » Environmental Issues

U.S. Forest Service announces plans to boost timber production, forest health work

nfpa — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:45:58 +0000

From today’s Missoulian . . .

The U.S. Forest Service wants to speed up work on national forests, for both timber production and forest health.

“Collaboration is most effective in getting forests managed in a proper way,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said during a conference call on Thursday. “We want to move beyond the conflicts in the past that slowed progress down. We’re going to look to encourage environmentalists, folks in the forest industry, people who live in forest communities and other stakeholders to work for healthy forests.”

Vilsack pledged the Forest Service would boost its lumber production from 2.4 billion board feet in 2011 to 3 billion board feet by 2014. That would come through a 20 percent increase in forest acres treated over the next three years.

Those treatments also include fuels reduction, reforestation, stream restoration, road decommissioning, culvert work and prescribed fire, as well as timber harvesting.

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Wolf hunt closed in North Fork area

nfpa — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:21:07 +0000

Here is a little more detail on the closure of the wolf hunt in the North Fork area, as well as general hunt status in this corner of Montana . . .

A wolf hunting district covering the North Fork Flathead drainage has been closed by the state because the district’s wolf quota recently was reached.

Wolf Management Unit 110 had a quota for two wolves to be harvested by hunters with wolf permits. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks announced the closure Tuesday.

Only one other wolf-hunting district in Northwest Montana has been closed. District 101 covering the Salish Mountains west of Kalispell had a quota of 19 wolves that was reached Dec. 29.

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Wolf hunt closes along Glacier Park border

nfpa — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:17:56 +0000

The wolf hunt is officially over for the North Fork and environs. Here is the press release . . .

The hunting of all wolves in Montana Wolf Management Unit 110 which includes portions of Lincoln and Flathead Counties, in northwestern Montana, will close Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at one half-hour after sunset.

The order halting the hunt came after Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials received word that the pre-established harvest quota for wolves in the WMU had been met.

For more information, visit FWP’s website at fwp.mt.gov click “Montana Wolf Hunt,”or call the toll-free number at 1-800-385-7826.

And here is a related Associated Press article . . .

Montana officials are closing down wolf hunting in parts of northwestern Montana bordering Glacier National Park after hunters filled the area’s two-animal quota.

Hunting closes after sunset Wednesday in portions of Lincoln and Flathead counties west of the park.

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California gets its very own wolf

nfpa — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 06:29:09 +0000

First the grizzlies started moving back out onto the high plains, now a young male wolf called “OR7″ has wandered into California. California being California, it’s a big deal. The New York Times has the story. It includes some pointed observations by Ed Bangs, the recently retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wolf recovery coordinator for the Northern Rockies. . .

SAN FRANCISCO — On the Chinese calendar, this week ushers in the year of the dragon. But here, it feels a lot more like the year of the wolf

On Dec. 28, a 2 1/2 -year-old gray wolf crossed the state line from Oregon, becoming the first of his species to run wild here in 88 years.

His arrival has prompted news articles, attracted feverish fans and sent wildlife officials scrambling to prepare for a new and unfamiliar predator.

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Feds release new national forest management rules

nfpa — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:19:01 +0000

Here’s a pretty useful write-up on the proposed new national forest planning rule. Or, for those of you who like to read source documents, the official U.S. Forest Service press release and a link to the (take a deep breath) “Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule” can be found online at the Forest Service web site . . .

A proposed planning rule for managing national forests puts new emphasis on watershed health and recreation, but also strives to keep loggers in the woods, U.S. Forest Service officials said Thursday.

The national rule will guide local forest supervisors when they make their more specific forest management plans. Those plans govern where trees can be cut, the kinds of wildlife to watch out for, activities allowed in campgrounds and the backcountry, and how people can challenge forest decisions.

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More information: Press release and link to U.S. Forest Service’s draft planning rule

Obama administration releases new forest management rules

nfpa — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:40:08 +0000

A shiny, new set of national forest management rules are due to take effect in early March . . .

The Obama administration says new rules to manage nearly 200 million acres of national forests will protect watersheds and wildlife while promoting uses ranging from recreation to logging.

The new rules, to replace guidelines thrown out by a federal court in 2009, are set to take effect in early March. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the rule change on Thursday.

Vilsack said in an interview that the rules reflect more than 300,000 comments received since a draft plan was released last year. The new rules strengthen a requirement that decisions be based on the best available science and recognize that forests are used for a variety of purposes, Vilsack said.

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More snowy owls migrate to Montana this winter

nfpa — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 02:37:38 +0000

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 or taller and have wingspans of nearly 5 feet.

In Montana, the owls have been seen from Kalispell to Plentywood and as far south as the Crow Reservation.

Last week, one snowy owl was spotted in the area of the Kidsports complex and Glacier High School in north Kalispell while five owls were observed in the Somers area.

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Wolf hunting to close in large section of NW Montana; quota reached

nfpa — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 02:29:11 +0000

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 northwest Montana on Thursday after hunters filled the harvest quota for the area.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Tom Palmer said hunters filled the 19-wolf quota for a wildlife management area that includes portions of Lincoln and Flathead counties.

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Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act dead for 2011

nfpa — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:21:50 +0000

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 between his office and that of Rep. Denny Rehberg.

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Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act might get a shot before year-end

nfpa — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 02:05:10 +0000

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 Rehberg’s Montana Land Sovereignty Act, and the Flathead Watershed Protection Act that both Baucus and Tester co-sponsored. However, Rehberg may get a vote on a measure to fast-track permitting of a U.S.-Canadian oil pipeline.

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