North Fork Preservation Association » News

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.

Continue reading . . .

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.

Continue reading . . .

Next North Fork Interlocal Agreement meeting on Feb. 15 in Glacier Park

nfpa — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:47:50 +0000

Scott Emmerich, North Fork District Ranger, sent out the following announcement a couple of days ago concerning the upcoming Interlocal Meeting in Glacier Park . . .

We’re trying to go “paperless” with our Interlocal Meeting notifications this winter. It would be helpful to me if you’d spread the word to those in your span of relationships who would benefit from attending. Thank you.

The main goal of the meeting is to foster open communication among North Fork neighbors. It may be helpful to meet one-on-one with specific agency representatives prior to the meeting if you are hoping to obtain information that may require some extended research. I can help provide you with phone numbers and/or email addresses to facilitate this connection.

The agenda is time-tested, absolutely adjustable and remarkably similar year after year:

NORTH FORK INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT MEETING
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2012 10a.m.-1p.m
COMMUNITY BUILDING, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT LANDOWNER UPDATES

North Fork Compact
North Fork Preservation Association
North Fork Land Owners Association
North Fork Road Coalition for Health & Safety

AGENCY UPDATES

US Fish & Wildlife Service
MT FW&P
MT Department of State Lands
Flathead County
Flathead National Forest
Homeland Security (US Border Patrol)
Glacier National Park

SPECIAL AGENDA TOPICS

(To be determined.)

Host & Date for Summer 2012 Interlocal?

Please contact me if you have special needs as they relate to the meeting.

I hope to see you in a few weeks!

Scott

Scott Emmerich
North Fork District Ranger
Glacier National Park
(406)888-7842

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.

Continue reading . . .

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.

Continue reading . . .

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.

Continue reading . . .

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.

Continue reading . . .

Two skiers rescued after spending the night lost in Glacier Park

nfpa — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:12:16 +0000

Here’s a little North Fork area search and rescue action . . .

Two cross-country skiers were rescued Sunday from the remote North Fork area of Glacier National Park after spending the night lost and stranded in the backcountry during a winter storm.

A husband and wife from Kalispell, ages 46 and 39 respectively, sent a 9-1-1 text message at 8 p.m. Saturday, saying they were lost in Glacier Park.

Flathead County dispatchers were able to determine that the message originated from a remote location about one mile north of the Akokala Creek Trail in the North Fork, about six miles north of Polebridge. Park rangers were notified, but ground and air searches could not begin until Sunday morning because of bad weather, downed trees and difficult trail conditions.

Continue reading . . .

Flathead County road department is planning ahead

nfpa — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:00:56 +0000

Well, we can’t go too many weeks without talking about the darn road. So, here’s the latest, courtesy of the Daily Inter Lake. The item of most direct interest to North Forkers is that the county will probably start taking applications for this summer’s dust control cost-share program in February . . .

The work plan that classifies and prioritizes Flathead County road projects will be updated in the next few months, following Thursday action by the county commissioners.

County Public Works Director Dave Prunty asked commissioners to approve a $7,900 expenditure to Peccia and Associates to update that plan, which they prepared about two years ago. The document identifies which roads will be maintained and which roads will be improved each year.

Continue reading . . .

Flathead Basin snowpack just 69 percent of average

nfpa — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:12:34 +0000

Confirming what everyone has noticed, snow accumulation is considerably less than normal so far this winter . . .

Mountain snowpack in the Flathead River Basin is 69 percent of average, according to Jan. 1 figures from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The Kootenai River Basin to the west has snowpack that is 88 percent of average.Statewide, mountain snowpack is below average.

Jan. 1 represents about 45 percent of the expected seasonal snowfall, so more than half of the snowfall season remains.

Continue reading . . .