Note that Stage I fire restrictions went into effect for Northwestern Montana on August 4.
The latest fire restriction status for this area is available on the Northern Rockies Coordinating Group site here.
These restriction apply to all state lands and private forested lands lying within the boundaries of Flathead and Lincoln Counties; and that portion of Lake County outside of the Flathead Reservation. All land within a city boundary is exempted.
Also included are all US Fish and Wildlife Service lands within the boundaries of Flathead, Lincoln and Lake Counties. All Kootenai and Flathead National Forest lands except the Bob Marshall and Great Bear Wilderness Areas.
Here are the "official" rules . . .
The following acts are prohibited until further notice:
• Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire except within a developed recreation site or improved site.
• Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three (3) feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
Exemptions to Stage I Restrictions
1. Persons with a written permit that specifically authorizes the otherwise prohibited act.
2. Persons using a device fueled solely by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels that can be turned on and off.
3. Persons conducting activities in those designated areas where the activity is specifically authorized by written posted notice.
4. Any Federal, State or local officer or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty.
5. All land within a city boundary is exempted.
6. Other exceptions unique to each agency/tribe.
An exemption does not absolve an individual or organization from liability or responsibility for any fire started by the exempted activity.
Wildsight posted a press release on July 25, 2005 concerning EnCana Corporation's resumption of the discharge of coalbed methane (CBM) wastewater into the Elk River watershed.
This is of interest to folks on the North Fork because it discusses the recent loosening of regulations in British Columbia regarding CBM wastewater discharge into nearby rivers and streams. Any CBM development in the Canadian North Fork would also be subject to these lax rules.
The Wildsight press release is in PDF format. Citizen's Concerned about Coalbed Methane has a web version here.