All posts by nfpa

Kootenai National Forest’s East Reservoir timber sale draws lawsuit

Environmental Issues, News,

The Kootenai National Forest is drawing fire from the Alliance for the Wild Rockies over a large timber sale it has in the works . . .

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies has sued the Kootenai National Forest over a logging project it claims will lose almost $2.6 million in tax dollars.

“The EIS for this logging project is so full of misrepresentations, omissions and egregious violations of a host of federal laws that we really had no choice except to challenge it in court,” said Michael Garrity, the environmental group’s executive director.

“It’s so bad, even the Forest Service had to acknowledge that it was violating its own forest plan, and then sought to illegally amend the forest plan to exempt itself from protecting grizzlies, bull trout and lynx as required by the Endangered Species Act,” he said.

Read more . . .

Also read:

Group Sues to Halt Massive Logging Project in Kootenai National Forest

Big timber project appealed

Chickens and boneyards attract grizzlies

Environmental Issues, News, ,

A good report on discussions of bear attractants at the recent Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem grizzly bear management meeting . . .

Chickens continue to be a problem for bear managers in the Flathead Valley, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear specialist Tim Manley told Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem bear managers last week.

Manley said of the 10 bear complaints he’s responded to so far this spring, nearly all of them involved bears getting into chickens, ducks or both. The most effective way to keep bears out of coops and feed is electric fencing or electric wiring over gates and doors.

He showed a comical video of a grizzly bear attempting to get through the door of a coop with an electric screen over it. The bear was shocked, ran away and never came back. He also showed a video of just how well bears catch chickens — pouncing on chickens like they were salmon and swallowing them just as fast.

Read more . . .

Presentation Monday on wolverines in Glacier National Park

Environmental Issues, News,

From the official press release . . .

The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center at Glacier National Park is hosting a brown-bag luncheon presentation about wolverines in the park by Dr. John Waller on Monday, May 18, from 12 – 1 p.m. at the park’s community building in West Glacier.

Dr. John Waller is the park’s carnivore ecologist and has been actively seeking to expand knowledge about wolverines in Glacier National Park. Wolverines are one of the least studied animals in the United States. Research indicates that Glacier National Park has the largest reproducing population in the lower 48 states.

The Glacier National Park Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center hosts brown-bag lectures throughout the year. Learn more about the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center at http://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/nature/ccrlc.htm.

Yellowstone to Yukon honors Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes for conservation work

Environmental Issues, News,

The Y2Y folks honored the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes for their conservation efforts . . .

Members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes received the inaugural Ted Smith award for conservation collaboration at a ceremony Friday.

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative gave the honor to Dale Becker, head biologist for the CSKT Wildlife Management Department. Becker and the tribal government were instrumental in creating a system of wildlife crossings over and under U.S. Highway 93 as it passes through the Flathead Indian Reservation. The award also highlights CSKT’s efforts to create the nation’s first tribally designated wilderness and its support for reintroducing trumpeter swans to historic range

The award commemorates the legacy of Ted Smith, who helped found the Y2Y network of organizations and interested conservationists.

Read more . . .

Ron Wakimoto changed how we think about fire

Environmental Issues, History, News,

Here’s a good write-up on Ron Wakimoto, an eminent fire researcher who has had a big impact on modern wildland fire management . . .

Some fire scientists burn down hillsides. Some burn up whole fire policies.

Ron Wakimoto has done both, developing research that helps save the lives of firefighters and helps return fire to the woods after a half-century of fighting to keep it out. Last week, he wound up more than three decades of teaching fire science at the University of Montana’s School of Forestry.

“Ron has been a leader in terms of teaching, and we wanted the students to be able to hear from an elder,” said Colin Hardy, director of the U.S. Forest Service Fire Sciences Laboratory, just before Wakimoto spoke to the annual Mike and Maybelle Hardy Lecture audience last Thursday. “He taught us we need to think about fire management, not just fire suppression. On the political and management side, it’s about air tankers and people on the ground and big iron – it’s a big show. But among fire managers today, Ron’s speaking to the choir.”

In large part, Wakimoto taught the choir…

Read more . . .

New Montana law to fund sage grouse preservation

Environmental Issues, News

Montana now has a pot of money for sage grouse conservation . . .

Gov. Steve Bullock has signed into law a plan to pay for and enact Montana’s strategy to preserve a struggling bird species.

Bullock signed Senate Bill 261, the Sage Grouse Stewardship Act, during a small ceremony in his office Thursday.

The measure will provide millions of dollars for the state to conserve habitat for the chicken-sized birds. Part of the money will be used by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to hire at least five new employees to manage the program.

Read more . . .

Time is running out to submit comments on the Forest Plan!

Commentary, Environmental Issues,

A very timely reminder from Debo Powers, NFPA Vice-President . . .

Dear Friends of NFPA!

Many of you know that the comment period for the Flathead Forest Plan is fast approaching! May 15 is the deadline. Letters from people who love the North Fork would be very helpful. Please take the time to write your comments today and send them to flatheadplanrevision@fs.fed.us or snail mail your comments to:

Flathead National Forest Supervisor’s Office
Attention: Forest Plan Revision
650 Wolfpack Way
Kalispell, MT 59901

In your comments, please be sure to mention that Nasukoin Mountain should be included in the proposed wilderness for the northern Whitefish Range.

The Forest Plan should be praised for accepting the recommendations from the Whitefish Range Partnership (that several of us from NFPA served on) concerning recommended wilderness for 80,000 acres in the northern Whitefish Range including Tuchuck, Hefty, Thoma, and Thompson-Seton. However, when the lines were drawn, Nasukoin was not included. Hopefully, this was just a mistake which will be corrected, but it is important that they hear from us about the importance of this peak which is the highest in the Whitefish Range and definitely has wilderness characteristics.

In addition, let us join our voices with members of the Montana Wilderness Association and Headwaters Montana in calling for protection of the wild country in the Swan and Mission Mountains in the Flathead Forest Plan:

  • Extend the Bob Marshall Wilderness north to include Bunker and Sullivan Creek – critical areas for grizzlies, elk, mountain goats and other species.
  • Expand the Jewel Basin and protect the wild Swan Front. Bring the boundary down to the valley floor.
  • Widen the Mission Mountains Wilderness! Protect the wildlife corridor of Sunset Ridge, the critical bull trout spawning beds of Elk and Hemlock creeks, and the rugged species-rich lower slopes.

Another issue to consider commenting on is to ask that “non-conforming uses” (like snowmobiling and mountain biking) not be allowed in recommended wilderness. When these activities become established in proposed wilderness, it is often difficult to exclude them later.

Please send your comments today!

Thanks,

Debo Powers,
NFPA Vice President

Report from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee meeting

Environmental Issues, News, ,
Cinco - 5 May 2015
Cinco – 5 May 2015

Debo Powers, NFPA Vice President, attended the spring Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem grizzly bear management meeting yesterday. Here is her report:

I remember the old days when Chuck Jonkel held an annual Grizzly Bear Research meeting in Sondreson Hall to share grizzly bear research with North Fork landowners. We would sit on the uncomfortable wooden benches in the sweltering temperatures of a hot summer day and listen to the enthusiastic reports from young bear researchers. Those were the meetings that fanned the flames of my love for grizzly bears.

It has been many years since those meetings happened, but the memories associated with them prompted me to attend Wednesday’s meeting of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC), which was held in the conference room of the Hungry Horse Ranger Station. Rather than the animated stories of youthful researchers filled with an infectious passion for learning about grizzlies in order to save them from extinction, today’s meeting featured reports from people from various agencies and tribes who have successfully brought about grizzly bear recovery in the Crown of the Continent. It’s amazing to see how things can change in a few decades when humans work together to save a fellow species.

The packed meeting was facilitated with humor and style by Deb Mucklow, the Spotted Bear District Ranger. Numerous agencies and tribes participated in the meeting. Members of the public , representatives from various environmental groups, and reporters from Flathead Beacon, Hungry Horse News, and NF News were present in the audience.

The reports were fascinating and focused on the conservation strategies that have been used by different groups in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE). Some of the topics covered were: the effectiveness of food storage orders to decrease grizzly habituation, educational resources to train humans to operate awarely in grizzly country, the use of snow rangers and fly-overs to monitor snowmobiling in grizzly habitat (especially when bears are emerging from dens), and reports from management officials, like Tim Manley, on bear conflicts this spring.

Rick Mace, who will be retiring soon, received a beautiful plaque with a huge grizzly paw for his three decades of leadership in grizzly bear conservation and management. Afterwards, he presented the results of his trend monitoring research on grizzly bear populations in the 23 management units of the NCDE. It was nice to notice that we live in one of most densely populated grizzly habitats in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Rick’s final written report will be available in a few months.

It was a day of information and sharing . . . a day well spent, despite the beautiful weather that beckoned us to be outdoors in grizzly country.

Glacier Park wants comments on Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor Management Plan

News,

As mentioned in an earlier post here, Glacier Park has developed five “preliminary alternatives” for handling increased traffic and usage along Going-to-the-Sun Road. None of the choices are entirely palatable, although it’s pretty obvious they prefer alternative #5. In any event, they are asking for public comment with a June 5 deadline.

Here’s the official press release . . .

Glacier National Park is encouraging public comment regarding five preliminary alternatives that have been developed for the Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor Management Plan. These preliminary alternatives are conceptual at this time, and public comment will help in further development, modification and analysis of alternatives for the draft plan and environmental impact statement.

For many years, especially during July and August, the Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor has experienced crowding and congestion along the road and at associated pullouts and parking areas. Many of the more popular trails in the road corridor are also congested, and impacts to vegetation and wildlife are increasing. Park visitation is on the rise and trends indicate it will continue to increase in the future. Increasing visitation will add to congestion and crowding, impacts to natural resources, and stress to facility infrastructure such as parking areas and restrooms. Additionally, a recent financial analysis has indicated that the portion of the entrance fees that support the shuttle system launched in 2007 are only paying for operations and maintenance and do not support acquisition of buses.

The preliminary alternatives outline various responses that park management could take to address issues along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Alternative 1 is the no-action alternative. Alternatives 2, 3 and 4 were developed using a more traditional approach of forecasting or predicting a certain future condition of high visitation and longer visitor season. They describe alternative ways the park would respond. Alternative 5 describes a flexible management approach to allow the park to respond to an uncertain future, and changes in transportation, visitation, economics, funding and climate.

The preliminary alternatives were informed by comments and concerns received from the public during the summer of 2013, research conducted by the University of Montana and socioeconomic and transportation contractors.

The alternatives are not fully developed yet and are being shared at this time to get early public comment and response. The park has not selected a preferred alternative, nor completed the environmental analysis. The draft plan and environmental impact statement will identify a preferred alternative and analyze impacts of all alternatives, and is anticipated to be available for review and comment later this fall. Public meetings will be held at that time.

The preliminary alternatives are described in the project’s spring newsletter available at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/glac. Comments may be submitted online at this website or by mail to: Glacier National Park, Attn: GTSR Corridor Plan, P.O. Box 128, West Glacier, MT, 59936. Comments are due by June 5, 2015.

For more information contact the park at 406-888-7800.

Solonex wants accelerated consideration of plans for oil drilling in Badger-Two Medicine

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Another volley in the fight over oil drilling in the Badger-Two Medicine region . . .

A Louisiana company is asking a judge to resolve its lawsuit challenging the government’s suspension of an oil and gas lease near Montana’s Glacier National Park so the company can begin drilling this summer.

The 6,200-acre lease is on land sacred to the Blackfoot tribes of the U.S. and Canada. It was suspended by the U.S. Interior Department in the 1990s along with dozens of other leases in the area.

Over the years, most of the leases were retired or surrendered, and now only 18 remain, covering more than 40,000 acres in the Badger-Two Medicine area south of Glacier.

Read more . . .

See also: Solenex requests accelerated hearing in Badger-Two Medicine drilling case