All posts by nfpa

Dave Hadden: North Fork bill caught up in Montana politics

Commentary, Environmental Issues, ,

Well, this is a bit of a coup. If the following piece just posted to the Hungry Horse News looks familiar, that’s because you read it first in the recent NFPA Summer Newsletter.

Anyways, here is Dave Hadden’s take on the damage election year political posturing is doing to even the most broadly supported legislation . . .

Didn’t we all think that the international effort to protect the North Fork Flathead River from coal mining was all but done in 2013?

British Columbia had passed legislation in 2011 banning mining and energy development north of the border. And or the first time in some 20 years, Montana’s congressional delegation all supported a piece of conservation legislation — the North Fork Watershed Protection Act. The stars had finally aligned after 38 years of local, a-political effort to protect the North Fork.

Regretfully, it was not to be.

Read more . . .

Summer 2014 NFPA Newsletter online

Member Bulletins & Information, Site Updates

For those of you who can’t wait on the mail, the North Fork Preservation Association Summer 2014 Newsletter is now available online in the “Newsletters” section of the website. Enjoy!

Here’s a partial table of contents:

  • The Second ‘Missing Piece Rendezvous’ Comes to the North Fork
  • The Whitefish Range Partnership
  • North Fork Bill Caught Up in Montana Politics
  • North Fork Hiking
  • Bears and Wolverines, Trees and Water, and That Facebook Thing
  • Hiking with Tools: Introducing the North Fork Trails Association

Biologists look for ways to preserve grizzlies after delisting

Environmental Issues, News,

Once the feds remove the grizzly bear from the endangered species list, what happens then? . . .

The grizzly bear answers to a lot of names.

Biologists call it Ursus arctos. They also describe it as an “ecological engineer” or “keystone predator.”

Wordy members of the general public call grizzlies “charismatic megafauna.” Others call them “vermin.” While running for president in 2008, Arizona Sen. John McCain famously derided studying grizzlies as a classic example of “Washington, D.C., pork.”

McCain later apologized for misunderstanding the value of Montana grizzly bear researcher Kate Kendall’s DNA hair analysis…

Read more . . .

What ‘completing’ Waterton Park would mean for Glacier Park and the North Fork

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

Harvey Locke’s presentation at the upcoming NFPA annual meeting gets a mention in this NPR piece . . .

Waterton-Glacier International Peace park connects over the US-Canada border between Montana and Alberta. However, the two parks don’t match up in their cross-border boundary.

Glacier Park stretches west to encompass the North Fork Flathead River Valley, but the Canadian Flathead is not part of the Park. The Canadian Flathead is Provincial land, akin to state or forest service land in the US, and offering the potential for logging or mineral development. Conservationists have been angling to “Complete the Park” by expanding Waterton into the North Fork Valley.

This idea of completing the Park is not new. Executive Director of Headwaters Montana Dave Hadden said it’s an effort about as old as the Park itself.

Read more . . .

2014 Bear Fair coming to Polebridge August 23; needs your help

Environmental Issues, News,

The 2014 Bear Fair is coming to Polebridge on August 23, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.. It’s a great opportunity to get various groups together and learn about everything from electric fencing to bear spray. The last time there was a bear fair in Polebridge  (July 9, 2011), there were 200 people there!

Besides all the good information about bears, the sponsoring groups usually provide lunch, which will be cooked by the Northern Lights Saloon, a tent for presentations, and porta-potties.

Problem is, all this requires money. So, the organizers are asking both groups and individuals for assistance.

Individual donations can be made online here: https://www.mtoutdoorlegacy.org/donate/bear-fair-2014.

Or, contact one of the organizers for more information:

Terence McClelland   tmmcclelland@fs.fed.us  406-871-1855
Lindsey Stutzman   lindsey.a.stutzman@gmail.com  406-212-1803
Tim Manley   tim.manley@bresnan.net  406-892-0802

North Fork Inter Local coming up July 16

News, ,

This summer’s Inter Local meeting is coming up on Wednesday, July 16, at Sondreson Hall. The meeting starts at 1:00 p.m. and is sponsored by the North Fork Road Coalition. Inter Local meetings are held twice each year, winter and summer. These semi-annual get-togethers are intended to encourage open discussion between North Fork landowners and neighbors and local, state and federal agencies.

In other words, it’s a big deal if you have an interest in the North Fork.

Preceding the Inter Local meeting, is the annual FireWise Day Workshop at 9:30 a.m. and lunch at noon. The potluck lunch at noon is also hosted by the North Fork Road Coalition.

Please send agenda item additions or revisions and address updates to Ray Brown: polebridgeray@yahoo.com, 406-892-1431 (mobile), 406-261-6884 (cell).

The Wilderness Act’s midlife crisis

Commentary,

An interesting — and controversial — opinion piece in the New York Times discussing whether we really should leave wilderness alone . . .

You won’t hear it on your summer hike above the bird song and the soft applause of aspen leaves, but there’s a heresy echoing through America’s woods and wild places. It’s a debate about how we should think about, and treat, our wilderness in the 21st century, one with real implications for the nearly 110 million acres of wild lands that we’ve set aside across the United States.

Read more . . .

100 years of the Polebridge Merc

Photos & Images, Travel Articles,

The Daily Inter Lake has a nice write-up on the Polebridge Mercantile’s 100th anniversary . . .

Just before 7 a.m. on Tuesday, the sun is up and working hard to burn off fog that has settled over the Polebridge Mercantile.

Addie Cleveland walks to the front door and unlocks it for the day’s first customer, flipping the sign in the window from closed to open.

Staff members have been at the store since 5 a.m. making the Merc’s famous pastries. Tuesdays are special because not only are workers making treats for the store, they also are baking items for the Whitefish Farmer’s Market.

Read more . . .