All posts by nfpa

British Columbia criticized for foot-dragging on World Heritage Committee recommendations

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

A coalition of Canadian environmental groups is not happy with the progress shown by British Columbia and the Canadian federal government on implementing U.N. World Heritage Committee recommendations for the protection of the Elk and Flathead valleys . . .

B.C. Government Ignores World Heritage Committee Recommendations for Flathead and Elk Valleys

The B.C. and federal governments have failed to act on World Heritage Committee recommendations aimed at protecting a globally-significant wildlife corridor that includes the Flathead River Valley, conservation groups said today.

“The World Heritage Committee was very clear about the need to secure this important connection for wildlife,” said Wildsight Executive Director John Bergenske. “Yet new mines are planned for the Elk Valley without a full cumulative effects analysis–at the same time as the Auditor General warns that B.C. is failing to protect biodiversity.”

In a report card released today, the third anniversary of the Flathead energy and mining ban announced in February 2010, conservation groups assess progress on five detailed recommendations made by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

The recommendations speak to the need for: a single conservation and wildlife management plan; prioritizing natural ecological values and wildlife conservation; a long-term moratorium on mining in southeastern B.C to ensure wildlife connectivity; improved coordination between the governments of B.C. and Montana, and; expanding Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park into part of the Flathead.

The report card concludes that the B.C. government has failed to comply with most of these key recommendations. It also points to a federally-owned coal block in the Flathead that is exempt from the B.C. ban on mining.

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Wolf hunt totals up in Montana, down in Idaho

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

It looks like the final numbers are now in for the Montana and Idaho wolf hunts. Montana, which added a trapping season this year, is up by about a third. Curiously, Idaho’s totals are down quite a bit.

Here are the stories . . .

Wolf Hunt Ends with 36 Percent Increase Over Last Season – Flathead Beacon

Idaho officials report 245 wolves killed this season, down from 379 – Missoulian

Oregon ‘wolf safe’ zone gets mixed reviews

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Oregon has had a ban on killing wolves since September 2011 . . .

As long as wolves have been making their comeback, biologists and ranchers have had a decidedly Old West option for dealing with those that develop a taste for beef: Shoot to kill. But for the past year, Oregon has been a “wolf-safe” zone, with ranchers turning to more modern, nonlethal ways to protect livestock.

While the number of wolves roaming the state has gone up, livestock kills haven’t — and now conservation groups are hoping Oregon can serve as a model for other Western states working to return the predator to the wild.

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Erin Sexton wins conservation award for Flathead River Basin work

News, ,

Erin Sexton won an award for her work over the last decade to protect the transboundary Flathead Valley . . .

Earlier this month University of Montana Research Scientist Erin Sexton was awarded the 2012 Conservation Achievement Award for her work in developing a long-term solution in protecting the Flathead Basin ecosystem.

The Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society presented the highly coveted award to Sexton at its Feb. 7 annual meeting.

Sexton served as the transboundary coordinator for the state of Montana and is a research scientist at UM’s Flathead Lake Biological Station. During the past 10 years, Sexton has been a leader in protecting the international Flathead River for generations to come.

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Montana FWP seeks public comment on Flathead River hybrid trout removal

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is seeking public comment on their current Flathead River Hybrid Trout Suppression Project . . .

As part of ongoing efforts to maintain populations of native westslope cutthroat trout, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is proposing to continue removing hybrid and rainbow trout from the Flathead River drainage.

The public has until March 8 to comment on the Flathead River hybrid trout suppression project’s environmental assessment draft, released earlier this month for a 30-day public review. The project could get underway a week later on March 15, according to an anticipated schedule.

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Related reading: Flathead River Hybrid Trout Suppression Project

Searching for fishers in Glacier National Park

Environmental Issues, News,

Do fishers live in Glacier Park? Probably not, but there are a lot of good reasons to look . . .

After wading across the Middle Fork of the Flathead River in a pair of brand-new defective waders and skiing sodden-footed through a miles-long thicket of tangled deadfall, Glacier National Park wildlife biologist John Waller admits he may be chasing a phantom.

His research often requires skiing across 15 miles of steep, rugged terrain in a single day and working from dawn until dusk – a trying effort for what may prove to be the wildlife biologist’s equivalent of a snipe hunt. But even if the critter he’s pursuing eludes him, and even though the ultra-lightweight Hodgman waders he just bought are worthless, the scientific data Waller’s study will produce and the questions it may help answer are invaluable.

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National park photos by Ansel Adams accessible online

History, Photos & Images, ,
St. Mary Lake, Ansel Adams, 1941
St. Mary Lake, Ansel Adams, 1941

Here’s a little gem I ran across this morning on the U.S. National Archives website. It seems they have a pretty good collection of photos taken by Ansel Adams back in 1941 of many of the national parks. This includes some two dozen photos of Glacier National Park. According the the site:  “In 1941 the National Park Service commissioned famed photographer Ansel Adams to create a photo mural for the Department of the Interior Building in Washington, DC. The theme was to be nature as exemplified and protected in the U.S. National Parks.” The advent of World War II killed the project, but the images are in the national archives and accessible to the public.

Further reading:

“Ansel Adams Photographs” page at the U.S. National Archives

“Discover Ansel Adams’ 226 Photos of U.S. National Parks (and Another Side of the Legendary Photographer)” via Open Culture

Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act reintroduced in Congress

Environmental Issues, News, ,

It’s time to take another run at it. The Baucus/Tester-sponsored Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act has been reintroduced in this session of Congress . . .

After a near-miss last year, the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act has been reintroduced in the 113th Congress, on the 100th anniversary of the Sun River Game Preserve.

The bill, co-sponsored by Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, would protect wilderness, ranching and recreation opportunities in the mountain range between Augusta and Dupuyer, west of Great Falls. It would designate 208,000 acres as a conservation management area that allows motorized access, biking and other current uses, add another 67,000 acres to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, and support noxious weed prevention programs for agricultural and public lands across the Front. The bill would not affect mineral leasing in Teton and Pondera counties, or energy production on private and state land.

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Moose population shrinking

Environmental Issues, News

In Montana, and elsewhere, Moose populations are shrinking, but no one knows exactly why . . .

Hunters spent more than 4,200 combined days in the field searching for moose across Montana in 2011, but the harvest total was the lowest in more than half a century.

Why?

The possible answers remain up for debate. But wildlife managers fear the situation could be bleak and worsening.

Shrinking moose populations have become the subject of escalating concern across the U.S…

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‘Walking Bear Comes Home’ preview available for viewing online

Environmental Issues, News, ,

The Geat Bear Foundation is putting together a documentary about the life and work of their founder, Dr. Charles Jonkel. Chuck Jonkel is a major figure in bear research and has been associated with the North Fork for over 30 years. Here’s the GBF announcement, which includes a link to the film preview on YouTube . . .

As many of you know, the Great Bear Foundation and Salish Kootenai College Media/KSKC Public TV have been hard at work on a film project documenting the life and work of GBF President and pioneer of bear biology, Chuck Jonkel.

Walking Bear Comes Home combines archival film footage of Jonkel’s historic polar bear research in the Canadian Arctic with interviews with Jonkel, his colleagues, friends, and family, to tell the story of one of the most interesting characters in wildlife conservation, and the co-founder and President of GBF.

Chuck Jonkel’s legacy in wildlife biology and conservation is varied and far-reaching. Just to list a few of his many accomplishments, Jonkel developed the first capture-and-handling procedures for polar bears and black bears, developed the first database on Canada’s polar bears and their habitat requirements, co-drafted and signed the International Agreement on Conservation of Polar Bears, directed the Border Grizzly Project, the most comprehensive field study on the habitat requirements of the grizzly bear in the Lower 48 States, co-founded the Great Bear Foundation and the International Wildlife Film Festival, along with many, many more achievements that have helped to protect wildlife and habitat in North America and beyond.  Jonkel’s big heart, generous nature, and unique character may have made as big an impact as his research and advocacy work.

We’d like to thank all of you who have helped out with this project, whether you contributed money, photographs, film footage, stories, interviews, advice, or moral support.  We’ve been overwhelmed by your generosity and support!  We will continue to keep you posted on the progress of this project.

We screened a preview of this film-in-progress for the first time publicly on February 2, 2013 at the FLIC Cinemafest in Polson, Montana.

You can watch the latest preview here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeYPSEuQbss

For more information, or to donate to the project, please visit our website: http://greatbear.org/projects/#docfilm

This project is sponsored by the Great Bear Foundation, Salish Kootenai College Media, The Cinnabar Foundation, Humanities Montana, and numerous private donations.