All posts by nfpa

Extended Montana wolf hunting season ends with 163 killed

Environmental Issues, News,

The wolf hunting season wrapped up with about 74% of the quota taken . . .

Hunters in Montana have shot about 160 wolves as the season comes to a close, falling short of the state’s 220-animal quota.

State wildlife commissioners are considering extending the season in the Bitterroot Valley near the Idaho border in response to complaints about declining elk numbers.

But for most of Montana the season ends after sunset Wednesday. The 163 wolves killed through Tuesday equals almost 75 percent of the statewide quota.

Continue reading . . .

Larry Wilson: Walsh saga continues up North Fork

Commentary, , ,

This week, Larry talks about the Walsh family’s long association with the North Fork . . .

Very few of the original homesteader families still have ties to the North Fork, let alone still own land here. Ones that easily come to mind are Huck, Newton, Glover and Holcomb. There is one family with North Fork property that was actually on the North Fork before there was much, if any, homestead activity.

In the mid-1880s, copper magnate Marcus Daly paid for an exploration expedition of the North Fork. The expedition was led by Patrick Walsh, and their assigned task was to lay claim to any coal deposits that were found.

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Montana wolf hunt will fall well short of quota

Environmental Issues, News, ,

It looks like Montana’s wolf hunt will finish up on February 15 at just over 70% of the original quota . . .

Unless the wolf hunt picks up substantially over the next few days, it appears Montana will fall well short of its statewide quota when the extended season closes Wednesday, Feb. 15.

So far, 156 wolves have been harvested, just over 70 percent of the 220-animal quota. In Northwest Montana’s Region One, 61 wolves have been harvested in six wolf hunting districts with a total quota of 73.

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Tea Party group proposes change in Forest Jobs and Recreation Act

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From today’s Daily Inter Lake . . .

The Northwest Montana Patriots Association, one of more than a dozen Tea Party groups in the state, is weighing in on the Montana wilderness issue with Sen. Jon Tester.

The group is doing it with an unusual states’ rights suggestion to turn over management authority of some federal lands to the state as other federal lands are designated as wilderness under Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act.

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Northwest Montana wolf populations had humble beginnings

Environmental Issues, History, , , , ,

This week’s Hungry Horse News has a nice piece on the history of wolf recovery in Northwest Montana . . .

The revival of wolf populations in Northwest Montana likely had its genesis with a single pack just north of Glacier National Park.

A female wolf named Kishinena in British Columbia was caught and radio-collared in April 1979. She was the first radio-collared wolf in the Rocky Mountains as part of the Wolf Ecology Project headed up by Robert Ream, at the University of Montana.

While she spent most of her time in British Columbia roaming the North Fork drainage, Kishinena did wander into Glacier Park on occasion.

Continue reading . . .

Larry Wilson: North Fork interlocal meeting previewed

Commentary,

Larry’s column provides an “educated guess” preview of the upcoming North Fork Interlocal Agreement meeting . . .

The North Fork Interlocal Agreement meeting will be held Feb. 15 at the Glacier National Park Community Hall at Park Headquarters. Host will be Glacier Park, and MC will no doubt be Polebridge District Ranger Scott Emmerich. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 1 p.m.

The main purpose of the meeting is to encourage open discussion among North Fork neighbors, private landowners and local, state and federal agencies.

Landowners are represented by the North Fork Landowners Association, the North Fork Compact, the North Fork Preservation Association, and the North Fork Coalition for Health and Safety.

Individuals may comment at the meeting, but everyone is encouraged to contact the group that represents them with their questions and concerns. They will then notify the agency involved so that they will be prepared to answer the questions or concerns at the meeting. This is especially important if the agency representative needs to contact other people to get the information requested.

Continue reading . . .

Snowpack close to average in most of Western Montana; Flathead area a little less

News, ,

Looks like snow snow accumulation is running a bit behind locally, but not in Western Montana generally . . .

The snowmen look a little shriveled, but western Montana’s 2012 snowpack has stuck close to average despite January’s wintry weather.

Readings from the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Bozeman show the Columbia Basin rivers of northwest Montana at 93 percent of their average precipitation. The Kootenai, Upper and Lower Clark Fork and Bitterroot are all right around 100 percent, with only the Flathead basin lagging at 86 percent of average.

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Whitefish Review call for submissions on “wildness”

News,

Passed along by John Frederick . . .

Want to write about wildness or the wild?

Here is a request for submissions to the Whitefish Review from Christina Eisenberg, soon to be Dr. Eisenberg, who recently studied wolves in the North Fork.

This is a call for submissions on wildness for the Whitefish Review…

I am the lead editor for the Whitefish Review Summer issue. We have chosen as this issue’s theme wildness. Rick Bass will be the fiction contest judge. The Wild Issue, as it is being called, will feature short stories, poetry, nonfiction and art on the theme of wildness. All interested contributors can learn more by visiting our Website: http://www.whitefishreview.org/index.htm We are looking for submissions that celebrate and explore wildness in astonishing, inspiring ways.

The reading period is open through March 15. The launch party will be June 1, 2012, in Whitefish.

Cristina Eisenberg
PhD Candidate
Boone & Crockett Fellow
High Lonesome Ranch Research Director
Oregon State University
College of Forestry

Cristina Eisenberg has appeared here before. She contributed an article to the Summer 2009 NFPA Newsletter discussing the far-reaching and surprising effects on the ecosystem of top predators such as wolves. Later in the year, the Missoulian did a lengthy article — with photos — on the studies she did in the North Fork.

U.S. Forest Service announces plans to boost timber production, forest health work

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

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.

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Larry Wilson: Be prepared for winter travel

Commentary, ,

in his column this week, Larry talks about winter recreation and the importance of basic survival preparedness . . .

I guess it’s human nature to worry about the weather, or at least talk about it. Even so, I can’t help but wonder why people don’t think, talk and worry about things that would save them time, money or even lives.

A week or so ago, the North Valley Rescue Association conducted snowmobile training in the Canyon Creek area. This is a popular snowmobiling area, with miles and miles of groomed trails and an area where snowmobilers of all abilities can really enjoy themselves out of doors.

It’s also an area where, just a few years ago, a person was caught in an avalanche and killed.

Continue reading . . .