Warm weather and a deep mountain snowpack will continue to cause concern for western Montana in coming days.
Flooding is expected across the region, starting late Thursday for many smaller tributaries and creeks. Flooding along major rivers is expected late Friday and early Saturday, said Dan Zumpfe, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Missoula…
As for the Flathead, snowmelt from Canada will push the river to flood stage, likely causing problems for communities such as Polebridge and Columbia Falls.
“All (of the rivers) will be going at or above flood stage in the late Friday/early Saturday time frame,” Zumpfe said. “The good thing about this warmup is that it is short lived.”
The National Weather service has issued a flood watch for the upper end of the Flathead drainage. Currently, they are forecasting a brief period of flooding for the North Fork at the Canadian border starting late Thursday/early Friday, but not for Polebridge. Here’s the official wording . . .
… Flood Watch in effect for all stems of the Flathead river from Friday morning through Sunday morning…
The National Weather Service in Missoula has issued a
* Flood Watch for all stems of the Flathead river in northwest Montana… including the following County… Flathead.
* From Friday morning through Sunday morning
* warm temperatures this week have enhanced melting of the record snow pack throughout the Flathead river basin. Steady rises on all stems of the Flathead river are forecast and flood stages may be reached as early as Friday.
* Small streams that feed the Flathead may also rise and approach flood levels this week and through the weekend.
Precautionary/preparedness actions…
A Flood Watch means there is a potential for flooding based on current forecasts.
You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible flood warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.
In this week’s Hungry Horse News column, Larry Wilson talks about the important role of volunteerism on the North Fork, with Sondreson Hall as a prime example . . .
A couple of weeks ago, I commented on all of the work done by the North Fork Landowners Association Board of Directors and the various committees. Their efforts have ensured a great season for social and educational activities.
To me, it is even more important that they have returned the landowners association to the original goals and values envisioned by the founders of the North Fork Improvement Association, the original landowners association.
The spate of warmer weather is expected to increase water flow in the Flathead River. The current forecast for the North Fork shows it exceeding flood level briefly at the Canadian border late Thursday/early Friday.
The Daily Inter Lake has a write-up . . .
With a significant warming trend expected this week, the National Weather Service is forecasting increased flooding potential for some Western Montana rivers, including the Flathead River.
The Flathead River at Columbia Falls could reach or exceed flood stage by Thursday or Friday, but other rivers such as the Whitefish and Stillwater Rivers are no longer expected to exceed flood stage without a major rain event, meteorologist Bruce Bauck said during a conference call on Monday.
The North Fork Bear News is out! If you are on the mailing list, you should have it now or be getting it soon. If you are not on the mailing list, or just don’t want to wait, you can read it online here (in color, no less).
This year’s issue has lots of good content about bears, but its primary motivation is the (unnecessary) risk to “Patti Bear,” a young female North Fork grizzly. Here’s what the Bear News people have to say . . .
Patti Bear & hummingbird feeder
Dear Fellow North Forkers:
A few of us have resurrected the North Fork Bear News in response to Tim Manley’s warning at the winter Interlocal meeting that he may have to remove Patti Bear this summer if she gets another food reward. We don’t want to see that happen, and we’re confident the rest of the North Fork community doesn’t want to see it happen either. So we’ve decided to get the word out, and we invite you to do the same.
It’s been a long time since the North Fork has lost a bear because of human food rewards, and we have a good reputation for keeping our camps clean and our bears safe. Patti Bear’s story isn’t over yet – Manley says she can still learn to stay out of trouble and he’s made it clear that the last thing he wants to do is kill a bear. But now more than ever, her survival is up to us.
Preventing Patti or any other bear from getting a food reward is simple, and most of us know the drill: don’t leave food or garbage out where bears can get to it. But if it’s so simple and we know the drill, why is a grizzly bear’s life on the line because of human food rewards?
It’s a question each of us needs to ask ourselves if we are serious about the welfare of bears on the North Fork. And it’s not a stretch to say that the welfare of our neighbors and their property is at stake, too. Most of us know what a food conditioned grizzly bear can do to a cabin, or to a person.
Putting up electric fencing, cleaning up dog food or garbage, or removing dead ground squirrels from the yard can be inconvenient, and everyone enjoys seeing birds at a birdfeeder. The question ultimately becomes whether a bear’s life is worth a little extra cleanup or giving up our birdfeeders. We think it is. With a little extra effort on all our parts, Patti Bear can stay wild, free, and alive.
From the just-published North Fork Bear News . . .
The U.S. Forest Service in cooperation with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Glacier National Park and others is sponsoring a community bear fair on July 9th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Polebridge Mercantile. The event will feature educational talks, booths and displays (including a culvert trap to check out in case you’ve been curious…), great food (of course!) and an opportunity to learn more about bears and how to keep them safe. There will even be pots of flowers to give away to those who renounce their hummingbird feeders and a fushsia raffle for a couple of lucky winners. Come join the fun!
Crews plowing Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier Park are getting close to the top, but are encountering the deepest snow. The Daily Inter Lake has the story . . .
Yellow bulldozers and rotary plows have been breaking trail on Glacier National Park’s Going to the Sun Road but an historic snowpack has delayed the road’s opening.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation website the earliest the road could have opened was June 17, but as of late last week, plow crews still had four miles of road to plow up and over Logan Pass. Ellen Blickhan, acting public affairs specialist for the park, said that until they finish plowing no date will be set for the road’s opening.
An interesting press release posted to Glacier Park’s web site yesterday . . .
Glacier National Park is participating in a long-term interagency program to monitor the trend of the grizzly bear population in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Bait stations, automated cameras, and traps will be used to capture and monitor grizzly bears within the park. The program attempts to maintain a sample of up to 10 radio-marked female grizzly bears out of an estimated population of 300 grizzly bears living in the park.
Bait stations and trap sites will be marked with brightly colored warning and closure signs. For safety reasons visitors are reminded to heed and comply with these signs and not enter areas closed for baiting or trapping. A man died last year seven miles east of Yellowstone National Park after he wandered into a capture site and was attacked by a grizzly bear. Trapping efforts will continue at various locations throughout Glacier National Park beginning June through October. For further information, please contact park bear biologist, John Waller, at (406) 888-7829.
Park officials invite visitors to Glacier National Park for a fee free day on the summer solstice, Tuesday, June 21. All entrance fees are waived for entry into Glacier National Park. There are more campgrounds and services open in Glacier National Park this week. In the Many Glacier valley, the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, Many Glacier Hotel, Many Glacier boat tours and Swiftcurrent Campground opened for the season on Friday, June 17. In the Two Medicine valley, boat tours have begun operation. Ranger Led Activities have commenced and schedules can be found online or at entrance stations to the park.
The crummy weather has an upside: It should help keep runoff under control and reduce flooding danger a bit. From the Missoulian . . .
Both the temperature and water levels are predicted to fall in the next several days, as a cold weather system moves into western Montana and slows the snowmelt that flooded low-lying areas in recent weeks.
A “very cold air mass” will lower daytime highs across western Montana to 10-15 degrees below normal through Friday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bruce Bauck.
