This is a pretty good report on yesterdays’ hearings before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee regarding Sen. Jon Tester’s proposed Forest Jobs and Recreation Act . . .
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., got some unexpected support from potential critics of his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act and doubts from assumed allies during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
From today’s Missoulian . . .
A proposal to protect the North Fork of the Flathead River from mining got a friendly reception at a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday.
“You have convinced me Glacier (National Park) and the North Fork are true jewels of the West,” Senate Energy and Natural Resources acting chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. “We’re going to get your bill out of this committee and onto the president’s desk.”
From today’s Daily Inter Lake . . .
Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester testified Wednesday in support of legislation that would permanently withdraw federal lands in the North Fork Flathead River drainage from future leases for energy development.
The two testified in support of their North Fork Watershed Protection Act before the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests in Washington, D.C.
It is the latest step in a cooperative agreement with British Columbia that bans mining in the North Fork river corridor on both sides of the border, including areas near Glacier and Waterton national parks.
Larry Wilson’s column this week discusses the spring thaw and the annual changes coming to the North Fork . . .
The snow is finally melting. In the last week, the piles of snow under my eaves have gone from being over three feet deep to just a narrow strip of ice, which will disappear today. Side roads and unplowed lanes that were snow-clogged 10 days ago are now dry.
More importantly, every day the snow line is higher up on both the Whitefish Divide and the Rocky Mountains, and the river has changed in the last three days from an unclear green to high and muddy. The gravel bar islands are beginning to disappear, and rain is predicted.
Will we have a flood? That is anybody’s guess…
Yet another sign of spring is this recent press release from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks . . .
As part of ongoing efforts required under the Endangered Species Act to monitor the population of grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE), Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the US Fish & Wildlife Service and Tribal wildlife managers are working to inform the public that pre-baiting and scientific capture operations are once again about to begin in parts of western Montana.
Biologists will begin to work this month in the Blackfoot Valley, many areas along the Rocky Mountain Front, and Swan, Clearwater, Mission, Jocko and Flathead River Valleys. Capturing will continue intermittently through the end of October. Traps will also be set periodically on private lands where bear/human conflicts are occurring.
All areas where work is being conducted will have warning signs posted along the major access points to the trapping site. It is critical that all members of the public heed these signs.
Monitoring of grizzly bear distribution and other activities are vital to ongoing recovery of grizzlies in the NCDE. In order to attract bears, biologists utilize natural food sources such as fresh road–killed deer and elk. Potential trapping sites are baited with these natural foods and if indications are that grizzly bears are in the area, snares or culvert traps will be used to capture the bears. Once trapped, the bears are sedated, studied, and released in accordance with strict protocols.
For more information regarding grizzly bear trapping efforts call FWP in Missoula at 406-542-5500 or FWP in Kalispell at 406-752-5501.
This could be an interesting report. From a news release posted today by the Park Service . . .
The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center will be hosting a presentation on native fish and fish monitoring by Chris Downs, Glacier National Park Fisheries Biologist on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. in the Community Building in Park Headquarters, West Glacier. The results of a recently completed fish tissue mercury assessment conducted on multiple park lakes and what they mean for human and wildlife fish consumers will be featured.
Downs manages and monitors the aquatic resources in Glacier National Park. His work includes supporting development and implementation of the park’s new Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) prevention program…
From an AP article posted in today’s Flathead Beacon . . .
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s bill to increase both logging and wilderness areas in Montana was the focus of another Senate hearing Wednesday as the Democrat hopes to move forward a plan that has already become an issue in his high-profile election challenge from Republican U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in Washington again took testimony on a re-introduced version of a bill Tester first put forward nearly two years ago. Committee members expressed interest in working with Tester to advance a measure that died late last year as part of a last-minute budget bill.
Well, cripes, now the Weather Service is saying that the weather system moving in is cold enough that river levels may actually drop a little for the next few days, even though we’ll be seeing some rain initially. The Flathead Beacon has the story . . .
Cold weather and rain hitting the Flathead in the next 24 hours and running through the weekend should slow down snowmelt in the mountains, leading to temporarily decreased river flows in the valley.
According to Chris Gibson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Missoula, the Flathead can expect some “big changes” coming in the weather, including winter weather advisories for parts of the state.
Rain and warmer temperature should bring river levels up across the area by the end of the week. Today’s Daily Inter Lake has a good write-up . . .
A mixed bag of weather is expected to push rivers across Western Montana, including the Flathead River, to flood stage this week.
The National Weather Service in Missoula is forecasting light rain, about a quarter inch, hitting Northwest Montana Monday night and today, followed by a dry Wednesday with temperatures in the 70s.
Then the region is expected to get about an inch of rain on Thursday. The chance of heavy rain on Thursday is listed at 100 percent by the Weather Service.
All Flathead Valley rivers are expected to see higher flows through the week.
From a recent Ducks Unlimited press release . . .
Ducks Unlimited is supporting legislation that will have a positive impact on waterfowl habitats and protect the North Fork of the Flathead Drainage in Montana. The bill, the North Fork Watershed Protection Act of 2011 (S.233), was introduced in the 112th Congress by Montana Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester.
Sen. Baucus will present the bill at a hearing to the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests on May 25.
“The legislation will protect the water quality of downstream flows to key wetlands in this drainage area. This is a critical staging area for migrating waterfowl and supports more than 50,000 waterfowl each year,” Robert Sanders, DU manager of conservation programs for Montana said.