All posts by nfpa

Coalition pulls almost 30,000 acres from Rocky Mountain Front conservation proposal

Environmental Issues, News,

The Great Falls Tribune reports on the latest developments in the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front’s work on a proposal to provide protection for the Rocky Mountain Front . . .

Conservation groups dropped 28,937 acres in the Helena National Forest from a plan to better protect 300,000 acres in the Rocky Mountains…

The coalition’s plan to protect 275,300 acres in Lewis and Clark National Forest — 71,698 acres as wilderness and 203,602 acres as conservation management — remains in place.

Continue reading . . .

Adventures in wolf recovery ending for Ed Bangs as he retires from USFWS

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

An interesting retrospective on Ed Bangs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wolf recovery coordinator for the northern Rockies, who will be retiring in June . . .

Ed Bangs, who for 23 years led the effort to reintroduce and recover healthy wolf populations in the northern Rocky Mountains, is retiring from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in June.

As the federal agency’s wolf recovery coordinator, Bangs was the face of the polarizing wolf reintroduction, conducting thousands of international, national, state and local interviews and holding hundreds of highly charged meetings, all to explain the effort as part of a massive public outreach effort.

At various times, depending on the stage of the reintroduction, he was heralded as a hero while simultaneously being denounced as a wolf lover or hater, depending on people’s perspective.

Continue reading . . .

People urged to prepare for flooding

Flood Information, News,

More warnings about possible flooding when this year’s massive snowpack starts melting off . . .

Local emergency response officials are urging residents of flood-prone areas to plan and prepare for potential flooding.

“Basically, what we’re telling people the best thing they can do to help responders is to be able to take care of themselves for 72 hours, to have a plan about what they will do in the event there is flooding that impacts their home or business,” said Cindy Mullaney, deputy director of the Flathead County Office of Emergency Services.

Based on well-above-average snowpack alone, the National Weather Service predicts most rivers and streams in Northwest Montana will approach or exceed flood stage.

Continue reading . . .

Glacier snow keeps piling up

Flood Information, News,

There are some pretty impressive numbers here. It’s looking more and more like flooding will be a significant issue this spring . . .

Snow keeps piling up in Glacier National Park and in mountain ranges across Northwest Montana at a time when the snowpack usually is diminishing.

Recent storms have delivered 8 inches of new snow at West Glacier and up to 18 inches at higher elevations in the park, causing trouble for park plowing crews that spent part of this week clearing previously plowed roads.

Automated snow measuring sites in the park usually record a decrease in snow water content by mid-April, but they are instead recording increases.

Continue reading . . .

SB 414, Montana Wolf Control Act, voted down

Environmental Issues, News,

From a recent email sent out by Janet Barwick, NRDC Montana Wildlife Advocate . . .

Senate Bill 414, the Montana Wolf Control Act, has been voted down in the Montana House.  This bill would have made it legal to shoot wolves on private land, at any time, even without a hunting license, endangering the hard fought recovery of wolves in the Northern Rockies. It is highly unlikely that there will be a revision of this bill before the legislature recesses on April 30th, and unlikely that it will come up again in the special session slated for June.

Glacier National Park’s 2011 concessioner operating dates announced

News

Glacier Park just posted a schedule of the operating dates for their various concessioner-run services. With the exception of facilities like the backcountry chalets, most things kick off from late May to mid-June . . .

Glacier National Park officials announce the 2011 operating dates for park concessioners. These concessioners, who work under contract within Glacier National Park, provide visitor services including lodging, food service, retail shops, tours, transportation, horseback riding, guided day hikes and backpacking trips, and boat tours and small boat rentals.

Continue reading (temporary link, will update as needed) . . .

Larry Wilson: The times they are a-changin’

Commentary, History, ,

Larry Wilson’s column this week discusses the changes on the North Fork over the last century or so, especially those related to Forest Service activity . . .

I have written several times about how change has affected the North Fork, especially the changes brought about by the influx of the two periods of homesteading that opened up the area with roads and dwellings and, most of all, with people.

Of course, there were white men in the North Fork before the homesteaders. The earliest were no doubt trappers and hunters who left no written records to speak of and few marks on the land.

Without a doubt the U.S. Forest Service has had the longest presence on the North Fork closely followed by the U.S. Park Service.

Continue reading . . .

Montana sportsmen ask state for quick action on wolves

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

This article from yesterday’s Ravalli Republic is worth reading for context. It includes some indication of the likely quotas for this year’s wolf hunt, as well as information on the planning schedule . . .

Sportsmen’s groups from around Montana are asking wildlife officials to move as quickly as possible to implement the state’s wolf management plan once the animal is removed from federal protection.

Continue reading . . .

Idaho officials set meeting to plan wolf hunt

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

Idaho is already spooling up for a wolf hunt this year. No word from Montana yet . . .

Officials with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game plan to meet with Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter on Monday to discuss a public wolf hunting season.

“We will be ready to have another hunting season,” said Jim Unsworth, deputy director of Fish and Game.

Continue reading . . .

It’s official: wolves to come off endangered list within 60 days

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

It’s official: Gray wolves are off the endangered species list in this corner of the country . . .

Federal wildlife officials say they will take more than 1,300 gray wolves in the Northern Rockies off the endangered species list within 60 days.

An attachment to the budget bill signed into law Friday by President Barack Obama strips protections from wolves in five Western states.

Continue reading . . .