All posts by nfpa

Glacier National Park headquarters building temporarily closed

News, ,

The Glacier National Park headquarters building is closed for a while, with personnel relocated to various other buildings in the area. Seems they’ve been installing a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and encountered what may be some asbestos. There’s no word on why the heck they were messing with the HVAC system this time of year, but it no doubt made sense at the time.

Anyways, for those of you who might need to do business with park headquarters, here’s the press release . . .

Date: November 22, 2010
Contact: Bill Hayden, 406 888-5804

WEST GLACIER, MONT. – Glacier National Park Officials have temporarily closed the main Park Headquarters Building, due to a possible asbestos issue related to the installation of a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

At this time, we do not have confirmation that asbestos is present but we are acting on the possibility that some of the building materials may contain asbestos. Testing is underway and the building will remain closed to entry until it is shown that it is safe to return.

Employees are being temporarily relocated to other offices in the Park Headquarters area and critical functions like mail service and phones are working.

Visitors to the park can still obtain information at the Apgar Visitor Center, near the foot of Lake McDonald. Until Park Headquarters reopens, the visitor center will expand its hours from weekends only, to seven day-a-week coverage. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. The visitor center will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

Wolf bills have little chance of passage this year

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The various House and Senate bills aimed at removing Wolves from the endangered species list in some western states are unlikely to go anywhere this year.

From today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

Lawmakers from the Northern Rockies say pending bills aimed at getting gray wolves off the endangered species list have little chance of passage this year.

A time crunch, coupled with unresolved partisan differences on the issue, means several wolf bills introduced in the lead-up to the election are likely to die without action.

Read the full story . . .

BP retires oil and gas leases in and near the North Fork

Environmental Issues, News, , , , , , ,

BP has climbed on the bandwagon, retiring their local oil and gas leases, including “a 394-acre parcel near the Polebridge entrance to Glacier National Park.”

The Missoulian has the story . . .

The oil company BP voluntarily gave up its rights to explore for energy along the western border of Glacier National Park, U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester announced Friday.

“Permanently protecting the North Fork for our kids and grandkids has been one of my biggest priorities for many years,” Baucus said in a written statement. “Today’s decision by BP is another step toward that goal.”

The deal takes 1,853 acres out of potential exploration. That includes a 394-acre parcel near the Polebridge entrance to Glacier National Park.

Read the full article . . .

U.S. FWS investigating wolf poaching in Flathead Forest; reward offered

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

From today’s Daily Inter Lake . . .

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the recent shooting of two wolves on the Flathead National Forest.

The carcasses were found on the same day, Nov. 6, in different locations on the forest.

One was found along Coal Creek Road in the North Fork Flathead drainage and the other in the Miller Creek area west of Olney.

Read the full article . . .

The Missoulian also posted an article on this incident.

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell resigns

News, , ,

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell announced his resignation today due to widespread dissatisfaction with recent tax policy. Perhaps “dissatisfaction” is too mild a word; his approval rating plummeted to nine percent.

What’s the North Fork connection?  Premier Campbell and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer signed a Memorandum of Understanding last February banning mining and energy development throughout the trans-boundary Flathead Valley. Campbell’s resignation shouldn’t have any effect on the MOU, but will no doubt be a matter of concern in some quarters anyways.

The Flathead Beacon has a good vest-pocket summary of the situation. If you live on the U.S. side of the border, better read their article first or you’ll likely have no clue what “HST” means.

For greater detail, see the Vancouver Sun’s more extensive coverage.

FWP plans to reintroduce mountain goats to Whitefish Range

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks wants to reintroduce mountain goats to the Whitefish Range where they were pretty much hunted out by the 1960s. The plan is to capture an initial population of about 15 goats from a large herd in the Crazy Mountains near Big Timber and release them near Stryker Mountain on the west side of the Whitefish Divide. The project is scheduled to start this January.

For more information, see the write-up in this week’s Hungry Horse News, as well as the story in the Daily Inter Lake.

Check out the draft environmental assessment for project-specific details. If you want to put your oar in, the project is open for public comment through Wednesday, Nov. 3.

Study says regional wolf population high enough to maintain genetic diversity

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

This is going to stir things up. A just-released scientific study concludes that the wolf population is more than high enough to maintain genetic diversity throughout the Northern Rockies. This from the same team that earlier concluded that the wolf population in Yellowstone was genetically isolated, a finding used to argue against removing wolves from Endangered Species Act protection.

Some old research is providing new insight into the genetic diversity of wolves in the Northern Rockies.

Authored by well-known names in the world of wolf reintroduction, the newly published study concludes that as far back as six years ago, wolf numbers were high enough to avoid genetic stagnation in the region.

Mark Hebblewhite, a University of Montana ecologist and longtime wolf researcher, said the study is the most comprehensive paper ever completed on a wild population of carnivores. . .

The study was authored by the same team that earlier reported wolves in Yellowstone National Park were genetically isolated. That information was used to argue against delisting the Northern Rockies population in 2008. . .

Read the full article . . .

For more detail, read the related “News and Views” item from Molecular Ecology, as well as the full scientific paper referenced in the above article. (Both documents are in PDF format and will open in a new window.)

Ben Lamb: Why the Baucus/Tester wolf delisting bill is the better choice

Commentary, Environmental Issues, , , ,

Ben Lamb had an excellent guest commentary posted to last Wednesday’s New West. He’s lost patience with all the political posturing over wolf management. It’s an entertaining read . . .

The political wrangling over wolves since the latest relisting in August is now in full force. It’s unfortunate that we’ve arrived at a place where the only solution that most Montanans see regarding wolves is political in nature.

Looking back over 100 years of wildlife conservation in the state of Montana, political solutions have rarely helped wildlife. In the past, hunter-conservationists struggled mightily to remove political influence from wildlife management, and we were largely successful. . .

Read the entire article . . .