All posts by nfpa

Brian Sybert: The antidote to anti-public lands extremism: Finding common ground and working together

Commentary, ,
Big Therriault Lake - Kootenai National Forest
Big Therriault Lake – Kootenai National Forest

Here’s a pretty straightforward op-ed from the MWA’s Brian Sybert on public lands issues and the importance of working together to address them . . .

It’s been near impossible to miss the headlines about armed extremists and radical politicians trying to destroy our national public lands legacy. From Washington, D.C., to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, selfishness and delusional interpretations of the U.S Constitution have come together in support of a disastrous agenda aimed squarely at one thing: taking national public lands away from the American people.

But neither the armed militants at Malheur nor the suit-clad lands transfer zealots in Utah and D.C. have anticipated how much the American people, Westerners in particular, value public lands. In January, Colorado College released its sixth-annual bipartisan Conservation in the West Poll, showing that Western voters, including Montanans, see American public lands as integral to our economy and way of life and overwhelmingly oppose efforts to weaken and seize those lands.

The poll also revealed that Westerners strongly support people working together to find common-ground solutions to public land challenges, and herein lies the antidote to the toxic anti-public lands agenda represented by the likes of the Bundy gang and the American Lands Council. Community-driven collaboratives not only result in the protection of wild places, the creation of new jobs and the advancement of our public lands legacy, they also nourish our nation’s democracy.

Read more . . .

Haskill Basin conservation easement completed

Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

Good news for Whitefish: The Haskill Basin conservation easement is a done deal . . .

For years, conservation groups and city officials have recognized the development pressure that could bear down on Haskill Basin, a block of land east of Whitefish owned by F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co.

And for years, those concerns were quelled by a good-faith agreement with the Stoltze family, who for more than a century has maintained its commitment to managing the Haskill parcel as a working forest, rather than leveraging it into a revenue-rich development deal.

On Wednesday, that handshake deal was inked into the history books as Whitefish city officials, along with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Stoltze, and the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, finalized an agreement to furnish permanent protections on 3,020 acres of land in the Haskill Creek watershed.

Read more . . .

FWP reminds residents that feeding wildlife is Illegal and can be dangerous

News,

Here’s a timely reminder from Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks . . .

FWP would like to remind folks that the supplemental feeding of game animals is illegal under Montana code (MCA 87-6-216). Recently, FWP has been investigating incidents of residents feeding deer in the Libby and Yaak area.

The law specifically prohibits the feeding of ungulates—(deer, elk, moose, and antelope), mountain lions and bears. The recreational feeding of birds (song birds, turkeys, pheasants, etc) can also be unlawful if it attracts ungulates or bears, and in some cities like Libby there are also ordinances against feeding turkeys. Supplemental food includes grain, processed feed, hay, and other foods.

Feeding turkeys can also attract other species. For example, if deer are drawn to feeding sites, they can attract mountain lions and pose a safety threat to neighbors.

FWP has also received reports of aggressive deer near a school bus stop in Libby. These deer may have been habituated with supplemental feed, and could be a threat to the safety of children in the area. FWP and Libby law enforcement officials may have to act to remove the deer in the interest of public safety. Killing habituated wildlife is a last resort when a public safety issue is involved. Feeding deer not only poses a safety threat it also congregates wildlife and increases the risk of disease transmission putting all deer in the area at risk.

In the Yaak, supplemental feeding of deer has attracted a young black bear cub that hadn’t been able to den for the winter. FWP has captured the cub and will transport it to the state rehabilitation center in Helena. Continue reading FWP reminds residents that feeding wildlife is Illegal and can be dangerous →

Test shows Swan Lake walleye are Illegal transplants

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,
A walleye caught in Swan Lake - courtesy Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
A walleye caught in Swan Lake – courtesy Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

The walleyes found in Swan Lake were illegally dumped there last year. Now fisheries personnel are worried about bucket biologists doing the same in other lakes and streams in the area . . .

State wildlife officials have confirmed that two walleyes caught in Swan Lake last fall were illegally transplanted, quelling concerns that the non-native species spawned in the lake.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists reported catching the walleye in Swan Lake in October during a gill-net operation, marking the first time the species has been discovered in the lake and raising concerns about the illegal introduction of yet another non-native fish in Montana’s waters, according to Mark Deleray, Region One fisheries manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Recent microchemistry analysis of the inner ear bones of the fish indicates they were introduced to the lake sometime last year.

Read more . . .

News bites from here and there

Commentary, Environmental Issues, News,

Debo Powers passed along these interesting items from our corner of the country . . .

Here is a blog from Sally Cathey, MWA field director for southwest Montana, calling for public comments on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest Plan.

Keep the Quiet

And here is an article about a nonviolent protest that really worked! It reminds me of how John Frederick bought stock in a Canadian mine in the North Fork and went to the stockholder’s meeting to speak against the mine. This is creativity in action!

Auction of Utah oil & gas leases spurs author Terry Tempest Williams to (legally) buy lease

Whitefish looks to reduce carbon footprint

Environmental Issues, News, ,

NFPA and Whitefish City Council member Richard Hildner, is taking the lead on new climate action plan for the city . . .

Whitefish is investigating whether it should establish a climate action plan in an attempt to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.

City Council studied the option last week while also considering a similar plan involving the whole North Valley.

A climate action plan is a set of strategies aimed at reducing a city’s environmental impact and increasing energy efficiency. Two years ago, council put the item on its goals list.

Read more . . .

Molly Absalon: What is sacred to some is just fun for others

Commentary, Environmental Issues, , ,

Hiking in GNP

Debo Powers passed along the following op-ed saying, “This is a beautiful article about wilderness written by a mountain biker who has realized that some places need to remain wild.”

Excellent essay. Recommended reading . . .

I grew up in the era of nature writers. In college I took a class called “Wilderness and the American Mind.” Most of my early exposure to wild lands took place on long, grueling backpacking trips during which we trudged for hours under heavy loads to reach magical places far from the madding crowd.

Wilderness served as my church. I found solace and inspiration sitting by an alpine lake, listening to the gentle lap of water on the rocks, watching the sky shift from cornflower blue to pink to purple as the sun sank behind the peaks.

But my relationship with wilderness shifted as my life changed. I found it harder to make the extended trips necessary to reach truly wild places. I grew weary of carrying heavy packs and opted instead for light, fast trips. My mountain bike became my preferred mode of transportation. That or a packraft. Somehow, without me noticing it, I began to view wild places as a place for recreation, a playground rather than a church.

Read more . . .

Second mine near Cabinet Mountains Wilderness nears approval

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,
Southern Cabinet Mountains, as seen from Swede Mountain, near Libby
Southern Cabinet Mountains, as seen from Swede Mountain, near Libby

The second of two mines crowding the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness is getting closer to operational approval . . .

Days after one northwest Montana mining project won state approval to start operating near the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, another expects to see its supplemental environmental impact statement arrive for public review this week.

Coeur d’Alene-based Hecla Mining Co. officials said they expected the environmental review to reach the U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday, with publication expected in the Federal Register on Friday. That starts a 45-day comment period.

Hecla took over Revett Mining Co. in June, paying Revett shareholders $20 million in Hecla stock in the deal. That spelled the closure of Revett’s Troy Mine, but gave greater impetus on opening the larger Rock Creek Mine project five miles northeast of Noxon, in Sanders County. That mine holds a purported 229 million ounces of silver and 2 billion pounds of copper.

Read more . . .

Montanore mine near Cabinet Mountains Wilderness gets partial approval

Environmental Issues, News, , ,
Southern Cabinet Mountains, as seen from Swede Mountain, near Libby
Southern Cabinet Mountains, as seen from Swede Mountain, near Libby

As expected, the proposed Montanore mine near the edge of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness received only partial approval from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality . . .

Montana environmental regulators granted conditional approval Friday to a long-stalled silver and copper mine proposed beneath a federal wilderness area, saying the developer must show before mining can proceed that the $500 million project won’t drain overlying creeks.

Department of Environmental Quality Director Tom Livers said the agency was approving an air quality permit and a transmission line that would connect to the Montanore mine. Yet that leaves its operating permit still in question, drawing a backlash from Republicans in the state’s Congressional delegation who urged full approval.

Developer Mines Management, Inc. pledged to move forward despite the state’s concerns over water supplies in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.

Read more . . .

Partnerships working for the Kootenai

Commentary,
Big Therriault Lake - Kootenai National Forest
Big Therriault Lake – Kootenai National Forest

Our neighbors in the Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Coalition have an interesting guest column in this week’s Flathead Beacon talking about their cooperative efforts to work for the benefit of the Kootenai National Forest . . .

Open the newspaper or start a conversation about the Kootenai National Forest and one topic is sure to come up: Lawsuits.

Frankly, this theme can be heard wherever there is a national forest. People often feel frustrated that lawyers and judges trump local professional land managers.

In the Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Coalition, we are waist-deep in forward-thinking efforts to restore our national forest lands, supporting our communities economically while protecting diverse recreation, wildlife and wilderness values. We share public frustration, but aren’t content to sit on our hands and complain.

Read more . . .