Category Archives: Environmental Issues

DNA data: about 600 black bears in Glacier Park

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Analysis of DNA data originally collected for a grizzly bear study indicates about 600 black bears live in Glacier Park . . .

A trio of researchers recently concluded that Glacier National Park’s black bear population is about 600 — roughly one black bear for every 2,167 acres.

The study, conducted by U.S. Geological Survey scientist Kate Kendall and colleagues Amy McCleod and Jeff Stetz, is based on nearly 1,800 black bear hair samples collected during a 2004 grizzly bear DNA study.

Researchers gathered hair samples using “bear traps,” with a scent station used to attract bears inside a barbed wire fence that snagged their hair, or by attaching small pieces of barbed wire to rub trees. Both grizzly and black bears select trees they regularly like to rub on. DNA in the hair follicles was analyzed to identify species and sex as well as individual bears.

Read more . . .

Wilderness Act turns 50 next year

Environmental Issues, News,

Last week’s Flathead Forest Friday was all about the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Chris Peterson of the Hungry Horse News provides the background . . .

In September 1964, the country was in turmoil. There was a growing war in Vietnam, the country was still suffering the effects of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and there was a growing cultural revolution.

In the midst of this, Congress passed and President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, which immediately protected 9.1 million acres of lands across the U.S., including the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The area that became the Bob Marshall Wilderness had been administratively-designated as wilderness by the Forest Service in 1940. The Wilderness Act gave it congressional protection.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the act, and Forest Service officials along with the Bob Marshall Foundation, the National Park Service and other stakeholders are beginning plans for events and celebrations of the birthday.

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Diverse stakeholders recommend Whitefish Range forest plan

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The Flathead Beacon just posted a lengthy, well-written article by Tristan Scott about the just-concluded Whitefish Range Partnership agreement.

Like the earlier Missoulian piece, this one is also recommended reading . . .

Bob Brown, a former secretary of state and longtime Whitefish legislator, pulled into the snow-caked parking lot outside Ed and Mully’s Restaurant at the base of Big Mountain, his car bearing a bumper sticker that read, “Compromise is not a Four Letter Word.”

Ever the diplomat, Brown was there to broker a meeting organized by a coalition of longtime adversaries turned unlikely bedfellows — tree huggers and tree cutters, eco-warriors and timber sawyers, hikers, horsemen, mountain bikers, cabin owners and nearly everyone else with a stake in the management of public lands on the Flathead National Forest.

They represented three-dozen interest groups who historically clashed over public land use on Montana’s forests; who for decades pitted wilderness against timber production, non-motorized against motorized recreation, commercial interests against wildlife. They were advocates accustomed to digging in their heels, entrenched in their ideologies and not given to making concessions.

Read more . . .

Whitefish Range Partnership celebrates accord

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Rob Chaney of the Missoulian posted a first-rate article about the final Whitefish Range Partnership meeting and the agreement’s significance.

Recommended reading  . . .

In the Bible’s First Book of Kings, Solomon nearly has to chop a baby in half before two women claiming to be its mother can resolve their dispute.

No swords were pulled at the table where the Whitefish Range Partnership found a way to let loggers, wilderness advocates, snowmobilers, mountain bikers, river rafters and cabin owners share 300,000 acres of the Flathead National Forest. But the roomful of longtime adversaries agreed having a Solomonic deadline actually helped them build the trust to share the land.

Last Monday, partnership members shared chili and champagne as they presented Flathead Forest Supervisor Chip Weber with their final agreement. Thirteen months in the making, the deal could help the U.S. Forest Service settle even bigger debates across the Rocky Mountains.

Read more . . .

Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act clears key Senate committee

Environmental Issues, News,

Sen. Max Baucus’ Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act crossed another barrier in the Senate . . .

A key congressional committee on Thursday unanimously endorsed a measure from U.S. Sen. Max Baucus to expand protections along the Rocky Mountain Front.

The bill would add 67,112 acres of new wilderness to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. It also proposes designating 208,160 acres as a Conservation Management Area. That designation is not as restrictive as wilderness but would permanently keep in place protections in the Forest Service’s travel plan.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced Baucus’ Rocky Mountain Heritage Act with a voice vote.

Read more . . .

Studying hawk owls in Glacier Park

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The Hungry Horse News has a story about an ongoing survey of hawk owls in Glacier Park’s burn areas . . .

It hunts by day, has a long tail and is a fierce killer with a sweet trill of a song. It’s the northern hawk owl, and it’s one of Northwest Montana’s most unique birds.

Researchers from the Owl Institute, a Charlo-based nonprofit dedicated to owl research and conservation, have banded 60 hawk owls since their research began in earnest in 2005, according Matt Larson of the institute.

Along with his wife Jess, the two have been scouring the woods of Glacier National Park for several years in search of the owls. To date, the couple and other researchers from the institute have located 30 hawk owl nests in the Glacier Park region.

Read more . . .

Whitefish Range Partnership reaches consensus on Forest Plan recommendations

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The Hungry Horse News posted their article on the recent Whitefish Range Partnership meeting . . .

A group of stakeholders have reached consensus on a collaborative document for future management of the North Fork area.

The Whitefish Range Partnership has been meeting for the past several months in preparation for the upcoming Forest Plan revision process for the Flathead National Forest. The meetings were moderated by former state senator and secretary of state Bob Brown, of Whitefish.

Most stakeholders said the process went well.

Read more . . .

Biologists agree on bull trout problem, disagree on fix

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Bull trout numbers are down due to competition from non-native lake trout in Flathead Lake. There’s some head-butting over the best fix for the problem . . .

Two biologists from two different government agencies agree on one thing — bull trout numbers in the Flathead appear to be stable. But they differ on the future of the native fish.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist Tom Weaver says bull trout redd counts show a stable population over the past 10 years, and some spawning streams in the North Fork, particularly Coal Creek, saw a surge in numbers this year.

Biologists count spawning beds, called redds, each fall to gauge how many adults are returning to streams each year and the overall health of the bull trout population. The higher the count, the more robust the population. This year, biologists counted 225 redds in the North Fork and Middle Fork tributaries, compared to 229 last year and 189 one year earlier. But those numbers pale in comparison to the early 1980s when numbers ranged from 300 to as many as 600 in 1982.

Read more . . .

Dr. Cristina Eisenberg to give presentation at Montana House, Nov. 23

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

Those of you familiar with regional conservation issues probably know of Cristine Eisenberg. Dr. Eisenberg is a wolf researcher and expert on keystone predators, working in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem. She has lived in northwest Montana since 1997.

Dr. Eisenberg is giving a presentation at Montana House in Apgar Village titled “Saving All the Pieces: Large Carnivores in the Crown of the Continent and Beyond” on November 23, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. Her talk will be followed by a reception and Holiday Open House.

This one is highly recommended. Dr. Eisenberg always does a nice job.

Reservations are required. Call 406-888-5393 or email reservation to 1960mthouse@qwestoffice.net.

Check the Montana House web site for additional information.

Montana bat studies may help determine cause of White Nose Syndrome

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Scientists are trying to determine the cause of White Nose Syndrome, a disease that has killed some 7 million bats in North America so far. A great deal of this works focuses on Montana, including the North Fork area . . .

Where bats hibernate, how warm or cold, and how dry or damp the environment is, are questions being asked as researchers and recreationists explore Montana’s caves.

Bat Specialist Dr. Cori Lausen with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada says some species of bats are facing potential extinction because of the White Nose Syndrome which has been decimating bat populations along the east coast, and is spreading west…

Lausen has studied bats in the North Fork Flathead River drainage in Montana, and just this past summer began surveying the caves of the Flathead River Valley on the north side of the border. She said this area is good for bat hunting because of the numerous cave formations in the area.

Read more . . .