Category Archives: Environmental Issues

Old Moose Fire burn on North Fork has a knapweed problem

Environmental Issues, News, , , , , ,

Knapweed is a real nuisance in the old Moose Fire burn area . . .

The hillsides above Big Creek and the North Fork of the Flathead River are valuable winter range for deer and elk. Unfortunately, a new invader has moved in — weeds. Spotted knapweed is becoming a problem along the North Fork Road where the 2001 Moose Fire razed the landscape.

The Forest Service is aware of the problem, said Tris Hoffman, weed coordinator for the Flathead National Forest.

Hoffman said last week that Montana Conservation Corps crews were hand-pulling weeds from the slopes last week. The Forest Service is also spraying and in some cases using weevils to control the weed.

Continue reading . . .

Feds delay wolf plan independent review

Environmental Issues, News, ,

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service messed up the initial stages of an independent scientific review of their plan to remove federal protections for wolves across most of the U.S. Now they have to back up and try again . . .

A federal agency is delaying an independent analysis of a plan to drop legal protections for wolves across most of the nation because of concerns about the selection of experts to conduct the review, an official said Tuesday.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in June called for removing gray wolves across the Lower 48 states from the endangered species list, with an exception for the struggling Mexican wolf in the Southwest. Agency director Dan Ashe said the wolf had recovered to the point that it could thrive and even enlarge its territory without federal oversight, although some advocates and members of Congress said the move was premature.

Continue reading . . .

Xanterra selected as new Glacier Park concessioner

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The National Park Service has selected Xanterra Parks & Resorts as the new Glacier Park concessioner for the next 16 years, replacing Glacier Park, Inc., which as been operating the park concessions since 1981.

And, yes, this is the same Xanterra with connections to Anschutz Exploration Corp., the outfit that was until recently performing exploratory drilling on the Blackfeet Reservation along the eastern boundary of Glacier Park. Both Anschutz Exploration and Xanterra Parks and Resorts are owned by Philip Frederick Anschutz, one of the wealthiest billionaires in the nation. Xanterra is likely to prove a controversial choice.

Here is the lead-in for the official press release . . .

The National Park Service has selected Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc. (Xanterra) to provide a variety of visitor services in Glacier National Park for the next 16 years.

The new park concessions contract is anticipated to begin in January 2014 and includes lodging, food and beverage, retail, transportation and other visitor services within the park. This fall Xanterra is expected to work with Glacier Park, Inc. during a transition period. Glacier Park, Inc. has held the current park concessions contract since 1981.

Continue reading . . .

Building a new management plan for the Flathead River Corridor

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The Flathead Beacon just posted another of their “Focusing on…” articles, this time discussing the challenges to the Flathead River Corridor from increasing recreational pressure, which is forcing consideration of a new river corridor plan. Recommended reading . . .

The rhythm of the North Fork flows to a mellow tempo, even as the steady thrum of traffic and the ever-present flotilla of rafts and kayaks sketch a clear portrait of the wild and scenic river corridor’s growth and popularity.

Dust clouds roll off this unpaved portion of Highway 486, also known as the North Fork Flathead Road, and the meter of traffic ticking along the western border of Glacier National Park has given rise to the need for a new river management plan.

Designated a National Wild and Scenic River in 1976, the three forks of the Flathead River amount to 219 miles of what everyone agrees is “a very special place,” says Rob Davies, the Flathead National Forest’s district ranger for the Hungry Horse/Glacier View district. The North Fork Flathead River is protected by that designation, while its eastern tributaries and uplands are tucked away in Glacier Park. Its Canadian headwaters are protected by a provincial ban on mining and drilling, and U.S. Sen. Max Baucus has introduced legislation that would prohibit new energy and mineral development on the nearly 400,000 acres of the North Fork watershed within the Flathead National Forest.

Still, public land managers say the river corridor is being impacted by increased use, and have been collecting data to inform the future of the river corridor, while calling on the public to help adopt a new management strategy for recreational use.

Continue reading . . .

New oil exploration leases near Glacier Park trigger concern

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Renewed concerns about oil exploration along the Rocky Mountain Front . . .

A series of new oil exploration leases on the border of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and Glacier National Park has renewed the anger and motivation of those opposed to energy development along the Rocky Mountain Front.

The leases were found last week among records held by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. They include nine lease blocks, two of which include a portion of Chief Mountain — the square-shaped landmark mountain along the eastern border of the national park.

Continue reading . . .

‘Work day’ event part of Baucus’ efforts to support North Fork

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

The Flathead Beacon has a good write-up, with photos, of Sen. Max Baucus “work day” last Tuesday near Big Creek . . .

Chipping away at the sun baked dirt with a Pulaski axe, a hard-hat clad Max Baucus graded out the slope of a hiking trail high above the North Fork Flathead River near the Big Creek tributary, buffing out a ribbon of single track that tops out on Glacier View Mountain but hasn’t been maintained since fire scoured the hillside in 2001.

In many ways, it was another day at the office for Montana’s senior senator, but instead of walking the halls of Congress he climbed steep switchbacks, chatting with and sweating alongside young members of a Montana Conservation Corps trail crew instead of running the Senate Finance Committee.

Continue reading . . .

Larry Wilson: Thompson-Seton Peak by mule and foot

Commentary, Environmental Issues, News, , ,

For those of you who haven’t encountered Larry Wilson’s enthusiastic Thompson-Seton trip report, here it is. Kudos to Frank Vitale for coming up with the idea in the first place and making it happen . . .

What a great trip. Regular readers of this column will no doubt remember Frank Vitale and I debating the wilderness issue in this newspaper late last summer. That debate ended with Frank challenging me to go with him on his mules to Thompson-Seton Peak, where we would sit down and debate the issue on the mountain top. After getting Frank to agree to not only take me into the mountains but also bring me out, I accepted the challenge.

Unfortunately, the weather turned wet and cold, and we had to postpone the trip until the summer. During the winter, we were both involved in the Whitefish Range Partnership, and over the course of the meetings, we both became fully aware of the other’s feelings and concerns about wilderness. Thus, there was no big need for a mountain-top debate, but I was still anxious to take the trip and was more than happy that Frank, too, was still willing to take me.

July 28 was set as a mutually acceptable date, and I was so excited I started putting my gear together a week ahead of time…

Continue reading at the Hungry Horse News . . .

Grizzly bear population and recovery

Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

Well, now, the NFPA got some ink. The Flathead Beacon’s Tristan Scott did a good write-up on Rick Mace’s presentation at the July 27 NFPA annual meeting concerning grizzly bear research and management over the past several decades. John Frederick even gets a quote . . .

Biologists who have spent years counting grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem say the species is on the road to recovery. With the public comment period on a post-delisting bear management strategy having drawn to a close Aug. 1, Endangered Species Act protections could be removed as early as next year.

At the North Fork Preservation Association’s annual meeting last month, attendees heard a presentation from Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist Rick Mace. The presentation gave a 30-year history of grizzly bear conservation in western Montana.

Mace traced the history of research and management from the 1970s to the present, and talked about the science of counting bears and population trends of bears in the NCDE.

Continue reading . . .

Tester and Baucus make another push to get their forest bills through the system

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Senators Baucus and Tester took another swing Tuesday at getting their respective forest bills back under consideration in the U.S. Senate . . .

U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester told their colleagues Tuesday that it is time to pass their bills expanding forest protections.

Both Democrats testified in Washington, D.C., to the U.S. Senate Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Subcommittee on measures that failed to clear the last Congress.

Continue reading . . .