Category Archives: Environmental Issues

New specialty license plate features North Fork Flathead

April 1, 2016Environmental Issues, NewsAmerican Rivers, North Fork Flathead River, Rachel Pohl, specialty license platenfpa

'Wild Rivers' license plate featuring North Fork Flathead — ‘Wild Rivers’ license plate featuring North Fork Flathead

American Rivers is behind a new Montana specialty license plate featuring the North Fork of the Flathead River . . .

How can license plates help river conservation? When you purchase a new “Wild Rivers” specialty license plate in Montana, the Northern Rockies Office of American Rivers receives a $25 donation that we use to protect wild rivers, restore damaged rivers, and conserve clean water for people and nature across the state.

American Rivers’ Northern Rockies Office commissioned Bozeman artist and outdoor athlete Rachel Pohl to create the stunning painting that appears on the plate, depicting the Wild and Scenic North Fork of the Flathead River along the western boundary of Glacier National Park. Rachel employs bold colors and vibrant imaging in her paintings, capturing the feel of mountain landscapes and making them jump off the canvas. The scene that she evokes in this painting is no different: A mother grizzly and two cubs overlook a whitewater rapid along the North Fork Flathead River, set beneath a fiery sunrise framing the Livingston Range.

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North Fork Road improvement project takes another step forward

March 30, 2016Environmental Issues, NewsFlathead County Commissioners, North Fork Road, road maintenancenfpa

North Fork Road, March 17, 2016 - W. K. Walker — North Fork Road, March 17, 2016 – W. K. Walker

It’s official now: If everything falls into place, we could see quite a bit of road work in the neighborhood within a couple of years . . .

The Flathead County Commission voted unanimously on March 24 to move forward with a proposed project among the county and federal partners to rehabilitate the North Fork Road.

The project, part of the Montana Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP), seeks to make improvements to the road, which serves as an access point for about 300 residents and thousands of recreationists each year.

FLAP was established to improve transportation routes that provide access to, are adjacent to, or located within federal lands. The program supplements state and local resources for public roads and transit systems. The North Fork project is still in the application phase.

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116 conservation organizations, including NFPA, sign letter opposing bikes in wilderness

March 28, 2016Commentary, Environmental Issues, Newsmountain bikes, North Fork Preservation Association, Sustainable Trails Coalition, wildernessnfpa

The NFPA joined a large group of other conservation organizations in signing on to a letter to congress opposing any change to the Wilderness Act that would permit bicycles in wilderness areas . . .

A legal change to allow bikes in federal wilderness hasn’t been introduced in Congress yet, but the issue already has advocates riled and rolling.

Last week, a coalition of conservation groups published a letter asking congressional delegations to “reject calls to amend the Wilderness Act to allow for the use of mountain bikes in designated Wilderness.” The coalition included Montana-based Wilderness Watch, Bitterroot Backcountry Horsemen of Montana and North Fork Preservation Association, among others.

They aimed their concern at proposed legislation drafted by a national mountain-biking group called Sustainable Trails Coalition, which also claims members in Montana. STC President Ted Stroll said the bill would move the decision about allowing bicycles in wilderness or proposed wilderness areas to the local forest supervisor level, instead of the national agency headquarters. It would also allow federal land managers to use mechanized and wheeled tools to maintain trails in federal wilderness.

Scientists to present Flathead deep aquifer research

March 28, 2016Environmental Issues, NewsFlathead River Commission, Flathead Valley deep aquifer, hydrology, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geologynfpa

There’s an interesting presentation on the Flathead Valley’s hydrology coming up on April 6 at Flathead Valley Community College, in the Arts and Technology building theater at 6:30 pm . . .

When Flathead Valley residents turn on their tap water, they often take it for granted. But with the exception of those living in Whitefish, most everyone living in the valley relies on groundwater from a series of deep aquifers known as the Flathead Valley deep aquifer.

It’s the most widely used aquifer in the valley, supplying high-capacity municipal and irrigation wells in addition to thousands of domestic wells. The deep aquifer is a thick deposit of gravel and sand, the top of which is 75 to over 400 feet deep and separated from shallow units and the land surface by a thick confining unit.

On April 6, research hydrogeologists John Wheaton and James Rose from the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology will present their research on the Flathead Valley’s deep aquifer and discuss the long-term sustainability of the area’s groundwater resources.

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Forest Service extends comment period for Rock Creek Mine

March 27, 2016Environmental Issues, NewsKootenai National Forest, Rock Creek Minenfpa

The public now has extra time to make their views known about the proposed Rock Creek Mine . . .

The U.S. Forest Service has extended the comment period for the draft environmental impact statement for the Rock Creek Mine project near Noxon.

Residents will now have until April 19 to submit comments on the proposed copper and silver project. Kootenai National Forest officials said in a press release announcing the extension that they wanted to give people more time to review the draft supplemental environmental impact because it is a “complex document.”

The draft study released in February addresses concerns about sediment control and ground water at Rock Creek.

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Feds & environmental groups reach tentative deal over oil & gas lease emissions

March 22, 2016Environmental Issues, Newsoil and gas development, oil and gas leasesnfpa

Oil and gas development at Colorado's Roan Plateau. Photo by Ecoflight. — Oil and gas development at Colorado’s Roan Plateau. Photo by Ecoflight.

Conservation groups are leaning on the feds over the need to control methane emissions as part of energy development . . .

Environmental groups and the U.S. government reached a tentative agreement to end a dispute over greenhouse gas emissions from federal oil and gas leases in Montana.

Attorneys for the Department of Justice and the environmentalists filed notice in federal court Friday that they have a settlement in principle over a lawsuit that pushes the government to examine the effects on climate change when leasing public lands for energy drilling. They hope to finalize the deal within the month.

The groups say the government should require companies to use technology that would reduce climate-changing methane emissions as a condition of their leases. Better oversight and technology use could cut 40 percent of the methane now lost due to leaking pipes, venting excess gas and exhaust from drilling, processing and transporting the oil and gas, according to the Montana Environmental Information Center, WildEarth Guardians and Earthworks’ Oil and Gas Accountability Project.

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Bighorn ruling could have broad impact on western grazing

March 21, 2016Environmental Issues, Newsbighorn sheep, grazingnfpa

Bighorn Sheep - Kim Keating, USGS photo — Bighorn Sheep – Kim Keating, USGS photo

A new ruling protecting bighorn sheep, although it has no immediate impact on the North Fork, has potential long-term ramifications beyond just grazing conflicts . . .

A ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recognizing a connection between bighorn sheep die-offs and diseases transmitted by domestic sheep could have far-reaching ramifications on federal grazing allotments in the West.

The ruling earlier this month by the three-judge panel against domestic sheep producers upheld a lower court ruling in Idaho supporting a U.S. Forest Service decision to close sheep grazing allotments to protect bighorns.

“A lot of people were looking at this waiting to see what they did,” said Laurie Rule of Advocates for the West, noting it’s the first time a U.S. circuit court has ruled on disease transmission between the species.

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Bull Trout project in Big Creek drainage; public feedback requested

March 18, 2016Documents, Environmental Issues, NewsBig Creek, bull troutnfpa

Bull Trout - Joel Sartore/National Geographic Stock with Wade Fredenberg/USFWS — Bull Trout – Joel Sartore/National Geographic Stock with Wade Fredenberg/USFWS

Rob Davies, the Hungry Horse/Glacier View district ranger, is asking for public feedback on a small, low-impact project in the Big Creek drainage to improve conditions for Bull Trout. If possible, they’d really like to get this accomplished in April, before the stream flows really get going. This means they are looking for public comments by March 30.

Here’s what Rob had to say in his email (lightly edited), followed by the full text of the project letter . . .

We will be issuing a NEPA decision for a small simple project that was presented at the Inter-local Meeting last February.

We would like to know if anyone has concerns or wishes to provide comments on this project…

Essentially the State and the Forest Service wants to breach a log jam, and several small beaver dams where migrating bull trout were blocked from upstream movement to their normal spawning area (last fall). The work would be accomplished using a Spider Backhoe…… if you never have seen this type of heavy equipment it is really interesting…….. it’s essentially a small excavator but instead of using steel tracks, it moves on 4 robotic-like legs so that soil and vegetation disturbance is very minimal.

We would like to complete this work before peak runoff occurs this spring so natural flows will help scour and maintain the channel. Normally bull trout projects never remove or disturb large wood in streams but in this case, the Flathead bull trout populations are so depressed from other Flathead Lake issues…… doing all that we can to assure spawning success is important.

Please provide comments, by email, in writing, or by phone no later than March 30th, 2016.

Rob’s contact information:

Rob Davies , District Ranger
Flathead National Forest
Hungry Horse – Glacier View Ranger Districts
PO Box 190340
Hungry Horse, MT, MT 59919
Phone: 406-387-3801
Email: rdavies@fs.fed.us

Continue reading Bull Trout project in Big Creek drainage; public feedback requested →

Feds cancels energy lease in Badger-Two Medicine!

March 17, 2016Environmental Issues, NewsBadger-Two Medicine region, oil and gas leases, oil exploration, Solonexnfpa

After dragging their feet as long as possible and a frank exchange of views with a federal judge, the feds finally cancelled a disputed drilling lease in the Badger-Two Medicine . . .

The Obama administration has cancelled a disputed oil and gas lease in the Badger-Two Medicine area near Glacier National Park.

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced Thursday the Bureau of Land Management has cancelled the 6,200-acre lease in the Lewis and Clark National Forest. The lease, currently held by Solonex LLC, was issued by the BLM in 1982 on land considered sacred to the Blackfeet tribes of the U.S. and Canada.

The cancellation is expected to be challenged in federal court by Solenex, a Louisiana company seeking to drill for oil and gas.

The BLM concluded the Solonex lease was improperly issued in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historical Preservation Act. The agency consulted with the U.S. Forest Service, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Blackfeet Tribe, leaseholder and others, according to federal officials.

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County hopes for big improvements to North Fork Road in 2018

March 17, 2016Environmental Issues, NewsNorth Fork Road, road maintenancenfpa

A good summary of the county’s plans for the North Fork Road, if they can get the money . . .

A $1.6 million federal grant proposal to improve the North Fork Road from Polebridge to the Canadian border will likely be submitted by April 4, Flathead National Forest officials said last week.

In a presentation to the county commissioners, forest staff officer Gary Danczyk said that if the grant is awarded, the project likely would not begin until 2018 or 2019.

Officials from the U.S. Border Patrol and Glacier National Park, which are also included in the application, also spoke in support of the grant proposal.

Read more . . .