Category Archives: News

Groups call for more wilderness adjacent to the Bob

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

MWA and Headwaters Montana are recommending additional wilderness segments adjacent to the Bob Marshall Wilderness, mostly in existing roadless areas . . .

Two wilderness groups are recommending additional wilderness in the Mission Mountains, Jewel Basin and Swan Crest areas adjacent to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.

The Montana Wilderness Association and Headwaters Montana recently released two reports on their recommendations for the Flathead National Forest, which includes 147,315 acres in the Swan Range.

Read more . . .

Brad Blickhan wins Jack Potter Award

Environmental Issues, News,

Here’s a good write-up on Brad Blickhan, winner of this year’s Jack Potter Glacier National Park Stewardship Award . . .

In 1987, a young Brad Blickhan came to Glacier National Park to drive a Red Bus. His uncle had drove the historic tour buses and said it was a good summer job for a college student. Like many others before him, Blickhan fell in love with the place, and never left…

In 1992, Blickhan tried to land a job on the Park’s trail crew. It was tight budget year with no openings so he took a post at the Park’s dispatch center, which got him involved with ranger staff. A few years later, he was a seasonal ranger at Two Medicine. By the early 2000s, he became the permanent Lake McDonald area ranger.

For his conservation efforts over the course of his 20-year Park Service career, the affable Blickhan was awarded the Jack Potter Award by Headwaters Montana, a local conservation group. Potter was the chief of science and management for many years at Glacier Park.

Read more . . .

Researching wolverines in the Bitterroot

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The Ravalli Republic has a pretty interesting article, with photos, on a wolverine research project in the Bitterroot National Forest. Their setup collects both hair samples for DNA data and photographic evidence, allowing them to identify individuals without waiting for DNA analysis . . .

It seemed like the perfect spot for a wolverine to visit.

A couple of miles back from the nearest road and surrounded by the kind of thick timber that offers a wary critter a good bit of security, the little nook selected by a crew of Bitterroot National Forest researchers to set their first long-term photographic monitoring site had all the makings a good place to rendezvous with wolverines.

“After awhile, you just kind of know what to look for,” said Chris Fillingham. “You go with your gut and what you’ve seen works before.”

Read more . . .

Presidents’ Day rally to protect public lands

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,
Presidents' Day Public Land Rally
Presidents’ Day Public Land Rally

There is a rally at noon on President’s Day, Monday, February 16, in Helena to protect access to public lands. The immediate trigger for this event is a movement within Montana to give up federal lands to state control. Such a move would mean a sharp increase in the state bureaucracy, a hefty bump in the tax burden and, more  than likely, lead to much of the land being sold off to private interests to help finance the whole mess. Everyone from traditional hunting and fishing groups, to motorized recreation outfits to old-line enviros is pretty wound up about this.

For more information, see the Public Lands in Public Hands Facebook page.

Oregon wolf population hits threshold for delisting

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Oregon wolves, including the famous wandering wolf OR-7, have reached sufficient numbers to be considered for delisting as an endangered species in Oregon . . .

Wolves in Oregon have hit the threshold for consideration of taking them off the state endangered species list.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Tuesday the latest wolf census confirms at least seven breeding pairs — six in northeastern Oregon and one, led by the famous wanderer OR-7, in the southern Cascades.

The state wolf management plan calls for a status review once there have been four breeding pairs producing pups that survive a year for three years running. That review will be presented to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission when it meets April 24 in Bend. The earliest a decision could be made would be at the commission’s June 5 meeting in Salem.

Read more . . .

President wants to expand wilderness in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Environmental Issues, News, ,

President Obama wants to expand the area of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge currently designated as wilderness . . .

President Barack Obama is proposing to designate the vast majority of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a wilderness area, including its potentially oil-rich coastal plain, drawing an angry response from top state elected officials who see it as a land grab by the federal government…

The designation would set aside an additional nearly 12.3 million acres as wilderness, including the coastal plain near Alaska’s northeast corner, giving it the highest degree of federal protection available to public lands. More than 7 million acres of the refuge currently are managed as wilderness.

Read more . . .

‘Bill Tracker’ lists good and bad Montana environmental bills

Environmental Issues, News, Site Updates, , ,

The Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) maintains a “Bill Tracker” on their web site. It lists all the environmental bills, both good and bad, being considered by the Montana legislature. Here’s what they have to say about it: “Use MEIC’s Legislative Bill Tracker tool to stay current with the most recent legislative happenings. You can see where a bill is in the process, read facts about different legislative proposals, and contact legislators about specific pieces of legislation.”

MEIC updates their Bill Tracker every day.

If you are trying to keep an eye on Montana’s legislative shenanigans, visiting the Bill Tracker page should be part of your daily routine. It is so useful, in fact, that we’ve added it to our “Related Links” sidebar. Look for “Bill Tracker Tool (MEIC).”

Bills introduced to protect access to public lands and waters

News

There are a couple of bills in process at the state level to address a growing problem with private individuals gating off public roads and waterways . . .

The Montana Wildlife Federation and the Public Land/Water Access Association say they are promoting two bills to address the growing problem of people blocking off large tracts of public land by gating public rights of way. The bills seek to improve public access to public lands by keeping public roads open.

Dave Chadwick, executive director of the Montana Wildlife Federation, said the bills have been carefully planned to ensure that they protect both public access to public land and wildlife and private property rights.

“Responsible hunters value private property rights as much as they value public access to wildlife,” Chadwick said. “Our goal is to elevate and protect both of these important Montana values. Our beef is not with landowners — it’s with people who unilaterally decide to close public roads. Law-abiding farmers, ranchers and other property owners should support these bills.”

Read more . . .

Bull trout stable in Northwest Montana

Environmental Issues, News, ,

This is a more extensive report on the bull trout population than the one posted earlier . . .

The bull trout population remains stable in Northwest Montana, according to state biologists who completed their annual inventory of spawning sites.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently released the results of its annual survey of the Clark Fork, Flathead and Kootenai drainages, and the data shows that the bull trout population has not experienced any significant changes, Regional Fisheries Manager Mark Deleray said.

“In FWP Region One waters, bull trout redd numbers appear stable in all basins, being very similar to 10-year averages,” Deleray said. “In each basin, this year’s count may be slightly higher or lower than last year’s, but not significantly different than recent years.”

Read more . . .