Category Archives: News

Flathead National Forest campgrounds start opening

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All the Flathead National Forest campgrounds should open this month.

Read the official press release for the details . . .

Flathead National Forest (FNF) campgrounds start opening in early May and all campgrounds, weather permitting, are scheduled to be open for your enjoyment by the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend. Holland Lake, Swan Lake and Tally Lake Campgrounds will open to the public Friday, May 9, 2014. Big Creek Campground is scheduled to open May 15. Emery Bay, Murray Bay, Doris Creek, Lost Johnny, Devil Creek, Lid Creek and Riverside Campgrounds and associated boat launches are all scheduled to open Friday, May 23. All openings are dependent on weather conditions.

These campgrounds and recreation areas are operated by the forest concessionaire Barta Enterprises Inc., known locally as Flathead Valley Campgrounds. There are a few changes this year that recreationists will want to be aware of. Campground fees will be charged per camping unit such as an RV, a vehicle with tent, a camper or a trailer. A five dollar fee will be charged for each additional vehicle. Starting July 1, 2014, there will be a five dollar fee at the Holland Lake Day Use Area consistent with day use fees across the forest. The day use area at the Swan Lake Campground can no longer be reserved and will be available on a first come, first served basis.

The Spotted Bear Campground is operated by the Forest Service and will open for primitive camping starting May 15 if road conditions permit access. Water and services will be available May 23. In addition to campgrounds, boat launches and day-use areas, the forest also has 14 rental cabins. To rent a cabin or to reserve select campground sites please go to http://www.recreation.gov.

Read more . . .

Steven Gnam releases new photo book on Crown of the Continent

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Steven Gnam, who does really nice photography work, has just released a new book on the Crown of the Continent . . .

Through the lens of his camera, Steven Gnam has captured the kind of fleeting, untamed moments that might otherwise elude the human eye, disappearing like a puff of vapor in a sprawling chunk of country called the Crown of the Continent – the ecologically diverse landscape spanning the U.S.-Canada border between Missoula and Banff, Alberta.

In his new book, “The Crown of the Continent: The Wildest Rockies,” Gnam not only preserves the wild, ephemeral beauty of those moments, but through them attaches value to the region, defending its role and depicting why it’s critical to pay attention, lest we fritter away the landscape that defines us.

Meant to promote stewardship, “The Wildest Rockies” showcases images that span the boundaries of Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park, tracking along the spine of the Rocky Mountains as the Whitefish native reanimates a landscape brimming with life.

Read more . . .

Outdoor burning permits now required

Fire Information and Status, News,

As of May 1, if you want to burn that slash pile, you’ll need a permit . . .

The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation reminds residents that as of Thursday, May 1, a permit will be required for burning any natural yard, wildland or agricultural debris in Flathead County and northern Lake County.

Burn permits are free and available at www.firesafekalispell.com, at several locations including department offices and Flathead Environmental Health, or, for those without Internet access, by calling 752-7376 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Plan ahead because debris burning will be prohibited during July, August and September due to Montana’s fire season.

Read more . . .

Heavy snowpack may bring flooding but reduce fire intensity

Fire Information and Status, News,

This is a little like discussing the World Series after the first few games, but forecasters are hoping for reduced fire danger to go with the above average snowpack and flooding danger this year . . .

A wet Montana doesn’t burn very well.

That’s the mixed message from the Montana Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Committee forecast presented Wednesday in Missoula. A much-above-average snowpack in the mountains may produce flooding in many river drainages across western Montana. But the moisture should also keep the 2014 fire season below average in intensity.

“Usually the long-range forecast for July and August in the Intermountain West has a big drought bull’s-eye over the area,” said Northern Rockies Predictive Services meteorologist Bryan Henry. “This is one of the first years in a long time I don’t have a major concern for moisture.”

Read more . . .

Northwest Montana grizzlies could be delisted by late 2016

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is still projecting the delisting of grizzly bears in this corner of Montana within the next couple of years . . .

Wildlife managers could propose the delisting of the major grizzly bear population in Northwest Montana by late 2016.

A collective of federal, state and tribal officials gathered in Hungry Horse last week for the spring meeting of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem subcommittee. The group discussed updates on local grizzly conservation and management issues, including the ongoing problem of bear attractants like chicken coops.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing nearly 3,000 public comments on a post delisting management strategy for grizzly bears in the NCDE that was proposed a year ago. Chris Servheen, FWS grizzly bear recovery coordinator, said the plan would incorporate the comments and be completed in the coming months. After that, a threat analysis will be conducted to identify several characteristics of the NCDE, including the bear population’s status and the status of its habitat and regulatory mechanisms that would be in place to protect grizzlies if they were delisted. This analysis is expected to start in 2015, according to federal officials.

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Chickens ‘like crack’ to bears

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Here’s another article discussing the growing problem of bears being attracted to chickens and chicken feed . . .

For years now, bear managers have been preaching the same sermon — residents in bear country need to secure their garbage, take in their bird feeders each spring, clean up fruit trees in the fall and feed their pets indoors.

But now there’s a growing new problem — chickens.

“Chickens are the new garbage,” Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said last week during a meeting of bear managers from across the state.

More and more people are now raising chickens as the move to small agricultural operations in both rural areas and in towns continues to grow.

Read more . . .

Glacier Park plans prescribed burn on Big Prairie

Fire Information and Status, News, ,

Glacier Park wants to perform a 260-acre prescribed burn on Big Prairie sometime within the next month . . .

A prescribed fire project is planned in the North Fork area of Glacier National Park, approximately four miles northwest of Polebridge in the next month.

Approximately 260 acres are planned to be burned in the Big Prairie area, depending on weather and fuel conditions. This is in addition to the 141 acres of prairie that were successfully burned last spring.

The primary objective of the burn is to reduce the numbers of lodgepole pine seedlings and saplings, which are encroaching on the native prairie grassland. Managers hope to reduce the number of these young lodgepole pine with fire and improve the vigor of the native grasses and shrubs, while maintaining some lodgepole pine.

Read more . . .

Three walk out of Flathead Forest planning process

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Three local activists are not happy with the way the Flathead Forest Plan Revision is going . . .

Three environmental advocates are withdrawing from the Flathead National Forest’s forest plan revision process, claiming it is “ill-informed, poorly documented and is creating conflict and resentment” at considerable taxpayer expense.

The Flathead Forest’s lead planner, however, says the process is working well and most participants have been fully engaged.

Keith Hammer, chairman of the Swan View Coalition; Arlene Montgomery, program director for Friends of the Wild Swan; and Brian Peck, an independent wildlife consultant, signed a letter objecting to the process that was sent to Forest Service officials, including the agency’s chief.

Read more . . .

Also: Text of the letter sent to Forest Service officials

For bears, ‘chickens are the new garbage’

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Bears like chickens, which is causing headaches for bear management personnel . . .

Wildlife and land managers say they are seeing gradual acceptance and improvements in public education and outreach for grizzly bear conservation, but there also are setbacks in some areas, most notably the proliferation of bear-attracting chicken coops across Western Montana.

“The hobby chicken farmer is one of the greatest threats to the grizzly bear these days,” Chris Servheen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator, said Wednesday in Hungry Horse.

Servheen was one of the speakers during a meeting of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem subcommittee, a multi-agency panel that guides bear conservation and management.

As state grizzly bear management specialist Jamie Jonkel puts it, “chickens are the new garbage.”

Read more . . .