Category Archives: News

Studying hawk owls in Glacier Park

Environmental Issues, News, ,

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 . . .

Next Flathead Forest Friday meeting focuses on upcoming Wilderness Act anniversary

History, News,

The Flathead National Forest has another “Flathead Forest Friday” meeting coming up on Friday, November 22. This time it’s at the Nite Owl in Columbia Falls. Here’s the press release . . .

Everyone Invited for a Breakfast Chat on Friday, November 22nd

Next year is the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act which preserves more than 100 million acres of wild-lands nationwide, including the Mission Mountains, Great Bear, Scapegoat and Bob Marshall Wilderness areas on the Flathead National Forest. The public is invited to a no-host breakfast on Friday, November 22, 2013 to learn about a number of events planned around the Flathead Valley next year to mark the anniversary and to help connect people to the wilderness. The breakfast will start at 7:00 AM at the Night Owl restaurant in Columbia Falls.

On September 3, 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Wilderness Act which established the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) setting aside an initial 9.1 million acres of wild-lands for the use and benefit of the American people. Over the past 50 years Congress has added over 100 million acres to this unique land preservation system. The 1964 Wilderness Act defines “Wilderness” as areas where the earth and its communities of life are left unchanged by people, where the primary forces of nature are in control, and where people themselves are visitors who do not remain.

Multiple agencies and organizations are partnering to host a number of events during 2014. Spotted Bear District Ranger Deb Mucklow and Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation Executive Director Carol Treadwell will join our Flathead Forest Friday guests to discuss the events planned in the Flathead Valley.

Every other month, the Forest Service will coordinate these no-host breakfast meetings at a local restaurant with the goal of sharing good food, great company, and a little information about what’s happening on our National Forest. We hope the event will be a great way to discuss public land management opportunities and challenges that are important to us all.

If you plan to attend or have any questions, please notify Public Affairs Officer Wade Muehlhof at ewmuehlhof@fs.fed.us or (406) 758-5252. Your response allows us to plan accordingly with the restaurant.

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 . . .

Vancouver Sun takes issue with B.C. grizzly hunt

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In last Sunday’s Vancouver Sun, Stephen Hume had some hard words about trophy hunting grizzly bears in British Colombia .  . .

A new scientific study reports that grizzly bear mortalities exceed government targets in half the areas where hunting is permitted. This earns another “ho hum” from provincial wildlife authorities.

So what’s new? When the province’s own habitat specialist first raised concerns with methodology in estimating grizzly populations and mortality rates, his bosses suppressed the study.

The province estimates 15,000 grizzlies inhabit British Columbia. Mind you, grizzly estimates seem to be whatever it takes to justify trophy hunting. In 1979, there were 6,600 grizzlies. Then, when trophy hunting was on the agenda, there were almost 17,000.

Read more . . .

Baucus praises Teck Resources’ conservation efforts near North Fork

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U.S. Sen. Max Baucus had nice things to say about Teck Resources’ conservation efforts in the Canadian Flathead and continued his push to pass the North Fork Watershed Protection Act . . .

Last week Canadian mining giant Teck Resources announced its plans to purchase nearly 28 square miles of private land north of Glacier National Park to protect fish and wildlife habitat.

The deal surfaced as Montana’s representatives on Capitol Hill keep pushing for federal legislation formally protecting the Flathead watershed, primarily the North Fork Flathead River basin.

In 2010, former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and former British Columbia premier Gordon Campbell signed a memorandum of understanding that prohibited new energy development on the North Fork, agreeing to bar mining, oil and gas development and coalbed gas extraction in B.C.’s portion of the Flathead Valley. The B.C. government in 2011 passed the Flathead Watershed Conservation Act, which bans mining and oil and gas activity in the B.C. Flathead.

Actual legislation supporting the 2010 agreement has yet to emerge on the U.S. side though.

Read more . . .

Researchers find grizzlies not heavily dependent on whitebark pine nuts

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The grizzly bear delisting saga continues . . .

Grizzly bears in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem have a varied diet and are minimally affected by the decline in the number of whitebark pine trees, federal research found.

The findings were presented Thursday in Bozeman at a meeting of the Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. The subcommittee voted 10-4 to accept the research findings. It also gave preliminary approval to a motion that recommends the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service remove federal protections for the bears, currently listed as “threatened.”

The USFWS delisted the bears in 2007, but a federal judge returned the protection two years later, saying the effect of the decline in whitebark pine trees on bears wasn’t given adequate consideration. Whitebark pine nuts are a key food source for grizzlies as they prepare for hibernation.

Research found that grizzly bears eat more than 200 types of food, 75 of them frequently. That means when one food source is low, as the whitebark pine is, they find another, said Frank van Manen, interagency study team leader.

Read more . . .

See also: Grizzly Bear Subcommittee Recommends Delisting in Yellowstone

Local graduate studying harlequin ducks in Glacier Park

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Here’s an interesting article about a harlequin duck study in Glacier Park . . .

Warren Hansen, a graduate of Polson High School, has channeled his lifelong love of ducks and the outdoors into a long-term examination of harlequin ducks in Glacier National Park’s McDonald Creek watershed — a renowned hot spot for harlequin breeding activity.

With their signature plumage rivaled only by the beauty of their migratory mountain homes, harlequin ducks have captured the hearts of countless bird watchers and casual observers. The rare birds are sea ducks that typically spend their winters residing in coastal surf zones before migrating inland to nest alongside whitewater mountain streams.

“They’re the only bird to have an east-west migration,” he said.

Read more . . .