Category Archives: News

Less than two weeks to send comments in support of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act

Environmental Issues, News, ,

The Montana Wilderness Association (MWA) has been heavily involved in supporting the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act since its inception. Here’s a lightly edited excerpt from one of their recent announcement encouraging everyone to support this legislation . . .

Last Thursday, a bill to permanently protect the incomparable Rocky Mountain Front got its day in Congress with a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

This is a crucial step in the journey of a Heritage Act, a bill that will forever protect our wilderness heritage along the Front, including hundreds of miles of quiet trails and some of the finest backcountry hunting and fishing  in North America.

To help get this passed, Senator Max Baucus is asking for our support. The more demand we create for the Heritage Act the better chance we have of getting it signed into law this year.

To submit a comment in support of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, visit savethefront.org’s Quick Guide to Submitting Written Comments to the Congressional Record.

If needed, here are a few important points to remind lawmakers back in Washington, D.C.

Made-in-Montana

Montanan’s were able to work across party lines when crafting this legislation and now it’s the Senate’s chance to do the same and help pass it into law. Working together, ranchers, outfitters, business owners and conservationists listened to each other and to people from across the state.  The Heritage Act is product of five years of public meetings, countless kitchen table discussions and group meetings with permitees, landowners and local officials.

Big Game needs Big Country

Montana sportsmen and women get it.  Big, unbroken habitat means healthy big game herds and longer hunting seasons.  And keeping the Front just the way it is means the next generation of Montana hunters will have the same access and opportunity we have today.

Best Defense is a Good Offense

We can’t wait until elk have no food source, fish have no clear water and our native plants have nowhere to grow.  That’s why the Heritage Act will place a high priority on the eradication of noxious weeds on the Front and require land managers to prioritize their efforts.

For more information about the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act please visit savethefront.org or go to http://www.baucus.senate.gov.

Additional background can also be found at the MWA’s Rocky Mountain Front Wilderness Campaign page.

Flathead National Forest proposes logging to collect larch cones

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Here’s an obscure forest management issue . . .

Larch tree cones grow near the top of very tall trees, which makes them tough to collect for anything other than squirrels.

The Flathead National Forest needs a lot of larch cones for its reseeding efforts, and it’s seeking public comment on how best to get them. The trees have brittle branches and bark that flakes off easily, making them difficult for humans to climb. Another alternative is shooting cone-bearing branches off the tree. “That’s apparently not one we’re interested in,” Flathead Forest spokesman Wade Muelhof said. The cones aren’t much bigger than grapes, and lots of them get lost as the branches fall to the ground.

So the preferred alternative involves cutting down about 270 trees over 10 years to supply seedling needs.

Continue reading . . .

Warmer temps expected to increase avalanche danger

News, Snow Conditions

From today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

Avalanche danger remains considerable in Northwest Montana and could worsen with expected high temperatures this weekend, according to the latest backcountry avalanche advisory issued Friday by the U.S. Forest Service.

Following the arrival of moist, heavy snowfall this week, backcountry recreationists should take precaution at elevations above 5,500 feet and on steep, open slopes and gullies, avalanche specialist Stan Bones said in the advisory. Areas that have received new snow and rain have an increased danger, he said.

Bones described current conditions as “fairly complex,” and warned backcountry users to be alert about potential rapid changes in weather and snow conditions.

Continue reading . . .

Low snow totals in the valley, about average higher up

News, Snow Conditions,

Snow amounts down-valley this winter were considerably lower than average, but higher elevations did OK overall . . .

Spring officially got under way Tuesday, ending one of the Flathead Valley’s mildest winters in recent memory.

From Oct. 1 through March 20, just 30.2 inches of snowfall had been measured at Glacier Park International Airport. That’s almost 26 inches less than the average of 55.8 inches for the same period. Precipitation, however, totaled 6.19 inches at the airport, not far off the average of 6.97 inches.

Mountain snowfall above the Flathead River Basin was quite different than in the valley, starting out well behind the average but eventually catching up to be 103 percent of normal.

Continue reading . . .

Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill gets a hearing

Environmental Issues, News,

Here’s the Missoulian’s take on yesterday’s Senate hearing on the Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill . . .

Supporters of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act had their day in Congress on Thursday when U.S. Sen. Max Baucus led off testimony on the bill.

“I think this is a no-brainer,” Baucus told Senate Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee chairman Sen. Ron Wyden. “There’s no conflict. People worked very hard to make this happen. I hope we can get this passed this year.”

Choteau rancher Dusty Crary called the bill “our homeland security bill.” The act would add 67,000 acres to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and designate another 208,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land as conservation management areas . . .

Continue reading . . .

Baucus introduces Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill

Environmental Issues, News,

Sen. Max Baucus’ Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill got a formal Senate hearing today . . .

U.S. Sen. Max Baucus on Thursday presented to a Senate panel his plan for new wilderness and conservation area along the Rocky Mountain Front, with high hopes and the backing of the Obama administration.

Baucus told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests that the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act comes from residents who spent years working on it. The bill aims to keep development and road access at current levels.

Baucus predicted it will succeed where other wilderness efforts have failed because it is a homegrown effort.

Continue reading . . .

Use of electricity as bear repellent gets more effective

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

I kind of like the bit about the electrified mats . . .

The video makes dramatic evidence: A big sow grizzly and her cub approach a freezer in a Flathead County garage. The night before, they’d scored a load of frozen fish. They were back for more.

But this time, the sow steps on an electrified cattle mat placed in front of the freezer. She gives a startled “Woof!” and wheels away.

“I love the look on the cub’s face,” said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1 bear manager Tim Manley.

The little bear gapes at mom for a second and seems to say ‘Yikes, wait for me!’ The family group was soon trapped and relocated, and hasn’t been in trouble since.

The use of electricity as a bear repellent has reached a level of effectiveness and creativity far beyond what was first deployed about 20 years ago . . .

Continue reading . . .

Larry Wilson: Remembering Katie and Ivan

Commentary, News, ,

Larry speaks of the passing of Katie Wilson and Ivan Winsheimer . . .

Over the years, I have had a great deal of fun writing this column. Each week, it’s almost like writing a letter to friends, telling them about life on the North Fork. Most of all I enjoy researching stories about the homesteaders who settled the North Fork, and once in a while even about pre-homestead days.

I intended to write this week about another early day Glacier National Park ranger, Frank Liebig, who like Norton Pearl had many worth-telling adventures. Unlike Joe Cosley, they were a credit to the National Park Service and to the community.

Unfortunately, that story has to be postponed to write one of my least enjoyable columns. That is, of course the passing of not one, but two, people who have been important to me and many others on the North Fork.

Continue reading . . .

Glacier Park hopes to measure fisher population — if any

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Glacier Park thinks they might have a few fishers living within their boundaries. Now, they are going to try to find out for sure . . .

Every year, Glacier National Park biologist John Waller gets about a half-dozen reports from people who claim to have seen a fisher in the Park.

But the reports don’t come with photos. A few years ago Waller tried setting up some “hair traps” in the Park in hopes of snaring some fisher hair in wire brushes, but to no avail.

Now the Park will give it one last go. Through a $20,000 grant from the Glacier National Park Fund, a Park-wide fisher survey using bait stations and camera traps will try to, once and for all, see if there are truly any fishers in Glacier Park.

Continue reading . . .