Here’s a timely reminder to be bear-aware from today’s Missoulian . . .
There have been a half-dozen encounters between grizzly bears and humans reported in Montana this month alone, a number experts attribute to a growing bear population stuck in the low country because of the deep snowpack.
Most of those encounters didn’t turn out well for the bears. Four times, the grizzlies were shot and killed.
It looks like the flooding roller coaster ride will continue, with river levels dropping for a short time and then rising again by the end of the week. This is reflected in the forecast river levels for the North Fork, which show a slight decrease for the next day or two followed by a steady rise to just at or above flood stage by the end of the week at Polebridge and the Canadian border.
From the Missoulian . . .
Rivers and streams in western Montana were in the recede mode Saturday as cool weather persisted and some expected precipitation failed to materialize…
With warmer weather and rain predicted by midweek, and a good stock of snow still waiting in the mountains, “we’ll probably have most of the rivers going right back up,” said Mark Loeffelbein of the National Weather Service in Missoula.
High altitude snowpack is still not melting and, in some places, still accumulating, keeping everyone in suspense. The Daily Inter Lake has a good summary of the situation . . .
Record precipitation was recorded in the Flathead Valley and at higher elevations Thursday, but cool weather is likely to halt snow melt and keep local rivers in check for now, according to the National Weather Service in Missoula.
The bad news is that record snowpack at higher elevations will have to melt eventually, creating a potential for serious flooding when higher temperatures arrive in June, Weather Service Meteorologist Bruce Bauck said.
(Note: if you want to keep an eye on high altitude snow depth, check out the “Flathead River Basin” section at the Montana SNOTEL data summary link on the Flood Information page.)
A tale of extreme hiking from a press release posted today on the Glacier Park web site . . .
Officials at Glacier National Park were contacted by the wife of an overdue hiker on Wednesday morning, May 25, 2011. Richard Layne, 59 years old and from Helena, was issued his backcountry permit on May 10 and according to his permit would be hiking in remote sections of Glacier’s North Fork and exiting on May 20. Layne and his wife had agreed that if he was not back by the 25th of May, she was to contact the park service.
Layne’s ambitious itinerary began at the Polebridge Ranger Station into Bowman Lake, from Bowman Lake to Brown’s Pass, through Hole-in-the-Wall and over Boulder Pass, exiting Kintla Lake and out the Inside North Fork Road to Big Prairie. Most of these areas are in winter conditions with extreme hazards.
Due to the impending change in weather expected on Thursday, rangers contracted Minute Man Aviation to fly Layne’s route. From the helicopter, rangers spotted tracks in the snow going over Boulder Pass that were consistent with human travel. In the afternoon, Layne was spotted near Upper Kintla Lake waving his red jacket at the helicopter. Rangers retrieved Layne and brought him out of the backcountry, uninjured but very tired.
This is a pretty good report on yesterdays’ hearings before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee regarding Sen. Jon Tester’s proposed Forest Jobs and Recreation Act . . .
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., got some unexpected support from potential critics of his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act and doubts from assumed allies during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
From today’s Missoulian . . .
A proposal to protect the North Fork of the Flathead River from mining got a friendly reception at a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday.
“You have convinced me Glacier (National Park) and the North Fork are true jewels of the West,” Senate Energy and Natural Resources acting chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. “We’re going to get your bill out of this committee and onto the president’s desk.”
From today’s Daily Inter Lake . . .
Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester testified Wednesday in support of legislation that would permanently withdraw federal lands in the North Fork Flathead River drainage from future leases for energy development.
The two testified in support of their North Fork Watershed Protection Act before the Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests in Washington, D.C.
It is the latest step in a cooperative agreement with British Columbia that bans mining in the North Fork river corridor on both sides of the border, including areas near Glacier and Waterton national parks.
Larry Wilson’s column this week discusses the spring thaw and the annual changes coming to the North Fork . . .
The snow is finally melting. In the last week, the piles of snow under my eaves have gone from being over three feet deep to just a narrow strip of ice, which will disappear today. Side roads and unplowed lanes that were snow-clogged 10 days ago are now dry.
More importantly, every day the snow line is higher up on both the Whitefish Divide and the Rocky Mountains, and the river has changed in the last three days from an unclear green to high and muddy. The gravel bar islands are beginning to disappear, and rain is predicted.
Will we have a flood? That is anybody’s guess…
Yet another sign of spring is this recent press release from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks . . .
As part of ongoing efforts required under the Endangered Species Act to monitor the population of grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE), Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the US Fish & Wildlife Service and Tribal wildlife managers are working to inform the public that pre-baiting and scientific capture operations are once again about to begin in parts of western Montana.
Biologists will begin to work this month in the Blackfoot Valley, many areas along the Rocky Mountain Front, and Swan, Clearwater, Mission, Jocko and Flathead River Valleys. Capturing will continue intermittently through the end of October. Traps will also be set periodically on private lands where bear/human conflicts are occurring.
All areas where work is being conducted will have warning signs posted along the major access points to the trapping site. It is critical that all members of the public heed these signs.
Monitoring of grizzly bear distribution and other activities are vital to ongoing recovery of grizzlies in the NCDE. In order to attract bears, biologists utilize natural food sources such as fresh road–killed deer and elk. Potential trapping sites are baited with these natural foods and if indications are that grizzly bears are in the area, snares or culvert traps will be used to capture the bears. Once trapped, the bears are sedated, studied, and released in accordance with strict protocols.
For more information regarding grizzly bear trapping efforts call FWP in Missoula at 406-542-5500 or FWP in Kalispell at 406-752-5501.
This could be an interesting report. From a news release posted today by the Park Service . . .
The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center will be hosting a presentation on native fish and fish monitoring by Chris Downs, Glacier National Park Fisheries Biologist on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. in the Community Building in Park Headquarters, West Glacier. The results of a recently completed fish tissue mercury assessment conducted on multiple park lakes and what they mean for human and wildlife fish consumers will be featured.
Downs manages and monitors the aquatic resources in Glacier National Park. His work includes supporting development and implementation of the park’s new Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) prevention program…