Category Archives: News

Senators ask Clinton for help to stop gold exploration in North Fork

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

This story posted to last Friday’s Great Falls Tribune has some additional information on potential gold mining activity in the Canadian Flathead . . .

U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester on Thursday urged U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to help them stop continued gold exploration north of Glacier National Park in Canada.

The Montana Democrats urged Clinton to engage Canada in bilateral talks, with the focus on conducting an environmental assessment of the mining activities before they continue.

Read the entire article . . .

Montana says wolf hunt worked, but lawsuit looms

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From an AP article posted to today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

An examination of Montana’s first public gray wolf hunt showed at least nine of the animals were killed in an area prone to livestock attacks — a finding that could blunt criticism that the hunt was ineffective.

Confident state wildlife officials said they could increase the quota on the predators next year. They want to zero in on a number that would strike a balance between protecting the wolf population and curbing attacks on livestock and big game herds.

Read the entire article . . .

Significant gold find in Canadian Flathead, just north of Glacier Park

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Yet another potential threat to the Transboundary Flathead: The Missoulian reports that significant gold deposits have been discovered at the Crowsnest field in the Canadian Flathead, about 10 miles north of the border . . .

A Canadian mining company, digging for gold just north of Glacier National Park, has discovered a significant deposit, and that has Montana interests worried about upstream development.

Max Resource Corp. spent much of last summer drilling sample holes about 10 miles north of the Montana border, on a ridge clearly visible from Glacier Park. The company recently announced that at least some of those samples are rich in gold…

Read the entire article . . .

Conservation photographers create exhibit highlighting threats to Flathead Valley

Environmental Issues, News, Photos & Images, , , ,

From today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a group of conservation photographers is giving the Flathead an ample voice as an exhibit on the values of and threats to the valley heads to Washington D.C.

Read the entire story . . .

State FWP insists wolves recovered enough to be delisted

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From today’s Missoulian . . .

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks claims wolves are recovered sufficiently to be delisted from the federal Endangered Species Act.

“The delisting of this population in Montana is a well-deserved victory for the ESA,” attorneys for FWP wrote in a brief filed in a federal lawsuit filed earlier this year by conservation groups looking to overturn the delisting. “The delisting accomplished two fundamental goals of the ESA, to recover a species and transfer the care of the wolf from federal oversight to state management.”

Read the entire article . . .

Eastbound grizzlies

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Other than the grizzly connection, this is not really North Fork related, but it’s pretty interesting. According to an article in last Thursday’s New West, a whole new group of people are going to have to get used to having grizzly bears in the neighborhood . . .

Montanans living along the winding Teton River, well east of the Rocky Mountain Front were quick to notice their new neighbor this summer. As early as the beginning of July, ranchers and other landowners along the prairie began intermittently spotting a solitary grizzly bear journeying east, away from the mountains.

Read the entire article . . .

Wolf hunt did not kill Kintla Pack alpha female

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From this week’s Hungry Horse News . . .

Contrary to rumors, a wolf killed up the North Fork by a hunter was not the alpha female of a Glacier Park pack.

Kent Laudon, wolf management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said the wolf was a 2-year-old and was wearing a radio collar, but it was not the alpha female of the Kintla Pack.

Read the entire article . . .

NFLA Road Committee issues year-end report

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

As many of you know, the North Fork Landowners’ Association Road Committee has been doing an exceptional and balanced job collecting and presenting well-researched road maintenance and dust abatement information. They recently completed and posted their Final Road Report for 2008 – 2009, summarizing all their activities for the past two years. For more detail, including links to all their postings, check out the NFLA North Fork Road Page.