Debo Powers spotted this long, but interesting, article on the dangers of unconstrained growth in the Gallatin Valley. Many of the concerns, lessons and hard choices are applicable to our region as well . . .
In the stillness of a summer morning, haze from wildfire smoke thickening the air, Randy Carpenter arrives for a hike up Sypes Canyon in the pastoral northern outskirts of Bozeman, Montana. Ascending into the Bridger Mountain foothills, we talk about how “crazy” it feels these days “in town”, how quickly new subdivisions are springing up in fields that a year ago were covered with wheat.
And then Carpenter starts in, reciting some jaw-dropping statistics that seem abstract until we reach an overlook and gaze clear-eyed into an uncertain future.
Before us, and stretching for nearly 40 miles to the next muted horizon is the Gallatin Valley, one of the fastest-growing semi-rural settings in America. Carpenter, known for his work as a career land use planner, says it won’t be long, given current trend-lines, before the vast chasm of space fills in with exurban development.
The Missoulian has an interesting story about how a farmer in the Mission Valley is dealing with bear conflicts . . .
Standing in a hollowed-out section in the middle of his 80-acre cornfield, Greg Schock bends over and picks up one of dozens of corn cobs scattered about. It’s been picked clean of every kernel.
On the dark black ground just barely moistened by Thursday night’s welcome rain, there are grizzly bear tracks and fresh scat dotted with kernels of corn.
From where he’s standing, the longtime Mission Valley dairyman’s view past the edge of the clearing is obscured by the thick rows of corn that will sometime soon become the silage that his cows will depend on to eat through the winter months.
Kalispell, MT. September 10, 2017- The Gibralter Ridge Fire and the Weasel fire are burning in the Kootenai National Forest approximately 7 miles east of Eureka. The east side of the Gibraltar fire has moved into the mouth of the Blue Sky drainage in the Whitefish Range. The Weasel fire has moved near the Flathead and Kootenai forest boundary. To protect health and public safety by keeping the public out of the active fire area, the Kootenai National Forest has closed a large area from the Whitefish divide to the west boundary of the Fortine District, and from the Canadian Border to Deep Creek. The Flathead National Forest has closed an area north of Link lake trailhead north to the Canada border and east of the Kootenai border.
The following NFS Road is partially closed:
A portion of NFS Road #114 (Trail Creek Road) from the Flathead National Forest boundary to the junction with Stoken Bridge/Foothills Road. To support these efforts the Flathead National Forest has installed a gate on NFS Road #114 (Trail Creek) and has closed NFS Road #114 from mile point 8.8 to 14.8, the boundary with the Kootenai National Forest.
The following NFS trails are closed:
Trails 19, 23, 114, 113, 22, 13, 28, 79, 11, 13, 106 and 26 from the Link lake TH to the north.
The following NFS area is closed:
Area from the Link lake TH north along the Kootenai/Flathead NF boundary to the Canada border
Forest fire fighting resources are supporting the fires listed above and are prepared with initial attack resources as needed. For more information contact the Hungry Horse/Glacier View District at 406-387-3800.
Bears Ears National Monument – At 1.35 million acres, it is among the largest national monuments in the country – Bob Wick, BLM-Flickr
There may be a few (cough) adjustments, though . . .
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced Thursday he won’t seek to rescind any national monuments carved from the wilderness and oceans by past presidents. But he said he will press for some boundary changes and left open the possibility of allowing drilling, mining or other industries on the sites.
Twenty-seven monuments were put under review in April by President Donald Trump, who has charged that the millions of acres designated for protection by President Barack Obama were part of a “massive federal land grab.”
If Trump adopts Zinke’s recommendations, it could ease some of the worst fears of his opponents, who warn that vast public lands and marine areas could be stripped of federal protection.
Columbia Falls had quite an event last Tuesday in support of public lands and the part they play in the economy . . .
Montana’s public lands and outdoor recreation provide 71,000 jobs in the state and $7.1 billion in consumer spending, Montana Sen. Jon Tester told a capacity crowd at the Last Best Outdoor Fest Tuesday night in Columbia Falls.
The fest celebrated Montana’s abundance of public lands and was also a political rally to oppose any measures to sell them off.
With a host of public lands at its doorstep and a river running through it, Columbia Falls is becoming the place to live for those who love the great outdoors.
A judge has ruled that the isolated grizzly bear population in the Cabinet-Yaak area can be treated as endangered . . .
Animals and plants can be considered endangered even if they are not on the brink of extinction, a judge ruled in overturning the U.S. government’s re-classification of a small population of grizzly bears living in the forests of Montana and Idaho near the Canada border.
Tuesday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen said that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is prohibited from narrowing the definition an endangered species in its future decisions without explaining why it wants to make the policy change.
The federal Endangered Species Act defines an endangered species as one that is “in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.”
NPR’s “All Things Considered” did a segment on efforts by wildland firefighters to prevent their operations from spreading invasive species . . .
Wildland firefighters in the West are using precious time to clean equipment in order to avoid bringing invasive species into sensitive areas. It’s an attempt to avoid billions of dollars in damage.
This is significant. The Forest Service has chosen the replacement for long-time Spotted Bear District Ranger Deb Mucklow. Among other duties, this ranger oversees more than one million acres within the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.
From the press release . . .
With the retirement of long-time District Ranger Deb Mucklow earlier this year, the Flathead National Forest is pleased to announce the selection and appointment of Scott Snelson as the new Spotted Bear District Ranger. Snelson will start his tenure on December 10, 2017.
“Snelson brings a wealth of leadership, knowledge and skills to the Forest,” stated Forest Supervisor, Chip Weber. “His background is a wonderful fit for this diverse and complex district.”
Snelson serves as the Deputy Forest Supervisor, for the 3.4 million -acre Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in Dillon, Montana.
Before moving to Dillon, Snelson was the District Ranger for the Laurentian District of the Superior National Forest in the Arrowhead Region of Northern Minnesota. As District Ranger on the Superior he oversaw the 400,000 -acre District, which was actively engaged in large scale vegetation management and restoration programs. Scott is an avid believer in collaboration, and helped catalyze the formation of the Laurentian Divide Collaborative to help guide management on the three west zone districts of the Forest.
Snelson moved to the Superior NF from the White River NF of Colorado where he served as District Ranger for the Aspen and Sopris Districts. There he oversaw a complex mix of wilderness, restoration, vegetation management, mining, gas and oil permitting and several high profile ski hill operations for one of the Nation’s most visited Districts.
He also served as the Forest Staff Officer for Fish, Wildlife, Watershed and Soils and Subsistence on the Tongass National Forest. In this capacity, he oversaw programs for the Nation’s largest National Forest, guiding resource protection and restoration for the 17 million acre temperate rainforest.
Snelson spent 16 years in Montana where he earned both his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Montana State University in Biological Sciences. Early in his career he worked as a US Forest Service trail crew foreman in the Bob Marshal Wilderness, out of Spotted Bear and Big Prairie, and as a fire fighter.
Snelson’s wife Heidi is a Montana native, having grown up the daughter of a District Ranger in Northwest Montana. Heidi is an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast and served special needs children as a para-professional with the Sitka School District as well as working as a botany technician for the Forest Service in Colorado. The couple has two adult daughters, the oldest is a Forestry graduate from the University of Montana in Missoula, and the youngest currently works in Virginia City for the Montana Heritage Commission.
“Thankfully, we’ve had some great leaders step up and fill in as the acting Spotted Bear District Ranger,” said Weber. “Seth Carbonari, the Spotted Bear Fire Management Officer just finished a four month detail and Gordon Ash, from the Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest will be filling in for the next few months until Scott arrives.”
This is encouraging news. A search at one of the first places in Montana to test positive for invasive mussels last year turned up no evidence of adult mussels last week.
Divers searched for adult aquatic invasive mussels at Tiber Reservoir last week, but found none.
The five divers involved in the effort were from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and coordinated by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The primary search area was Tiber Dam up to a depth of about 35 feet.
With its rock structure, the dam is good habitat for the invasive mussels, which prefer solid substances, like rocks, to attach to. However, deeper than 35 feet, silt reduced the habitat significantly.
The divers are part of FWP’s monitoring plan for Tiber Reservoir after water samples last year came back positive for aquatic invasive mussel larvae. The monitoring plan also includes an increased frequency of water sampling at the reservoir.
The divers also searched rock outcroppings around Turner Point at Tiber Reservoir. No adult invasive mussels were discovered.
Here’s the latest from the U.S. Forest Service on the Cyclone Lake Fire as of August `19, 2017 at 3:00pm. Note, by the way, that Forest Road 909 is now open from the intersection with Hay Creek Road (Rd 376) to the Cyclone Lookout trailhead.
QUICK FACTS: Location: 23 miles north of Columbia Falls, MT, in the Coal Creek State Forest. Detected: August 12, 2017, 4:30 p.m. Cause: Lightning Legal Description: NE, Section 21, T34N, R21W; Lat/Long: Lat. 48° 41’ 72”, Long. 114° 18’ 045” Current size: 36 acres Containment: 90% Resources on the fire: Crews: Two 20-person; Engines: 2 plus crew members; Water Tenders: 1 Ownership: Montana Department of Natural Resources, Stillwater State Forest; Jurisdiction: Flathead National Forest; Other cooperators: Border Patrol, Flathead County.
FIRE SUMMARY: The Cyclone Lake Fire is burning in the Coal Creek State Forest in the North Fork area; the Flathead National Forest is responsible for wildfire response in that area. This fire is being managed with full suppression tactics, with firefighter and public safety as a priority, in cooperation with Montana DNRC managers. The fire is burning in heavy timber, and in pockets of previously burned areas in 2000 and 2001, with dead and down fuels. There are no evacuation warnings in place nor any structures threatened. August 12, when the fire was first detected by Cyclone Lookout, initial attack resources responded to the fire, including 4 engines, 1 dozer, 3 helicopters performing water drops, and retardant drops from air tankers. Extreme fire behavior was observed, including running, torching, and spotting. The Border Patrol assisted by securing Forest Road #909.
Cyclone Like Fire, Aug 2017 – Martin City water tender filling port-a-tanks, with Forest Service engine pumping water into hoses along the fire perimeter
CURRENT SITUATION:
Over this past week, firefighters have worked to construct fire line around the entire perimeter of the fire, as well as construct a water hose system with pumps. Mop up has continued, with only a few smokes found in the interior today. Firefighters will continue mopping up and searching for any smokes or hot spots. The public is asked to not travel on Forest Road #909 from the junction with Forest Road #317 to the Cyclone Lookout Trailhead junction, as fire traffic is concentrated in that area.
The forest will share updated fire information if significant fire activity occurs.
