Category Archives: News

Public invited to Invasive plant bioblitz event, July 19

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From the press release . . .

The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center at Glacier National Park has announced an invasive plant BioBlitz, an opportunity for the public to help with early detection of invasive plants along park trails. The event will be held on Tuesday, July 19, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event begins at the park’s Community Building in West Glacier and will be followed by an afternoon spent pulling invasive plants along park trails. Participants will learn to identify five targeted invasive plants, and how to use a GPS unit and the free iNaturalist app to mark invasive plant locations while hiking along park trails.

Participants are asked to bring gloves for hand pulling, hiking footwear, and plenty of drinking water. Glacier National Park Conservancy will provide a free lunch for all attendees.

Since 2005, the Glacier National Park Citizen Science Program has utilized trained citizen scientists to collect population data on species of interest in the park. Training provided to participants serves to inform them on threats to native plants and animals that may result from human disturbance, climate change, and invasive species. The Citizen Science Program not only provides valuable data to park managers, but it helps create an informed group of visitors involved in active stewardship of Glacier National Park.

Funding and support for the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center’s Citizen Science Program is provided by the Glacier National Park Conservancy. For more information on the Citizen Science Program or to attend the Invasive Plant BioBlitz event call 406-888-7986 or e-mail e-mail us.

This event is one of four BioBlitzes at Glacier National Park that are part of the National Park Service’s Centennial Year celebration of biodiversity in national parks. For more information on other events in the National Park Centennial BioBlitz series follow this link:

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/biodiversity/national-parks-bioblitz.htm

Whitebark pine survival may require modern technology

Environmental Issues, News,
Whitebark Pine Closeup, 2016 - W. K. Walker
Whitebark Pine Closeup, 2016 – W. K. Walker

Here’s a very interesting article about the diminishing whitebark pine population . . .

Even the living whitebark pine trees look tragic.

Each living tree points gnarled limbs at 10 dead fellows on this mountain pass in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. They bend and twist the way the wind shrieks along the Continental Divide, implying a mix of pain and defiance. They adapted to grow on the most hostile ground in Montana. But they’re failing.

Diana Six calls them “ghost forests.” At the edge of the tree line, beyond where the Ponderosa pine and spruce and alpine fir can survive, the whitebark pine used to rule. The University of Montana forest entomologist seeks them out on the slopes of Ch-paa-qn Mountain west of Missoula, in the Beaverhead Mountains above the Big Hole Valley, and the high ridges of the Bob Marshall. Her search gets harder every year.

Read more . . .

Gravel-bed rivers a primary ecological feature in western North American mountains region

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Scientific illustration shows the complexity of organisms that benefit from gravel-bed river floodplain ecosystems - credit: Ric Hauer
Scientific illustration shows the complexity of organisms that benefit from gravel-bed river floodplain ecosystems – credit: Ric Hauer

Here’s a very interesting study led by Ric Hauer of the University of Montana. Recommended reading . . .

Gravel-bed river floodplains are some of the most ecologically important habitats in North America, according to a new study by scientists from the U.S. and Canada. Their research shows how broad valleys coming out of glaciated mountains provide highly productive and important habitat for a large diversity of aquatic, avian and terrestrial species.

This is the first interdisciplinary research at the regional scale to demonstrate the importance of gravel-bed rivers to the entire ecosystem.

University of Montana Professor Ric Hauer, director of the Center for Integrated Research on the Environment, leads a group of authors who looked at the full continuum of species and processes supported by gravel-bed rivers, from microbes to bull trout and from elk to grizzly bears.

Read more . . .

Federal judge blocks BLM fracking rules

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Oil and gas development at Colorado's Roan Plateau. Photo by Ecoflight.

Things are not going well for Bureau of Land Management fracking regulation . . .

A federal judge in Wyoming has struck down the Obama administration’s regulations on hydraulic fracturing, ruling that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management doesn’t have the authority to establish rules over fracking on federal and Indian lands.

In the ruling on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl said Congress had not granted the BLM that power, and had instead chosen to specifically exclude fracking from federal oversight.

Skavdahl made it clear what he was — and wasn’t — considering in his ruling.

Read more . . .

How Reddit helped find woman who defaced national parks

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St. Mary Lake
St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park

Happily, this ‘artist’ didn’t get up to this corner of Montana . . .

Colorful acrylic paintings on red and gray rock formations and profiles of people smoking cigarettes, signed with a repetitive “Creepytings,” caused an uproar on Reddit more than a year ago. Now, the uproar is calming.

After spending a month drawing and painting on the rocks in seven national parks, Casey Nocket, 23, of San Diego, was banned this month from national parks and other federally administered lands, according to the National Park Service.

The conviction is owed largely to a band of Reddit users faithful to keeping natural spaces free from what the NPS called vandalism…

Read more . . .

Flathead Forest holds open house to discuss draft revised management plan

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From a Headwaters Montana bulletin . . .

The Flathead National Forest has released its long-anticipated “Draft Revised Management Plan” for the 2.3 million-acre forest. This revised plan will set the course for forest management for the next 15-20 years. Because of the anticipated longevity, it’s very important that folks who enjoy and appreciate our local national treasure to show up and participate in the revision process.

You have two opportunities to attend an open house hosted by the Flathead Forest to learn more about the proposed plan and demonstrate your interest.

Kalispell
When: Monday, June 20, from 2-6pm
Where: The Flathead National Forest Supervisor’s Office, 650 Wolfpack Way

Missoula
When: June 22, from 2-6pm
Where:
Hilton Garden Inn, 3720 N. Reserve Street

Want to read up on the Forest Plan before you get there? Go here. (Hint: Start with the maps and Appendix G.)

Partnership works to keep collaborative efforts in final forest plan

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Round 2 begins . . .

As the revised Flathead National Forest Plan enters the most recent phase of public comment, members of a diverse coalition of stakeholders who collaborated on the draft document are regrouping to weave a spirit of collaboration into the final plan.

Formed in 2012, the Whitefish Range Partnership is a coalition of longtime adversaries who banded together to help inform management of public lands on the Flathead National Forest.

After nearly three years of meetings and analysis, the Flathead National Forest released the draft version of its revised forest plan last month, unveiling a proposed blueprint for all aspects of management on the Flathead National Forest, from recreational opportunities to designated wilderness, timber production, wildlife and habitat.

Read more . . .

Want to read up on the Forest Plan? Go here. (Hint: Start with the maps and Appendix G.)

Glacier Lake Ecology BioBlitz students study in North Fork

Environmental Issues, News, ,

An interesting item from the Daily Inter Lake . . .

The Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center in Glacier National Park hosted 45 students for the Glacier Lake Ecology BioBlitz on May 25 and 26.

The students were from Flathead and Columbia Falls high schools in Northwest Montana, De La Salle Collegiate High School from Warren, Michigan, and Luther College from Decorah, Iowa.

Students observed loons nesting, feeding, calling and interacting on lakes in the North Fork area of Glacier National Park.

Read more . . .

Lisa Bate receives Jack Potter Glacier National Park Stewardship Award for work with birds and bats

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Biologist Lisa Bate counts birds during the annual Christmas bird count in Glacier in 2010.
Biologist Lisa Bate counts birds during the annual Christmas bird count in Glacier in 2010.

Lisa Bate recently got some well-deserved recognition for her work with Glacier Park’s birds and bats . . .

While Glacier National Park is known for the grizzlies and goats, Lisa Bate has long been more interested in its birds and bats.

“It’s fun to bring attention to something that’s not a large carnivore,” she said last week. Bate has done groundbreaking work in the Park, most notably studying its harlequin ducks and its diverse, though seldom seen, bat population.

While those two species might not grab headlines, they face just as many threats due to climate change and other factors as the mega fauna species.

“I like the underdogs and I try to give them a voice,” she said.

Read more . . .

Lawsuit challenges Wyoming grizzly delisting plan

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Grizzly Bear - courtesy NPS
Grizzly Bear – courtesy NPS

Yet another challenge to Wyoming’s grizzly delisting plans . . .

Groups are challenging the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission over its recently adopted grizzly bear management rules.

The Humane Society of the United States, the Center for Biological Diversity and Jackson, Wyoming-based filmmaker James Laybourn filed a lawsuit against the commission Friday in state court in Cheyenne.

The lawsuit claims the commission failed to follow public notice and comment requirements before adopting grizzly management rules earlier this year.

Read more . . .