Category Archives: News

Reminder: Community forum this evening, July 17, to discuss wild and scenic rivers

Environmental Issues, News, ,

An announcement from Kascie Herron of Montanans for Healthy Rivers . . .

For the last four years, Montanans for Healthy Rivers has been asking citizens around the state what they love about their rivers and how they want to see those rivers protected. The results of a 2014 bipartisan survey showed that approximately 75% of Montanans support the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act as a tool to protect more Montana rivers. Thanks to the input of hundreds of Montanans, including business owners, landowners, conservation groups, sportsman groups, land trusts (the list goes on!) and many of you, we are ready to share our draft Citizen’s Proposal for New Wild and Scenic Rivers in Montana.

Please join us on Friday, July 17 from 8-9pm at Sondreson Community Hall, to learn about the draft Citizen’s Proposal and to share your feedback on the rivers being considered in the North Fork. This proposal will need your fine tuning and support in order to be successful.

For more information on who we are, please visit our website at http://healthyriversmt.org/.

We look forward to seeing you there!

North Fork Inter Local meeting is tomorrow!

News,

The summer North Fork Inter Local Agreement meeting will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, July 15 at Sondreson Hall. Start time is 1:00 p.m. The meeting is preceded by a potluck lunch from noon to 1:00 p.m., with the North Fork Trails Association providing the burgers and brats. Please bring a side dish.

And don’t forget the annual Firewise Day meeting in the morning, starting at 9:30 a.m.

The Inter Local Agreement provides for face-to-face contact with representatives of agencies whose policies and actions affect the North Fork. Interlocal Agreement meetings are held in the winter (in town) and summer (at Sondreson Hall). This is always a very interesting meeting, with reports from a range of government agencies and local organizations and often some quite vigorous discussion.

Firefighters chased down 22 small fires over weekend

Fire Information and Status, News, , ,

Fire crews stayed busy chasing down several small fires over the past few days . . .

Thunderstorms and other sources of ignition over the weekend started a smattering of small fires across Northwest Montana with 22 wildfires reported, although only a few consumed more than a fraction of an acre.

Two fires started Friday in Glacier National Park.

Katie Liming, a park spokeswoman, said a fire at Doverspike Meadow up the North Fork was extinguished by four firefighters after torching about 1.25 acres.

On Monday, firefighters were still working on a 2.25-acre wildfire on Howe Ridge in an area burned by the Robert Fire in 2003.

Read more . . .

Montana cuts bobcat quotas

Environmental Issues, News,

Bobcat numbers have dropped, so Montana FWP has reduced the hunting quotas . . .

Montana wildlife officials have reduced quotas for bobcat hunting and trapping across a broad swath of central and northern Montana.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioners on Thursday approved a proposal to lower the quota in three regions of the state by a combined 190 animals.

The move came after agency officials said they’d seen a drop in bobcat numbers in those areas. The decline is considered a cyclical population shift, but wildlife officials have said they don’t want to exacerbate the drop through hunting and trapping.

Read more . . .

Future of Inside North Fork Road up for public review

News,

Glacier Park has put the problem of the Inside North Fork Road up for public comment. It’s pretty evident that the park would rather not spend the money necessary to fully repair the damaged sections. So, if you want the road to remain open, take advantage of the public comment period (July 1 – August 3) to explain why . . .

The fate of Glacier National Park’s least-known road is up for public review this summer.

The Inside North Fork Road parallels the better-known North Fork Road between Apgar and the Canadian border on the park’s west side. But it’s suffered from regular washouts, forest-fire burnovers and low priority for years. Since 2006, annual flooding has damaged several portions, especially near Anaconda Creek, Logging Creek and Quartz Creek.

A 2014 engineering study estimated repairs for those three areas at between $682,000 and $735,000. The repairs would place better drainage culverts and bridges, and reduce sedimentation into area creeks.

Read more . . .

Also see:

Management of the Inside North Fork Road project page

Scoping document and public comment link

Trapping restrictions imposed near Glacier & Yellowstone to aid lynx

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Trapping regulations have been tightened up around Glacier and Yellowstone national parks to avoid accidental lynx capture . . .

Montana wildlife officials have tightened trapping regulations outside Yellowstone and Glacier national parks to reduce the chances that threatened Canada lynx accidentally will be caught.

The changes include restrictions on the types of traps, snares and bait that can be used in special protection zones outside the parks

State wildlife commissioners approved the changes on a 3-1 vote Thursday. Commissioner Gary Wolfe of Missoula cast the dissenting vote, Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim said.

Read more . . .

Grizzly and cubs relocated to North Fork

Environmental Issues, News, ,

More wayward bears got dropped off in the North Fork. In this instance, near Frozen Lake . . .

A grizzly bear and her two cubs are being relocated after killing about 10 sheep near Lake Frances.

The Great Falls Tribune reports the bears will be moved Friday to a site in the North Fork of the Flathead River.

Grizzly bear management biologist, Mike Madel, says the bear family had been spotted near the east shore of Lake Frances, where they killed about 10 sheep.

Read more . . .

Trout Unlimited concerned about logging in the Canadian Flathead

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

Trout Unlimited, among other conservation organizations, is keeping a wary eye on logging operations in the Canadian Flathead . . .

Members of Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited are worried about potential timber harvest in the headwaters of the Canadian Flathead.

Two companies, Jemi Fibre and Canfor, hold privately owned forestland or lease government “crown” land within the watershed. Jemi recently purchased 130,000 acres in the Flathead and Kootenai watersheds. Canfor holds the area’s provincial crown timberland under a license “tenure” agreement.

Jemi’s holdings include approximately 10,000 acres of Sportsmans Ridge, encompassing Foisey and McLatchie creeks, both major tributaries of the North Fork Flathead headwaters. According to U.S. Geological Survey fisheries biologists, 30-40 percent of all bull trout spawning occurs just downstream of these tributaries. The Canadian Flathead becomes the North Fork of the Flathead in the U.S. and is the western boundary of Glacier National Park. For decades, the U.S. and Canada sparred over coal and gold mines in the Canadian Flathead. After decades of negotiation, the province and the U.S. agreed not to mine the drainage.

Now the dispute is turning toward logging…

Read more . . .

Blackfeet Tribe breaks off talks over drilling in Badger-Two Medicine

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

The Blackfeet continue to fight attempts to drill in the Badger-Two Medicine region . . .

An American Indian tribe in Montana has taken the rare step of breaking off formal talks with the U.S. government and a Louisiana company that has been seeking for decades to drill for natural gas on land considered sacred by the Blackfeet people.

Blackfeet tribal leaders said that after three rounds of negotiations, they remain steadfast in their opposition to drilling in the Badger-Two Medicine area outside Glacier National Park and see no benefit to further discussions.

“We are not going to speak to anything other than no development,” said Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Officer John Murray.

Read more . . .

Crews hold line on Glacier Rim fire, increase containment

Fire Information and Status, News,

Fire crews appear to have a good handle on the Glacier Rim fire. Containment reached 70% yesterday and the recent rain helped a bit. Fire extent stayed at 100 acres. Here is the most recent report from the InciWeb site . . .

Yesterday, July 6, Fire crews maintained fire lines around the slop-over from July 4th. Firefighters are falling hazardous snags to remove fuel near the fire line. All three helicopters provided water and visual support for the fire. An additional water tender was ordered and assisted in cooling the south flank of the fire to enable crews to begin mop up process. The Flathead County structure protection team continued to contact residents and assess structures Spoon and Bailey Lake residential area.

Northern side of the Glacier Rim fire from helicopter
Northern side of the Glacier Rim fire from helicopter

Current Situation:

Rd 316, Canyon Creek Road, has been closed at the junction with the North Fork Road #486 and at the junction at Trumbull Creek Road #9848 to public access.

The fire received a small amount of rain overnight and more is expected through the morning. Crews laid hose around the fire and will be cooling down the perimeter and hot spots with support from the water tenders. Hazard snag removal will continue along the south flank of the fire. Firefighters continue to reinforce and hold already established containment lines around the perimeter of the fire.

FOR YOUR AND THE FIREFIGHTERS’ SAFETY, DO NOT STOP IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN THE FIRE AREA. Vehicles driving on the North Fork Road are asked to not stop in the fire area. River floaters on the river are asked to not stop in the fire area