Category Archives: Site Updates

NFPA Summer 2009 Newsletter available online

The Summer 2009 NFPA Newsletter just went to the printer. Those of you itching to get your hands on it right away can view it online.

Items of note include a status report on the UNESCO investigation into threats to Waterton-Glacier Park, an article by Cristina Eisenberg on the far-reaching and surprising effects on the ecosystem of top predators such as wolves, and a short history of the Foreman family’s impact on the North Fork.

Banner photos needed

Our refurbished “News & Announcements” page has this nice banner up there at the top. But it would be even nicer if it changed every once in awhile. So, if you folks have any good photos from around the North Fork, send them along. If I use them in the banner, you get featured in the “Banner Photo Credit” area on the sidebar and a nice mention in the web log.

Things to keep in mind:

  • It should be photo from the general North Fork area. I’d guess color will work best, but I’m not averse to considering historic black & white images.
  • It doesn’t have to be a classic “scenic” but it does need to be something that will still look good after it is cropped to the proportions of the banner. (Hmmm… Something showing the Fall colors would be nice right now.)
  • Tell me how you want the photo credited. If you tell me something about the photo, I’ll include that, too.

If you don’t know my direct email, send a note to the “webmaster” address and I’ll tell you how to get stuff to me.

I’ll be waiting with bated breath…

New look! More changes coming

Welcome to the new, improved, visually stimulating NFPA web site!

Well, OK, only the web log part has changed so far, but we’ll be doing more renovating over the next few weeks.

Those of you monitoring the RSS feed will need to make adjustments. It’s probably easiest to just unsubscribe from the old feed and then resubscribe to the new one.

Comments, observations and fulsome praise can be directed to the “webmaster” address listed in the “Administrivia” section of the sidebar. (I’m not ready to enable on-site comments yet.)

Fire season heating up

Here we go again, folks. Fire season is starting to heat up in the Flathead Valley. For current forest and wildfire information and related material, see our extensive Fire Information Links page.

From the Sunday, August 10, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

A lightning storm Friday night sparked 13 fires Saturday on the Flathead Reservation, the largest of which had burned about 400 acres Saturday evening.

Read the entire article . . .

And from the Friday, August 8, 2008 online edition of the Hungry Horse News . . .

Northwest Montana is heading into the thick of fire season and folks are being urged to make sure all campfires are dead out and cold to the touch.

In addition, there is absolutely no open burning in Flathead County through September, fire officials note.

On average, there’s been one human caused fire in the valley every day. The weather forecast doesn’t appear to be helping the fire risk, either. The forecast is calling for hot, dry weather with highs in the 80s and 90s and a slight risk of thunderstorms, though it should cool off a bit by Sunday.

Read the entire article . . .

Summer 2008 newsletter available online

The Summer 2008 NFPA Newsletter is available online. It is in PDF format, which requires Adobe Reader for viewing. Most folks already have Adobe Reader installed on their computers. If you don’t have it, you can get it here. (If you do need to grab Adobe Reader, make sure you clear the little checkbox where they offer to include additional software with your download. Right now, they are pushing something called the “eBay Desktop.” Go figure.)

North Fork Road paving study updated

Early last month, University of Montana researcher Shannon Donahue completed a very thorough review of the “…Direct and Indirect Effects of Paving Flathead County Road 486, the North Fork Road.” It has generated a fair bit of interest, as well as a few minor corrections. We’ve posted the revised version for viewing or downloading here. There is also an executive summary available. (Both documents are in PDF format, which can be displayed using the free Adobe Reader.)