Glacier Park plans prescribed burn on Big Prairie

Fire Information and Status, News, ,

Glacier Park wants to perform a 260-acre prescribed burn on Big Prairie sometime within the next month . . .

A prescribed fire project is planned in the North Fork area of Glacier National Park, approximately four miles northwest of Polebridge in the next month.

Approximately 260 acres are planned to be burned in the Big Prairie area, depending on weather and fuel conditions. This is in addition to the 141 acres of prairie that were successfully burned last spring.

The primary objective of the burn is to reduce the numbers of lodgepole pine seedlings and saplings, which are encroaching on the native prairie grassland. Managers hope to reduce the number of these young lodgepole pine with fire and improve the vigor of the native grasses and shrubs, while maintaining some lodgepole pine.

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Three walk out of Flathead Forest planning process

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Three local activists are not happy with the way the Flathead Forest Plan Revision is going . . .

Three environmental advocates are withdrawing from the Flathead National Forest’s forest plan revision process, claiming it is “ill-informed, poorly documented and is creating conflict and resentment” at considerable taxpayer expense.

The Flathead Forest’s lead planner, however, says the process is working well and most participants have been fully engaged.

Keith Hammer, chairman of the Swan View Coalition; Arlene Montgomery, program director for Friends of the Wild Swan; and Brian Peck, an independent wildlife consultant, signed a letter objecting to the process that was sent to Forest Service officials, including the agency’s chief.

Read more . . .

Also: Text of the letter sent to Forest Service officials

For bears, ‘chickens are the new garbage’

Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

Bears like chickens, which is causing headaches for bear management personnel . . .

Wildlife and land managers say they are seeing gradual acceptance and improvements in public education and outreach for grizzly bear conservation, but there also are setbacks in some areas, most notably the proliferation of bear-attracting chicken coops across Western Montana.

“The hobby chicken farmer is one of the greatest threats to the grizzly bear these days,” Chris Servheen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator, said Wednesday in Hungry Horse.

Servheen was one of the speakers during a meeting of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem subcommittee, a multi-agency panel that guides bear conservation and management.

As state grizzly bear management specialist Jamie Jonkel puts it, “chickens are the new garbage.”

Read more . . .

700 miles and seven weeks on Canada’s Churchill River

News, , ,

I attended this presentation last week. Good stories and fascinating photos . . .

Jonathan Klein spent more than 30 years working in wilderness and wilderness management during his career with the Forest Service.

In all those years, there were plenty of black bear encounters — every time he just gave a shout and the bear took off running.

That’s the conventional wisdom in Montana — black bears run if you yell and holler enough.

But on this day, Klein was standing on the edge of the Churchill River yelling his lungs out at a black bear that had all the intentions of not going anywhere until it had thoroughly and completely consumed Klein.

Read more . . .

B.C. Parliament settles with Cline Mining for lost Flathead coal rights

Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

Looks like Cline Mining has gone from major watershed threat to final bankruptcy . . .

The Parliament of British Columbia has agreed to a nearly $10 million settlement with a mining company that lost its right to develop coal deposits in the transboundary Flathead River near Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park.

The bankrupt Cline Mining Corp. announced Monday it had reached the out-of-court settlement after claiming it was losing a $500 million potential operation. The B.C. government had revoked mining rights as part of the Flathead Watershed Area Conservation Act in 2010. That legislation solidified an agreement worked out with former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus and Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana to protect the Flathead River.

A similar U.S. measure, the North Fork Watershed Protection Act, has passed the House of Representatives but has been blocked in the Senate. It would place the Montana side of the river, known as the North Fork of the Flathead, off limits to energy development. The international agreement allows logging, gravel mining and other recreation activities.

Read more . . .

Mercury-tainted fish found in Glacier Park’s Lake McDonald

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Here’s a considerably more detailed article on the recent announcement of unacceptable mercury levels in some fish in certain areas of a number of western national parks . . .

A “first-of-its-kind” study released last week discovered mercury in fish in some of the most remote and pristine lakes and streams in national parks across the western United States and Alaska – but it wasn’t a surprise to Glacier National Park fisheries biologist Chris Downs.

Glacier is updating information for a brochure it already puts out regarding guidelines for fish consumption from waters inside the park because of contaminants such as mercury, which is harmful to both human and wildlife health.

“The national study continues to demonstrate that contaminants are reaching places we think of as isolated or protected,” Downs said. “Because of airborne transport, it’s a global issue.”

Read more . . .

Further reading: The actual report (PDF format, 6.7MB), Mercury in Fishes from 21 National Parks in the Western United States—Inter- and Intra-Park Variation in Concentrations and Ecological Risk.

Mac Minard: North Fork protection needs straight vote

Commentary, Environmental Issues, ,

Mac Minard, executive director of the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, is circulating a testy opinion piece on the legislative shenanigans hindering passage of the North Fork Watershed Protection Act . . .

North Fork protection passed the House but fell short in the Senate — for the wrong reasons.

The North Fork Watershed Protection Act is a bipartisan legislative effort that started with former Sen. Max Baucus in 1974, and represents locally driven efforts to protect the historic and majestic North Fork area in the Flathead Valley. The legislation has tremendous support within the outdoor community and has received endorsements from various groups concerned with land management decisions and conservation efforts.

Rep. Steve Daines joined the effort last year, and introduced a companion bill in the House. A few months ago, in what was nothing short of a herculean effort, freshman congressman Daines ushered the North Fork Watershed Protection Act through the House with strong bipartisan support — a huge milestone. The House passage of North Fork Watershed Protection Act, which has been around for several decades, represented the first time the bill passed either chamber of Congress.

However, two weeks ago, this important bill was blocked in the Senate by what can only be described as an election-year political stunt.

Read more . . .

High mercury levels found in small percentage of national park fish

Environmental Issues, News,

Not clear what it means yet, but a study turned up high mercury levels in some national park fish…

Federal scientists have found high amounts of mercury in sport fish caught in remote areas of Western national parks, including Glacier National Park, according to a study released Thursday.

Researchers for the U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service said that most fish they caught had acceptable levels of mercury, but 4 percent exceeded healthy levels.

Mercury occurs naturally, but scientists say its presence in national parks, which are supposed to leave wildlife unimpaired for future generations, was cause for concern.

Read more . . .