FWP open house to consider wolf-hunt changes

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Here’s some more information on the upcoming Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks “listening session” to discuss changes in wolf hunt regulations . . .

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will host an open house in Kalispell on Wednesday, June 13, to give information and answer questions on the proposed 2012-13 wolf hunting and trapping season.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Flathead Valley Community College Arts and Technology Building. At the open house, people will break out into small groups to discuss details and work on comments regarding the proposals.

Under the wolf season proposals, the general season would run from Sept. 1, 2012, to Feb. 28, 2013, with trapping allowed from Dec. 15 to the end of the general wolf season. There would be no statewide quota, but quotas would be established in two areas near Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.

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Grizzly bear panel eying oil activity on east side

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Land and wildlife managers are keeping an eye on the impact of oil and gas development on the Rock Mountain Front . . .

An interagency panel of land and wildlife managers has turned its attention to the impacts on grizzly bears from oil-and-gas exploration and extraction on the Rocky Mountain Front.

The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem Subcommittee is geared toward delisting the grizzly bear population, with a draft Conservation Strategy for doing so expected to be released this summer.

But removing the threatened Northern Rockies grizzly bear population from protection under the Endangered Species Act is still “several years out,” said Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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FWP issues alert for grizzly bears on high plains east of Rocky Mountain Front

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Even more evidence that grizzlies are starting to disperse eastward from the Rocky Mountain Front . . .

Wildlife officials are warning residents that grizzly bears are on the prairie east of the Rocky Mountain Front and precautions should be taken.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks workers tell the Great Falls Tribune that the agency has received reports of grizzlies east of Valier, on the Sun River between Fort Shaw and the town of Sun River, and along the Marias River above Tiber Reservoir.

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Montana FWP to hold public forum on proposed wolf rules

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Here’s more information on the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks effort to gather public feedback on this year’s proposed wolf hunting and trapping regulations. (For more background, see last week’s post.) . . .

Residents will have a chance to speak up about proposed changes to the wolf hunting and trapping season at a public gathering in Kalispell next week.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is hosting an open house forum in the Science and Technology building at Flathead Valley Community College from 7 to 9 p.m. on June 13.

Wildlife officials will give a presentation on the proposed regulations that were recently approved by the state wildlife commission. Attendees will be able to ask questions and discuss the proposals further afterward.

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Jimmy DeHerrera retirement party June 9

News,

Jimmy DeHerrera, District Ranger for the Hungry Horse-Glacier View District of the Flathead National Forest took a well-deserved retirement June 1. Jimmy has had a real impact on the North Fork and shown a rare talent for balancing the Forest Service’s often conflicting mandates.

Jimmy’s retirement party is Saturday, June 9th, 6:00 p.m. at the Whitefish Moose Lodge. The cost is $10.00 per person for pulled pork and all the sides. RSVP by June 6 to Munch Woods, ckwoods@fs.fed.us, 387-3811 or Louise Larimore, llarimore@fs.fed.us, 758-5251.

Cline sues B.C. over Canadian Flathead mining ban

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

As mentioned last Wednesday, Cline Mining, the outfit that planned an open pit coal mine in the North Fork headwaters area up in Canada, sued British Columbia over its decision a couple of years ago to ban mining and other extractive industries in the Canadian Flathead. The story has since gotten quite a bit of coverage on both sides of the border. One of the better follow-up articles was just posted by the Missoulian . . .

The decades-long dispute over a proposed mining ban on the northern edge of Glacier National Park flared up this week when a Canadian mining company filed a lawsuit against the Province of British Columbia seeking $500 million in compensation for lost revenue.

In the lawsuit, Cline Mining Corp. alleges that the government of B.C. expropriated three coal properties in the Canadian Flathead Valley by passing the Flathead Watershed Area Conservation Act, a recent piece of legislation that halted mining on all lands within the Flathead River watershed.

Cline lost its coal claims in the Flathead Valley in southeast B.C. when former Premier Gordon Campbell signed the Flathead Watershed Area Memorandum of Understanding with Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, reversing a longstanding land use plan for the Canadian Flathead that gave drilling and mining primacy over all other uses.

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Larry Wilson: North Fork road improvements

Commentary, ,

Larry discusses the steady improvements to the North Fork Road, as well as several other projects that have benefited the North Fork . . .

It has been an interesting week weather wise on the North Fork. One day, I was wearing short pants and a T-shirt in near 80-degree weather. The next, I was back in long johns, long pants, flannel shirt and needing a jacket to go outside. Normal spring weather.

The gardeners were all in favor of the rain we received for the rest of the week, but no one was too happy about the colder weather. It did bring other benefits.

The freshly graded road from Camas Bridge to Trail Creek junction was getting pretty dusty, especially north of Polebridge, and the rain settled it for now. Plus, the Flathead County Road Department began putting crushed rock on the road above Polebridge…

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Cline Mining sues BC for $500 million due to lost mining claims in Flathead Valley

News, , , ,

Well, now, look who’s in the news again.

Cline Mining, the outfit that wanted to put an open pit coal mine in the North Fork headwaters area up in Canada, is suing the British Columbia government for losses incurred when the province passed the Flathead Watershed Area Conservation Act.

Read the full article. There are a number of interesting nuggets buried in the later paragraphs . . .

Cline Mining has filed a $500-million lawsuit against the British Columbia government after losing a series of mining claims in the Flathead Valley in southeast B.C.

Cline’s action comes 27 months after the province yielded to pressure from environmentalists and the U.S. government to halt mining activity on the Canadian side of the environmentally sensitive Flathead, which is within Glacier National Park in Montana. The north fork of the Flathead, which has its headwaters in B.C., is part of the U.S. “wild and scenic rivers system” once it crosses from the East Kootenays into Montana.

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Annual Frog Day approaches

News, ,

Here’s an interesting volunteer opportunity. Word is, it fills up rapidly, so interested  folks should sign up right away. From the Flathead National Forest Learning Center announcement . . .

Join us for the annual Frog Day. Help find and count amphibians and reptiles in area wetlands.  It is fun and the Forest Service gains valuable data.

The day starts with a 1-1/2 hour training session on how to identify local amphibians and reptiles and how to do the surveys. Participants work in teams of 2-5 people with a forest biologist or technician leading the group. Anyone 7 years and up is welcome to attend. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

In 2012 the event takes place June 28 on the Hungry Horse/Glacier View Ranger District.  For more information or to sign up to participate, contact Teresa Wenum, 406/758-5218 or twenum@fs.fed.us.

Poaching still a problem in Northwest Montana

News,

This a head-scratcher. There’s a problem in this corner of the state with “thrill kills” — of deer, mostly . . .

The statewide hotline for reporting poaching incidents is already on pace to surpass last year’s call total, reflecting a possible changing attitude among Montanans that is more disapproving of “thrill kills” and other illegal shootings of wildlife.

Yet the problem persists, particularly in Northwest Montana. Local wildlife enforcement officers have seen more poaching cases than usual for this time of year. More than eight deer have been found shot dead in the last few months, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1 officials.

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