Award-winning short documentary profiles Thoma Lookout

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A well-regarded documentary about Thoma Lookout is gaining press coverage. Additional information is available on the film’s Facebook page . . .

New York filmmaker Brian Bolster was backpacking through Glacier National Park when he came across a fire lookout. The solitary day-to-day lives of people living perched atop mountains, scanning the horizon for wildfires, intrigued Bolster. The result is a 16-minute award-winning documentary, titled “The Lookout.” Bolster spent six days and five nights single-handedly filming Leif Haugen, a fire lookout for the Flathead National Forest, as he performs his daily duties at the Thoma Lookout in the North Fork area near the Canadian Border.

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Giving the North Fork Patrol their due

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We got a note the other day from Mark and Margaret Heaphy who are, respectively, the Chairman and Secretary/Treasurer of the North Fork Patrol, the people who will, on request, help keep an eye on landowner property.

The North Fork Patrol has a small problem. Since the North Fork Landowners’ Association doesn’t send out a fall newsletter anymore (it only sends out one in the springtime), folks have tended to forget to contribute to the North Fork Patrol. Although you don’t need to be an NFLA member to have property “patrolled,” the newsletter served as a reminder and also as a signup form for the patrol.

So, if you desire the services of the North Fork Patrol, the Heaphys are encouraging you to sign up at any time. (Now would be a good time.) If you are an NFLA member, you can use the form in the Spring newsletter. The sign-up form is also available on the NFLA website. Payment is good for one year from when paid, regardless of when that is. If there are any questions about your current status on the patrol or when you last paid, please contact Margaret Heaphy.

For those of you not familiar with the North Fork Patrol, here’s the official description from the NFLA website: “The North Fork Patrol, with the written permission of a landowner, will check a property for evidence of trespass, illegal entry or poaching. All suspected illegal activity will be reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency . . . In addition to checking properties, the patrol offers a reward of up to $500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of someone perpetrating trespass or property damage. A signed application is required to participate.”

Patrol sign-up is only $10, folks — chump change for someone to keep an eye on your place if you’re not around. And, in case you missed it the first time, you can grab a sign-up form here.

Opinions decidedly mixed on new U.S. Forest Service planning rule

Environmental Issues, News,

The Missoulian takes on the thankless task of summarizing the new Forest Service planning rule . . .

The U.S. Forest Service’s recently released planning rule could turn the agency into a more efficient decisionmaker or create a department of perpetual planning, depending on who you listen to.

“We are ready to start a new era of planning that takes less time, costs less money and provides stronger protections for our lands and water,” Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said in an email announcing the final version of the rule. “This new rule will bring 21st century thinking to a process that is sorely needed to protect and preserve our 193 million acres of amazing forests and grasslands.”

Critics have been equally expansive. Andy Stahl of the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics predicted the process “would die of its own weight.”

“Anyone who thinks this rule will make forest plans quicker to develop is naive,” Stahl said . . .

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Researcher says bear spray stops angry grizzlies better than guns

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More evidence in support of bear spray. Also, read to the end to find our very own Frank Vitale’s bear spray story.

Bear spray doesn’t supply “brains in a can” to survive a grizzly attack, but it appears to work a lot better than spraying bullets.

That’s the conclusion researchers presented to more than 300 bear experts at the Fourth International Human-Bear Conflict Workshop in Missoula last week.

University of Calgary bear expert Steve Herrero was involved in two separate studies that looked at the effectiveness of bear spray and firearms in bear attacks . . .

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Less than two weeks to send comments in support of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act

Environmental Issues, News, ,

The Montana Wilderness Association (MWA) has been heavily involved in supporting the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act since its inception. Here’s a lightly edited excerpt from one of their recent announcement encouraging everyone to support this legislation . . .

Last Thursday, a bill to permanently protect the incomparable Rocky Mountain Front got its day in Congress with a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

This is a crucial step in the journey of a Heritage Act, a bill that will forever protect our wilderness heritage along the Front, including hundreds of miles of quiet trails and some of the finest backcountry hunting and fishing  in North America.

To help get this passed, Senator Max Baucus is asking for our support. The more demand we create for the Heritage Act the better chance we have of getting it signed into law this year.

To submit a comment in support of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, visit savethefront.org’s Quick Guide to Submitting Written Comments to the Congressional Record.

If needed, here are a few important points to remind lawmakers back in Washington, D.C.

Made-in-Montana

Montanan’s were able to work across party lines when crafting this legislation and now it’s the Senate’s chance to do the same and help pass it into law. Working together, ranchers, outfitters, business owners and conservationists listened to each other and to people from across the state.  The Heritage Act is product of five years of public meetings, countless kitchen table discussions and group meetings with permitees, landowners and local officials.

Big Game needs Big Country

Montana sportsmen and women get it.  Big, unbroken habitat means healthy big game herds and longer hunting seasons.  And keeping the Front just the way it is means the next generation of Montana hunters will have the same access and opportunity we have today.

Best Defense is a Good Offense

We can’t wait until elk have no food source, fish have no clear water and our native plants have nowhere to grow.  That’s why the Heritage Act will place a high priority on the eradication of noxious weeds on the Front and require land managers to prioritize their efforts.

For more information about the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act please visit savethefront.org or go to http://www.baucus.senate.gov.

Additional background can also be found at the MWA’s Rocky Mountain Front Wilderness Campaign page.

Flathead National Forest proposes logging to collect larch cones

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Here’s an obscure forest management issue . . .

Larch tree cones grow near the top of very tall trees, which makes them tough to collect for anything other than squirrels.

The Flathead National Forest needs a lot of larch cones for its reseeding efforts, and it’s seeking public comment on how best to get them. The trees have brittle branches and bark that flakes off easily, making them difficult for humans to climb. Another alternative is shooting cone-bearing branches off the tree. “That’s apparently not one we’re interested in,” Flathead Forest spokesman Wade Muelhof said. The cones aren’t much bigger than grapes, and lots of them get lost as the branches fall to the ground.

So the preferred alternative involves cutting down about 270 trees over 10 years to supply seedling needs.

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Warmer temps expected to increase avalanche danger

News, Snow Conditions

From today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

Avalanche danger remains considerable in Northwest Montana and could worsen with expected high temperatures this weekend, according to the latest backcountry avalanche advisory issued Friday by the U.S. Forest Service.

Following the arrival of moist, heavy snowfall this week, backcountry recreationists should take precaution at elevations above 5,500 feet and on steep, open slopes and gullies, avalanche specialist Stan Bones said in the advisory. Areas that have received new snow and rain have an increased danger, he said.

Bones described current conditions as “fairly complex,” and warned backcountry users to be alert about potential rapid changes in weather and snow conditions.

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Low snow totals in the valley, about average higher up

News, Snow Conditions,

Snow amounts down-valley this winter were considerably lower than average, but higher elevations did OK overall . . .

Spring officially got under way Tuesday, ending one of the Flathead Valley’s mildest winters in recent memory.

From Oct. 1 through March 20, just 30.2 inches of snowfall had been measured at Glacier Park International Airport. That’s almost 26 inches less than the average of 55.8 inches for the same period. Precipitation, however, totaled 6.19 inches at the airport, not far off the average of 6.97 inches.

Mountain snowfall above the Flathead River Basin was quite different than in the valley, starting out well behind the average but eventually catching up to be 103 percent of normal.

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Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill gets a hearing

Environmental Issues, News,

Here’s the Missoulian’s take on yesterday’s Senate hearing on the Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill . . .

Supporters of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act had their day in Congress on Thursday when U.S. Sen. Max Baucus led off testimony on the bill.

“I think this is a no-brainer,” Baucus told Senate Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee chairman Sen. Ron Wyden. “There’s no conflict. People worked very hard to make this happen. I hope we can get this passed this year.”

Choteau rancher Dusty Crary called the bill “our homeland security bill.” The act would add 67,000 acres to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and designate another 208,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land as conservation management areas . . .

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Baucus introduces Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill

Environmental Issues, News,

Sen. Max Baucus’ Rocky Mountain Front wilderness bill got a formal Senate hearing today . . .

U.S. Sen. Max Baucus on Thursday presented to a Senate panel his plan for new wilderness and conservation area along the Rocky Mountain Front, with high hopes and the backing of the Obama administration.

Baucus told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests that the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act comes from residents who spent years working on it. The bill aims to keep development and road access at current levels.

Baucus predicted it will succeed where other wilderness efforts have failed because it is a homegrown effort.

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