Tag Archives: U.S. Forest Service

Larry Wilson: North Fork boat ramps won’t work

Commentary, , ,

This week, Larry has some observations about the U.S. Forest Service bureaucracy . . .

As promised early in the summer, the Forest Service has rebuilt boat access sites at the Canada border and at Ford Ranger Station. Although it will be easier to launch at Ford due to the removal of the wooden terraces, I have mixed feelings about the new boat ramps…

The Forest Service is my favorite government agency. They have many excellent employees who are unable to do their best due to stupid regulations written in Washington, D.C. Mostly, they are no longer really involved in timber management but have been pushed into managing tourists. As a result, they make funny decisions which give columnists something to write about…

Continue reading . . .

Larry Wilson: North Fork threat level still secret

Commentary, News, , , , ,

In this week’s column, Larry Wilson covers a broad range of topics, including the Border Patrol’s seemingly excessive secrecy about their operations . . .

It has been another action-packed, fun-filled week on the North Fork, with community service, educational, informative and just plain fun social events. The biggest gathering was for the interlocal meeting, which I would call informative and educational.

For several years, the Border Patrol has been asked about the threat level on the North Fork and whether or not arrests have been made here and, if so, for what offense. The Border Patrol’s reply is that they can tell us arrests have been made but they cannot provide details or inform us about the threat level.

I can understand not being informed about the threat level – that might fluctuate from day to day subject to nationwide possibilities. I don’t understand why we cannot be told about North Fork arrests and what the violations were. Even assuming continuing investigation of a particular event, they could give us details of 2008-2010 arrests. We would then know what to watch for and could even aid the Border Patrol with information.

Continue reading . . .

“Bear fair” to be held at the Polebridge Mercantile July 9th

Environmental Issues, News, , , , , ,

From the just-published North Fork Bear News . . .

The U.S. Forest Service in cooperation with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Glacier National Park and others is sponsoring a community bear fair on July 9th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Polebridge Mercantile. The event will feature educational talks, booths and displays (including a culvert trap to check out in case you’ve been curious…), great food (of course!) and an opportunity to learn more about bears and how to keep them safe. There will even be pots of flowers to give away to those who renounce their hummingbird feeders and a fushsia raffle for a couple of lucky winners. Come join the fun!

Larry Wilson: The times they are a-changin’

Commentary, History, ,

Larry Wilson’s column this week discusses the changes on the North Fork over the last century or so, especially those related to Forest Service activity . . .

I have written several times about how change has affected the North Fork, especially the changes brought about by the influx of the two periods of homesteading that opened up the area with roads and dwellings and, most of all, with people.

Of course, there were white men in the North Fork before the homesteaders. The earliest were no doubt trappers and hunters who left no written records to speak of and few marks on the land.

Without a doubt the U.S. Forest Service has had the longest presence on the North Fork closely followed by the U.S. Park Service.

Continue reading . . .

Missoula audience scrutinizes U.S. Forest Service’s proposed planning rule

Environmental Issues, News,

This article from today’s Missoulian is well worth reading if you have any interest in the proposed changes to the USFS planning rule. The write-up includes information on how to access the planning rule website and leave comments . . .

It’s a little like changing the shape of the strike zone in baseball, or the allowable deductions on your income tax form. A proposed planning rule for all U.S. Forest Service activity is both deeply wonky and game-changing.

The draft rule spreads fine print from page 8,480 to page 8,528 in the Federal Register. In there is something that may affect every trail walker, tree cutter, mushroom picker, snowmobile rider, hunter, angler, small-plane pilot, outfitter, gold miner, folf player and who-knows-what other national forest user.

Continue reading . . .

U.S. Forest Service to depend more on private citizens

News, ,

U.S. Forest Service Regional Forester Leslie Weldon gave a talk at the University of Montana yesterday. The presentation seemed short on specifics, so it wasn’t entirely clear whether he was advocating good things, bad things or just being diplomatic, but any time the Forest Service adjusts the way they do business, it has a pretty significant impact on the North Fork.

The Missoulian has the story . . .

The future of the U.S. Forest Service will depend more on private citizens even as its responsibilities for land management expand, Regional Forester Leslie Weldon said Thursday.

“We’ve had lots of partnerships where citizens step forward with their resources to get work done,” Weldon told an audience at the University of Montana’s Natural Resources and Environmental Policy Forum. “Getting work done is becoming dependent on the strength of relationships with local communities.”

Read the full article . . .

Forest Service’s identity changing says Region 1 boss

Environmental Issues, News,

Today’s Missoulian has an interesting, slightly worrisome, article on changes in management and focus within the U.S. Forest Service . . .

Not quite a year into her station as top forester of Region 1, Leslie Weldon finds herself in the middle of a major U.S. Forest Service identity change…

Region 1 covers 25 million acres of Montana and parts of Idaho, Washington and the Dakotas…

Read the full article . . .

Tester’s forest plan gets the big reveal

Documents, Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

The Missoulian is all over Senator Jon Tester’s “Forest Jobs and Recreation Act” (mostly called “Tester’s wilderness bill” throughout the week). The big reveal was at a meeting in Townsend Friday afternoon. The Missoulian posted a basic write-up shortly thereafter, followed by two lengthier articles early Saturday morning.

What’s the North Fork connection? The projects in the bill are the thin edge of the wedge. Tester is proposing a fairly basic change in the way the Forest Service works with all local communities.

Here are the links and ledes for the two most recent Missoulian articles, as well as a map showing the areas affected.

The smell of sawdust hung in the air Friday as U.S. Sen. Jon Tester stood in front of a small lumber mill and announced his plans to create almost 700,000 acres of new Montana wilderness, designate a new national recreation area and mandate timber harvests on thousands of forested acres.

Called the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, Tester’s bill is the first effort to set aside new wilderness in Montana in a generation. Most of the new wilderness, more than 500,000 acres, would be in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

Yet most of the talk Friday was about all the other things Tester’s bill would do, specifically requiring timber harvests, directing different kinds of timber removal — like cutting small trees for biomass generators — and creating new kinds of contracts timber companies could make with the federal government.

Read the entire article . . .

Public lands logging would see big changes if U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act becomes law.

That’s either a needed compromise to break deadlocks in Montana’s wilderness debate, or a step toward breaking up the U.S. Forest Service, depending on whom you talk to.

Read the entire article . . .

And also: A map of the proposed land designations in PDF format.

Flathead National Forest project funding meeting April 15th

News,

Some federal economic stimulus money will be allocated to projects in the Flathead National Forest. According to an article in today’s Daily Inter Lake, a “meeting at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce from 7 to 9 a.m. April 15 will explain the funding as well as the scope and type of projects for which the money is intended.” There will also be “information on the process the Forest Service is using to get potential bidders involved.”

The meeting will be held in the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce’s conference room. Interested attendees should call 758-2800 by April 14th to reserve a seat.

It will be interesting to see what projects the Forest Service is proposing.