And all of a sudden, the robins are chirping from branches and geese are flying overhead at dusk. Happy Spring fellow North Fork fanatics. Although winter was seemingly short and forgiving, a lot happened even with the lack of hibernation motivation. And so, a winter report from your newly elected President.

First and foremost, one of our most cherished conservation colleagues, Dave Hadden of Headwaters Montana, retired, and in celebration of his lifetime achievements the NFPA Board awarded him with the Jack Potter Glacier National Park Stewardship Award. Just like all things wild, this award came full circle for Dave who has promoted local stewardship by giving away this award to hardworking colleagues for the last decade. The collaborative transboundary work Dave accomplished in his time at Headwaters Montana has perpetuated the historic watershed successes of the North Fork and for that, we are eternally grateful. As many of you know, the Headwaters Board decided to disband the organization with Dave’s retirement. NFPA is proud to be chosen to administer Headwaters scholarship funds going forward.

Our committed Board has been working hard over the winter with other local organizations to begin to address the tsunami of recreationists with the attendant negative local impacts now referred to as “Summergeddon”. Our outreach committee is working on educational resources for new landowners. A “Living with Wildlife” brochure will be distributed to the greater North Fork mailing list in collaboration with the NFLA. Bear News is being resurrected and out for print this Spring as well. We have booked an exceptional speaker for our annual meeting in July; look for more details in a future communication.

Be sure to visit our website, www.gravel.org, or our Facebook page for current news. Of most recent interest is the Interlocal meeting that you can watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XRwoVEcbkU. Park management and road maintenance plans were of particular interest.

Hopefully, the thaw is kind and quick for all of you. Looking forward to a great summer.

Flannery Coats