Category Archives: Commentary

Larry Wilson: The North Fork Road is no longer an issue

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Larry does a retrospective on the big issues of last year, including the North Fork Road and successful efforts to terminate resource extraction activities in the transboundary Flathead Valley . . .

January is the month when everyone looks back on the previous year to see what the biggest news stories were and to make resolutions for the year that is just beginning. Hopefully, the resolutions will improve us in some way. We are no different on the North Fork.

For many years, the North Fork Road has been the biggest topic of controversy in the area – pave or don’t pave? Not in 2011. County improvements have reduced the road almost to a non-issue.

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Larry Wilson: North Forkers to be studied

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This week, Larry wraps up the year-end news and discusses the impending arrival of a group from the University of Montana Geography Department . . .

Another holiday season is over. On the North Fork, we had a great Christmas party, a collection of New Year’s Eve gatherings and 30 people gathered on the bank of the river for the annual beach party.

There was just enough snow to ride through the woods on snowmobiles and gather around two brightly burning campfires to enjoy hot dogs, baked beans, chili and an assortment of liquid stimulants, as well as each other’s company.

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Larry Wilson: North Forkers throw beach party

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Larry reports on the North Fork Christmas and New Year festivities . . .

Boy, did we have a great Christmas party. Hosts Caldwell and Heaphy must have spent most of a day decorating the hall. There were twinkling lights overhead, brightly decorated tables and counters, and a 10-foot decorated Christmas tree. Even the front porch was decorated with boughs and bright red bows, and there was a greeter (Jan Caldwell) with a funny hat.

That was only the beginning . . .

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Larry Wilson: Be prepared for winter jaunts into the Montana backcountry

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This week, Larry discusses the importance of preparedness when traveling in the backcountry during winter . . .

As I write this on the Friday before Christmas, knowing that it won’t be read until after Christmas, I still can’t help but wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

As of today, we have very little snow and only a chance that more will fall before Christmas. I know the skiers and snowmobilers are unhappy about no snow, but it fits the old fat guy just fine.

Lack of snow in the lower elevations does not eliminate outdoor recreation. It just changes it. This week, North Valley Search and Rescue responded up Canyon Creek to rescue an ATV rider. With little snow in the river bottoms, this individual tried to ride his ATV between Canyon Creek and Big Creek. Higher up, he got his ATV stuck and couldn’t get it out.

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Larry Wilson: Seeking common ground

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Larry addresses the importance of unity in diversity when it comes to land planning and other broad community issues . . .

This week at the invitation of the Swan Valley Community organization, I traveled with Mark Shiltz, Montana Land Reliance staffer, to speak to that community about how the North Fork got involved in land-use planning.

Although we see the results of that effort every day – we now have minimum lot sizes, setbacks, interlocal meetings and other improvements – I had not thought about how it all got started for years. There aren’t many of us left from those beginnings, and I think they’re worth recalling.

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Larry Wilson: On North Fork curmudgeons

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This week, Larry starts off with a few word about North Fork curmudgeons. It’s a subject more appropriate to a short book than a short column, but he pulls it off . . .

Earlier in November, it looked like it was going to be a long winter. Snow was getting deeper and deeper, temperatures dropped below zero, and Lynn Ogle was getting grumpier by the hour.

He was almost like Wilke Hastings, who used to live in a small cabin on Trail Creek…

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Larry Wilson: The North Fork gives thanks

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Larry Wilson discusses Thanksgiving on the North Fork and tail end of hunting season . . .

As usual, the Thanksgiving dinner at Sondreson Hall was a big community success. While most of the U.S. has made Thanksgiving a family holiday, here on the North Fork it is a community event. Just like the original Pilgrims, we choose to live in a place where the weather can be harsh and there is a real need for neighbors to help each other at times. With town fifty miles away and many services limited or non-existent a good neighbor is a fine thing.

It is not unusual up here to help a neighbor get out of the ditch or to bring auto parts or groceries from town. On the North Fork, a neighbor might live 20 miles away but is still considered not only a neighbor but a friend. In the towns or cities people are more likely to look through you than at you. No so, on the North Fork.

As a result, the Thanksgiving dinner is a collection of 60-80 neighbors who are glad to see you and you are glad to see them.

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Larry Wilson: Winter strikes the North Fork

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This is a bit confusing. Apparently, Larry’s column didn’t make the deadline for the print edition of the Hungry Horse News, but it did get posted online — over a “Larry Peterson” byline [update – they fixed it]. Go figure.

Anyway, Larry discusses the season’s first serious snowfall and cold snap . . .

No one on the North Fork needs to be told that Fall has fell and it is now winter. In the last week we have had a total snowfall of over 16 inches. There has been settling but a blanket of snow now covers everything, the golden needles have been blown off of the larch and wood is no longer being put in woodsheds but is being carried into the house.

Not only are we carrying wood into the house, we are burning a lot of it. In between snow storms we have had bone-chilling cold along with brisk winds. It seems a little early for subzero temperatures but my Monkey Ward thermometer read minus 12 degrees F one morning and neighbors reported similar below zero readings.

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George Ostrom: A history of American wolves

Commentary, History, ,

George Ostrom of the Hungry Horse News just finished up a fascinating history of wolves in America. Recommended reading.

Here’s the lead-in for part 1 . . .

When wolves first made a comeback into Glacier National Park from a pack coming down from Canada, I did a lot of research on their past history in the U.S. Few people have much past knowledge on what has now become the “new” game animal, so let me share some surprising facts:

Before the white man came, there were wolves in every state of the union, and the first bounty on them was placed by the Plymouth Colony in 1630. Lewis and Clark’s journals of 1804 mentioned the “great numbers” of wolves, with especially large populations in what is now the Billings area.

Continue reading part 1 . . .

And for part 2 . . .

The cattlemen weren’t sitting idly by waiting for the legislature. Many of them started or stepped up their own efforts of poisoning carcasses, hiring professionals and, of course, every cowboy on the range had orders to kill any coyote, wolf or bear on sight.

In 1895, a new $3 bounty law was passed, and the Miles City newspaper reported 3,300 wolves killed by April, but this was later proven slightly high. A total of 5,866 hides were turned in for bounty in 1896, but the wolves were getting smarter and doing such things as not returning to a kill, avoiding traps and taking off at the sight of men on horses.

Continue reading part 2 . . .

A more personal view of the new B.C. law protecting the Flathead Basin

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Ralph Maughan’s The Wildlife News weblog presents a refreshingly personal view of the recent B.C. legislation to protect the Flathead Basin . . .

What a turnaround in the space of 3 years!

In 2008 I took a 2 week trip to the headwaters of the famed North Fork of the Flathead River in B.C. to say goodbye to one of North America’s premier fish and wildlife areas, not to mention its incredible beauty.

Huge open pit coal mines, long in the planning, now seemed unstoppable. In addition thousands of coal bed methane wells were planned that would surely ruin the river right from its headwaters and downstream all the way to Flathead Lake in Montana.  Wildlife in Glacier National Park would be greatly harmed too. There seemed to be no hope.

Then, suddenly, everything began to change for the better…

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