Category Archives: Commentary

Larry Wilson: ‘The Road,’ a history

Commentary, News, , ,

This week, Larry Wilson discusses the state of the North Fork Road this mud season and compares it with conditions in past decades . . .

I made two round trips from Trail Creek to Columbia Falls this week and one of my neighbors asked how I fared on the terrible road. My reply was that I thought the road was really good – for the time of year.

How you view the North Fork Road is a matter of perception. If you compare it to Interstate 90 it is always awful. In fact, by comparison, it isn’t a road at all, it’s a nearly impassable ditch.

If you compare it to how it was in 1950 it is greatly improved…

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Lawmakers try to lift wolf protection despite settlement deal

Commentary, News, , ,

From an AP article posted in yesterday’s Daily Inter Lake . . .

Lawmakers in the West said Friday they will keep pushing to lift federal protections for gray wolves despite a proposed settlement between environmental groups and the Obama administration.

The settlement would end a decade of lawsuits over the animals. But it faces significant legal hurdles that leave uncertain whether court approval will come before lawmakers act.

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Larry Wilson: North Valley Rescue folks true heroes

Commentary,

On the occasion of its fourth annual awards banquet, Larry Wilson has nice things to say about the North Valley Rescue Association. You’ll probably recognize a few names . . .

Last Saturday evening North Valley Rescue Association held its fourth annual awards banquet. Main awards are to recognize at least one member for the their service to the organization and at least one local citizen or business for their support over a period of years.

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Larry Wilson: Opinions from Trail Creek

Commentary,

Larry Wilson presents a 25th anniversary column this week. Or maybe, since he says the first one was in 1985, it’s 26 years. Anyways, here’s the lead-in . . .

At the end of March I will have written this column for twenty-five years. The first one appeared on April Fools Day 1985 which was probably appropriate.

I was asked to write the column by then owner and editor, Brian Kennedy, and I agreed with many reservations. My only writing experience was writing wrestling columns for Mel Ruder when I was coaching at Columbia Falls High School and felt ill-prepared to replace John Frederick, who had been writing the column. He at least was an English major. At that point I decided I would try to inform folks about the North Fork and let someone else teach grammar and English.

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Northern Lights Café and Saloon secures liquor license

Commentary, News, ,

Larry Wilson’s column this week in the Hungry Horse News talks about the Northern Lights Café and Saloon’s successful year-long effort to acquire (reacquire, really) a liquor license. He also provides an update on the renovations at the Northern Lights and the Polebridge Mercantile.

I am sure that by now most North Forkers have heard the good news. The Northern Lights Café and Saloon have been granted a full liquor license. It has been a long struggle. The previous owner of the Northern Lights lost the license and the new operators, Reiswigs and O’Haras, had to start over at square one. . .

In the end I suspect the Northern Lights will be the premier North Fork watering hole and eating place. The new owners have cleaned, renovated and retained the backcountry ambiance with good food, service with a smile and involvement in the community.

In addition, Stuart and Flannery have added to the “Polebridge appeal” with the operation of the Polebridge Mercantile. They have continued the terrific bakery, installed an efficient electrical system (solar) and this winter are further improving the Merc itself.

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Amy Secrest: On the North Fork, it’s a dog’s life

Commentary, , , ,

Amy Secrest is standing in for Larry Wilson in this week’s Hungry Horse News column. She does a very nice job of it, too.

Here’s the lead-in. Read the rest at the HHN . . .

At the New Year’s Eve party at Sondreson Hall, Larry Wilson asked me to write this week’s column.

The next day, after a night of dancing and celebration and an epic holiday season filled with family and friends and more blessings than I can count, I was skiing the riverbank with our dog Rio, an 80-pound yellow lab mix. I reflected on the year before and wondered on the year ahead while Rio, ever eager to go where I go, post-holed through chest-deep snow behind me. When I’d stop to marvel at the sunlit winterscape and ponder on whether new snow would make for an interesting newspaper column, Rio would interrupt my musings and insist on snowballs. It’s his favorite winter game. . .

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Wilson discusses North Fork watershed resolution and aftermath

Commentary, Environmental Issues, , , , ,

This week’s Hungry Horse News column by Larry Wilson discusses the recent actions on both sides of the border to protect the North Fork watershed and takes a look at what might be coming next. His column is, as usual, recommended reading . . .

Since Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed a memorandum of understanding with British Columbia, which promised up to 17 million dollars to Canadian companies for reimbursement for cash already spent, we have all wondered where he would find the money. Montana could not pay and for months efforts were made, without success, to get Uncle Sam to foot the bill.

Now it seems that an answer has been found! The Nature Conservancy of Canada and the U.S. Nature Conservancy have committed $9.4 million to the government of British Columbia to conclude the British Columbia-Montana memo of understanding signed a year ago. As part of the deal, the province of British Columbia will enact legislation banning the extraction of minerals, oil, gas, and coal within the watershed. With the two nature conservancy groups coming up with this money, protection of the upper North Fork is an important step towards completion.

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B.C. legislation for Flathead only first step towards long-term protection

Commentary, Environmental Issues, , ,

This article on the Sierra Club BC’s web site does a good job of putting the current actions by the B.C. government to protect the Canadian part of the Flathead valley in context.

Here’s the lead-in . . .

Legislation to prohibit mining and energy development in the Flathead River Valley is only the first of three steps the B.C. government must take to protect the Flathead permanently, said Sierra Club BC in a recent press release.

On February 15, 2011, the B.C. premier’s office issued a statement that “the Province has signed an agreement to sustain environmental values in the Flathead Valley, and will introduce legislation to support the 2010 MOU on Environmental Protection, Climate Action and Energy with the State of Montana.”

“While the legislation is an important step, it does not equate to long-term conservation for the Flathead River Valley,” said Sierra Club BC spokesperson Sarah Cox. “It’s a complete stretch to say that the Flathead is forever protected.”

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Rainbow trout shows dilemma over manipulation of nature

Commentary, Environmental Issues,

Sally Mauk, news director at KUFM, Montana Public Radio, runs a twice-monthly column in the Missoulian. Her most recent discusses the world-wide spread of rainbow trout from its native home on the Pacific Rim. I’ve tossed it in here because it is pretty interesting and because there’s a North Fork connection.

Here’s an excerpt from the North Fork reference . . .

And then there’s the Frankenstein effect. All this mucking with nature has created fish hybrids, especially in waters where rainbow and westslope cutthroat trout have interbred. Halverson was fishing once in the North Fork of the Flathead, where it’s catch-and-release only for westslope cutthroat, when he caught a trout that was so hybridized, he was stumped.

Read the entire article . . .

Commentary: North Fork deal is a winner

Commentary, Environmental Issues, , , ,

The Daily Inter Lake has nice things to say today about the recently concluded deal to protect the Flathead drainage . . .

It’s hard to overstate the significance of the recently announced commitment of the Nature Conservancy to provide about $9.4 million to seal a deal between Montana and British Columbia that will prevent mining in the Canadian headwaters of the Flathead River Basin.

It’s even harder to overstate what a sweet deal it is. Montana businesses, conservation groups and political leaders have been battling mining proposals in the British Columbia Flathead drainage for the last 30 years, never really knowing when the next battle would come.

Now, because of a memorandum of understanding between the province and the state that was announced a year ago, there is a prohibition on mining in the remote and pristine drainage that feeds Montana’s North Fork Flathead River.

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