Vehicle reservations for Glacier National Park go online March 2 at 8 am

News, ,

Mountain edge in foreground (Tinkham Mountain) with glacier in background (Pumpelly Glacier) - Glacier NP, Jacob W. FrankHere’s the latest on this year’s “vehicle reservation” (they are not called “tickets” anymore) system for gaining entrance to Glacier National Park.

Highlights:

    • Tickets …er, uh… vehicle reservations will be required to enter the park’s Going-to-the-Sun (GTSR) corridor and at Polebridge.
    • A separate reservation is required for the GTSR and for Polebridge. GTSR reservations are good for 3 days, between 6:00am and 4:00pm; Polebridge reservations are good for only 1 day, between 6:00am and 6:00pm.
    • Vehicle reservations will be required from May 27 to September 11. They will be available 120 days in advance on a rolling window starting March 2 at 8:00am. Like last year, reservations cost $2.00.
    • Vehicle reservations can be purchased from recreation.gov, either online or through their call center.

See the press release for more details.

North Fork specific details not mentioned in the press release (Camas Road transit, local boating access, etc.) will be discussed at the Interlocal on February 9.

REMINDER: North Fork Interlocal meeting, 10:00am, February 9th online

News
1990 Interlocal at Sondreson Hall
1990 Interlocal at Sondreson Hall

The Winter 2022 Interlocal Agreement Meeting is hosted by Glacier National Park at 10:00am on Wednesday, February 9. Note that this will again be a virtual meeting – hopefully, the last one. Links for the online session should be available soon.

For those of you who are new to this, The Interlocal Agreement provides for face-to-face contact with representatives of agencies whose policies and actions affect the North Fork. Interlocal Agreement meetings are held twice a year, in the winter (in town) and summer (at Sondreson Hall). This is always a very interesting meeting, with reports from a range of government agencies and local organizations and often some quite vigorous discussion.

Montana Wolf Harvest Dashboard

Environmental Issues, Science

Collared Wolf - courtesy USFWSWant to know how Montana’s politics-before-science wolf harvest is going this year? The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Wolf Harvest Dashboard has you covered. You can even drill down to information on each individual kill. For instance, the three wolves taken in Wolf Management Unit 110 (WMU 110), which encompasses the North Fork, were all trapped on January 20 in the Lazy Creek area.

Kudos to NFPA Board member Diane Boyd for highlighting this resource.

Link: Montana Wolf Harvest Dashboard

 

Wolf harvest down locally despite rule changes

Environmental Issues, News

Gray WolfWhat’s going on here in Region 1? Over-hunting in previous years? . . .

Following years of record regional harvests, hunters and trappers in the northwestern corner of the state have so far achieved less than a third of total state-sanctioned wolf kills for the season.

The state Fish and Wildlife Commission set its Region 1 wolf hunting and trapping threshold this year — quitting the use of a “quota” — at 195 animals.

Year-to-date, the Region 1 effort, mostly comprising Lake, Sanders, Lincoln and Flathead counties, tallied 52 wolves tagged so far, according to state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department data available Friday. That’s down from the 101 killed in the region by this time last year, according to FWP.

Continue reading . . .

Montana FWP to close wolf hunting around Yellowstone after a few more kills

Environmental Issues, News, ,
Wolf in Yellowstone National Park - Jim Peaco, YNP
Wolf in Yellowstone National Park – Jim Peaco, YNP

The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission will shut down wolf hunting in the area around Yellowstone National Park as soon a few more wolves are killed . . .

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park commissioners voted Friday to close wolf hunting and trapping in Region 3 once the wolf take reaches 82 wolves.

Region 3 encompasses an area of Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park. The take to date is 76 wolves.

Commissioner Pat Tabor, who is from the Flathead Valley, quashed an amendment to the motion that would have immediately closed wolf hunting and trapping in wolf management units units 313 and 316, which directly border Yellowstone. The smaller units are part of the broader Region 3.

Continue reading . . .

FWP: Wolf take on par with last year; three North Fork wolves killed

Environmental Issues, News
Gray Wolf - Adam Messer-Montana FWP
Gray Wolf – Adam Messer, Montana FWP

So far, the number of wolves taken this hunting season  is about the same, but the distribution of kills has changed somewhat . . .

With almost two months remaining, this season’s wolf harvest is on par with past seasons in Montana, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks said last week.

But it’s where the wolves are being killed that’s raised concerns. In wolf management unit 313, which borders Yellowstone National Park, 16 wolves have been killed as of Friday and three more in wolf management unit 316, which also borders the Park, bringing the total to 19 wolf deaths along the Park’s border…

…Closer to home, the first wolves up the North Fork of the Flathead have been killed as well. To date, three wolves have been killed in wolf management unit 110, according to FWP reports…

Read more . . .

Flathead Forest ‘travel plan’ changes likely to reduce mountain biking, adjust snowmobile opportunities

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,
Flathead National Forest
Flathead National Forest

The Flathead National Forest is beginning the process of bringing its travel plan into alignment with the overall 2018 forest plan . . .

The Flathead National Forest has released a two-pronged proposed action that looks to update where snowmobiles and other over the snow motorized vehicles can run in the future, as well as mechanized uses like bicycles and game carts.

The changes come under the 2018 Forest plan, as it has about 190,400 acres of recommended wilderness. Under the plan, some trails could be closed that were once open to mechanical uses like bicycles, because the trails are now in recommended wilderness.

The bulk of those trails — about 82 miles, are in the Tuchuk-Whale Creek areas of the North Fork.

“Specifically, within the 190,403 acres of recommended wilderness areas, about 96 miles of trail currently allow mechanized transport and about 383 acres currently allow over-snow motorized use. There are no open motorized trails or roads or designated over-snow motorized travel routes in these recommended wilderness areas,” the proposed action notes.

Read more . . .

Op-ed: We cannot support delisting Montana grizzly bears unless state laws are changed

Commentary, Environmental Issues, Science

Here is a well-reasoned op-ed that recently appeared in the Helena Independent Record opposing grizzly bear delisting due to problems with Montana’s current wildlife management  regime. You’ll see some familiar entries in the 35-name signature block, including NFPA Board of Directors member Diane Boyd.

(Bonus: the Char-Kosta News, official news publication of the Flathead Indian Reservation, has a lengthy discussion of the underlying background issues.)

Grizzly bear on log - Ken Peaco, NPS

We are 35 state, federal, and Tribal wildlife professionals who have worked together for more than 40 years to help recover and manage grizzly bears, wolves, and other wildlife in Montana. We did this by building science and fact-based management policies and plans with public input while carefully balancing the needs of bears and other wildlife with the needs of the people who live, work, and recreate in Montana.

We believed in and promoted the eventual delisting of recovered grizzlies and wolves and turning them over to state management. We believed that the wildlife professionals in Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) would be good stewards who would continue to carefully manage grizzly bears and wolves using science and facts after recovery and delisting.

All this changed in 2021 when a new legislative majority and a like-minded governor took office. Science-based wildlife management in Montana was replaced by anti-predator hysteria fueled by misinformation and emotion. Professional wildlife management by FWP biologists was replaced by partisan political intervention that overturned decades of sound wildlife policy.

Continue reading Op-ed: We cannot support delisting Montana grizzly bears unless state laws are changed →

‘Grizzlies and Us’ series worth the read

Environmental Issues, News, Photos & Images, Science,
Grizzly Bear - Montana FWP
Grizzly Bear – Montana FWP

Wow! Lee Enterprises, owner of a number of newspapers in this part of the country, including the Missoulian, recently wrapped up their “Grizzlies and Us” project, a ten-part series consisting of some 22 individual articles examining “…the many issues surrounding the uneasy coexistence of grizzlies and humans…”

Highly recommended reading . . .