Tag Archives: Coal Creek

Montana FWP doing fish habitat project in North Fork

July 30, 2014Environmental Issues, Newsbull trout, Coal Creek, westslope cutthroat troutnfpa

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is doing restoration work along the south fork of Coal Creek . . .

A fish habitat enhancement project is underway in the South Fork Coal Creek drainage, a tributary to the North Fork Flathead River that was degraded by historical land management practices, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

More than two dozen large woody structures are being incorporated into the stream channel to create spawning and rearing habitat for bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout.

Read more . . .

Montana FWP approves Coal Creek habitat improvement project

July 9, 2013Environmental Issues, Newsbull trout, Coal Creek, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, westslope cutthroat troutnfpa

As expected, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has approved the “South Fork of Coal Creek Habitat Enhancement Project” . . .

State fisheries managers approved increased spawning of westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout and habitat improvements on the South Fork of Coal Creek in Flathead County.

Continue reading . . .

Montana FWP seeking public comment on Coal Creek project

June 7, 2013Environmental Issues, Newsbull trout, Coal Creek, Montana FWP, public comment, westslope cutthroat troutnfpa

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wants comments on a “habitat enhancement” project for the south fork of Coal Creek. Here’s the write-up from the project web page:

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP), Region One, is seeking public comment for a draft environmental assessment (EA) for the South Fork of Coal Creek Habitat Enhancement Project. FWP proposes to implement a project to increase available spawning and rearing habitat for westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout by adding large, woody debris into an impaired section of the South Fork of Coal Creek in Flathead County.

The draft is out for a 21-day public review through 5:00 p.m., Friday, June 28, 2013. Contact person: FWP Fisheries Biologist Amber Steed, (406) 751-4541 or e-mail to asteed@mt.gov.

Supporting document: South Fork of Coal Creek Habitat Enhancement Project

Fires in the Bob Marshall get bigger; fire danger now high in Flathead Forest

July 30, 2012Fire Information and Status, NewsBob Marshall Wilderness, Coal Creek, Flathead National Forest, Moran Meadow, wildfire information, wildfiresnfpa

The U.S. Forest Service is starting to get busy. They’ve now got a 3,000 acre blaze in the Bob, after a couple of fires merged, as well as several smaller actions elsewhere. According to the following article from the Daily Inter Lake, they did manage to suppress a small wildfire in the North Fork’s Coal Creek drainage yesterday. . .

A fire that rapidly expanded in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex has merged with another fire to the east to cover a total of 3,000 acres by Monday afternoon.

The Rapid Creek Fire first was sized up at less than acre at midday Sunday, but by the afternoon it had grown to 500 acres and by Monday morning it was estimated at 1,000 acres.

The fire is located on the east side of the wilderness about 27 miles west of Augusta. The fire has been churning through heavy, beetle-killed timber across the Flathead Forest’s boundary with the Lewis and Clark National Forest, where It burned into the 700-acre Elbow Pass Fire by Monday afternoon.

Continue reading . . .

Wildfire season arrives on the North Fork

July 29, 2012Fire Information and Status, NewsCoal Creek, Moran Meadow, wildfire information, wildfiresnfpa

Well, the U.S. Forest Service had an incident team set up on Moran Meadow today, a short distance south of Polebridge. Reportedly, they were working with helicopter support (a shiny red one) to knock down a spot fire in the Coal Creek area. They appeared to be doing water drops.

So, it looks like its time to remind our loyal readership that this site has a Wildfire Information page, with links to a number of useful resources.

Also, the Daily Inter Lake, as in the past, is shaping up as the newspaper of record for wildfire news this year. You can read today’s report online, which centers on the situation in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Bull trout spawning strong in North Fork

November 19, 2008Environmental Issues, Newsbull trout, Coal Creek, Trail Creeknfpa

From the Wednesday, November 19, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

An annual survey of bull trout spawning activity has found higher redd counts in the North Fork Flathead Basin, and counts below average in the South Fork Flathead and Swan River drainages.

[…]

This year’s count found that Trail Creek was the biggest producer in the North Fork drainage, with 49 redds. Coal Creek continues to be the drainage’s least productive stream, with only two redds.

Read the entire article . . .