Tag Archives: Larry Wilson

Larry Wilson: Loss of funding to Flathead Basin Commission disappointing

Commentary, Environmental Issues,

Flathead Lake Bio Station

Larry Wilson takes the Montana DNRC to task for eliminating the Flathead Basin Commission’s funding . . .

I am very disappointed that Montana has cut funding to the Flathead Basin Commission. That commission has generated more funds and done more good than most state agencies, so we should probably not be surprised that it is easy to dismantle.

My memory may not be completely accurate, but as I recall, the Basin Commission was the brainchild of a state legislator named Jean Turnage, who later became a Supreme Court Justice. The purpose of the FBC was to monitor and protect water quality in the Flathead Basin. Included were the Park Superintendant, Forest Service Supervisor, private companies and citizens appointed to by the governor and agencies like the Confederated Tribes and others I do not recall.

There was hardly any budget. When I was appointed as a citizen member, the commission was supervised by a member of the governor’s staff who had many other duties and was not easy to contact.

Read more . . .

Larry Wilson: Welcome back to wolves, Diane

Commentary, Environmental Issues, ,

Larry Wilson had nice things to day about our own Diane Boyd, recently returned to local wolf research . . .

Long time North Forkers will remember the days when Diane Boyd and Mike Fairchild led the early wolf research on the North Fork. As I recall, they named that first wolf they captured, Kishanena. Probably they would be rich today if they had been paid by the mile for following wolf tracks on snowshoes, recording their observations. They documented locations and routes of wolves, where they made kills etc. and, of course, documented everything while living in the old Frank Clute homestead at Moose City.

Unfortunately, Mike died suddenly and way too young, leaving Diane to finish the project. I don’t remember how many years Diane worked on the North Fork, but it was a contentious time. Controversy surrounded the Wolf Recovery Project. Hunters were opposed to wolves, environmentalists were in favor. There was a big argument over whether the wolves were here naturally, dispersing from known populations in British Columbia, or had been planted by persons unknown—maybe even Fish and Game.

Folks never really understood that Diane and the entire Wolf Recovery Project were here to record the facts and report them so that management plans could be made.

Read more . . .

Larry Wilson: North Forkers recognized

Commentary, News, , , ,

This week, Larry Wilson points out that a number of North Forkers were recently recognized for decades of dedicated effort: Duke and Noami Hoiland were named Montana Tree Farmers of the year and John Frederick, NFPA President, received a Conservation Achievement Recognition Award from the Flathead Audubon Society . . .

I think virtually every North Forker will tell you that it’s the people who live and/or recreate here that make the place so special. This week, two prestigious awards to North Forkers confirms that perception.

On Saturday, the Montana Tree Farmers met at Sondreson Hall and the organization named the Hoiland family Montana’s Tree Farmers of the Year for 2014…

The second presentation was a Conservation Achievement Recognition Award given to John Frederick by the Flathead Audubon Society. The award was given to honor John for his 35-year effort to keep the North Fork wild…

Read more . . .

 

Larry Wilson: Collaborative forest planning continues

Commentary, Environmental Issues, , ,

Larry’s column is nicely timed this week. A lengthy series of Flathead National Forest Plan revision “stakeholder collaboration” meetings winds up tonight. Several North Fork folks have been participating.

In the more than 60 years I have been on the North Fork, I have been involved in a lot of planning efforts. These involved six years on the Flathead Basin Commission, 20 years on the Montana Governors Team negotiating with British Columbia, the Flathead County Planning Board, the North Fork group that started the Interlocal, and then the North Fork Land-Use Advisory Committee, which guided the Flathead County Commissioners from no planning to adopting a North Fork plan.

In addition, I have spent countless hours and several decades on groups or committees involved directly or indirectly with Flathead National Forest planning. All of these were slow-moving and acting and at times very frustrating, and I had decided I had done all that I could and would withdraw to the sidelines where I could comment on the new generation without spending time in meetings.

Then the Whitefish Range Partnership came along. I didn’t just jump on board but drug my feet for a month or more and finally agreed to be on the group, representing no one but myself as a North Fork resident.

Read more . . .

John White Lecture Series includes North Forkers

History, News, , ,

The Museum at Central School in Kalispell started holding its annual John White Lecture Series in 2002. During January and February, the museum hosts a series of four presentations by residents and experts on various aspects of local history.

This year’s series winds up with a talk in February 23 at 2:30 p.m.called “Sons of Sheriffs” involving two long-term North Fork landowners/residents, Pat Walsh and Larry Wilson. The presentation features “…three sons of former Flathead County sheriffs. Retired attorney Ty Robinson is 96 years old and sharp as the proverbial tack. His father, Cal Robinson, Sr., was Flathead Co. Sheriff in the 1930s & 40s. Pat Walsh is the son of Dick Walsh, who followed Cal Robinson as Sheriff, serving from 1947 to 1963. Larry Wilson is the son of Ross Wilson, who followed Dick Walsh, serving as Sheriff in the 1960s. All three gentlemen will share the memories and experiences of being sons of Flathead County sheriffs.”

See the John White Lecture Series web page for more information, including descriptions of the other talks in the series, ticket availability and pricing.

Also, the Flathead Beacon has an excellent write-up on the lecture series.

John Frederick, “The icon of the North Fork”

Commentary, History, ,

John Frederick, NFPA founder and perennial president, got some well-deserved recognition in Larry Wilson’s Hungry Horse News column this week . . .

Everyone who has spent any time on the North Fork has to know John Frederick. In the last few years, his friends have been worried about his health, and everyone has marveled at the level of his physical activity.

Just this past summer, he managed an all-day mule ride from Whale Creek to Thompson-Seton Lookout and back. That a minor achievement when compared to the multiple days he spent helping Bill Walker and others reopen the Coal Ridge Trail. By all accounts, the trail had not been maintained for nearly 40 years.

His activity level seems all the more remarkable when you see him brace himself to stand from a sitting position. It wasn’t always this way.

Although I have often considered John a relative newcomer to the North Fork, he has actually been here for nearly 40 years. He is a self-described environmentalist and was one of the founders of the North Fork Preservation Association and has been the president of that group most of the time since it was started.

Read more . . .

Larry Wilson: Yellowstone Park slide show lined up for Jan 20

Commentary, News, , ,

[Updated to correct time for presentation at Sondreson Hall.]

This is the seventh year Rick Graetz brings a group of his students to the North Fork and, as usual, he will be giving a presentation at Sondreson Hall. Larry Wilson’s column has the details . . .

This will be the seventh year that Rick Graetz, a University of Montana geography professor, will bring one of his classes to the North Fork.

The class will stay at the Polebridge Hostel and, as usual, Rick will present an educational program for local residents at Sondreson Community Hall. This year, the program will take place on Monday, Jan. 20, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Rick and his wife Suzie are accomplished photographers, and the program always revolves around a slide show of photos they have taken themselves.

This year, the program will feature about 100 photos of Yellowstone National Park as well as the narrative. It will illustrate the splendor of the mountains, rivers, forests, geysers and wildlife of what was once best known as “Colter’s Hell.”

Read More . . .

Diverse stakeholders recommend Whitefish Range forest plan

Environmental Issues, News, , , , , , ,

The Flathead Beacon just posted a lengthy, well-written article by Tristan Scott about the just-concluded Whitefish Range Partnership agreement.

Like the earlier Missoulian piece, this one is also recommended reading . . .

Bob Brown, a former secretary of state and longtime Whitefish legislator, pulled into the snow-caked parking lot outside Ed and Mully’s Restaurant at the base of Big Mountain, his car bearing a bumper sticker that read, “Compromise is not a Four Letter Word.”

Ever the diplomat, Brown was there to broker a meeting organized by a coalition of longtime adversaries turned unlikely bedfellows — tree huggers and tree cutters, eco-warriors and timber sawyers, hikers, horsemen, mountain bikers, cabin owners and nearly everyone else with a stake in the management of public lands on the Flathead National Forest.

They represented three-dozen interest groups who historically clashed over public land use on Montana’s forests; who for decades pitted wilderness against timber production, non-motorized against motorized recreation, commercial interests against wildlife. They were advocates accustomed to digging in their heels, entrenched in their ideologies and not given to making concessions.

Read more . . .

Larry Wilson: Wilderness compromise reached for North Forkers

Commentary, Environmental Issues, ,

Larry Wilson’s column discusses the efforts of the Whitefish Range Partnership . . .

Nearly 13 months ago, the Whitefish Range Partnership was organized. This group is a diverse group representing every aspect of forest users, from timber companies to wilderness advocates and everything in between — hikers, horsemen, trail bikers, snowmobilers, off-road motorists and commercial interests.

The purpose was to be ahead of the Flathead National Forest planning process and put together a document that would influence the Forest Plan and make it easier for the feds to come up with a plan acceptable to a majority of users.

Toughest subject to deal with was wilderness, and because the self-imposed rule of the WRP was that if even one member voted no then no proposal would be forwarded to the Forest Service.

Continue reading at the Hungry Horse News . . .

Larry Wilson: Thompson-Seton Peak by mule and foot

Commentary, Environmental Issues, News, , ,

For those of you who haven’t encountered Larry Wilson’s enthusiastic Thompson-Seton trip report, here it is. Kudos to Frank Vitale for coming up with the idea in the first place and making it happen . . .

What a great trip. Regular readers of this column will no doubt remember Frank Vitale and I debating the wilderness issue in this newspaper late last summer. That debate ended with Frank challenging me to go with him on his mules to Thompson-Seton Peak, where we would sit down and debate the issue on the mountain top. After getting Frank to agree to not only take me into the mountains but also bring me out, I accepted the challenge.

Unfortunately, the weather turned wet and cold, and we had to postpone the trip until the summer. During the winter, we were both involved in the Whitefish Range Partnership, and over the course of the meetings, we both became fully aware of the other’s feelings and concerns about wilderness. Thus, there was no big need for a mountain-top debate, but I was still anxious to take the trip and was more than happy that Frank, too, was still willing to take me.

July 28 was set as a mutually acceptable date, and I was so excited I started putting my gear together a week ahead of time…

Continue reading at the Hungry Horse News . . .