Tag Archives: Larry Wilson

Larry Wilson: North Fork wilderness debated

Commentary, Environmental Issues, News, ,

Larry Wilson talks about the issue of wilderness designation on the North Fork and forest management in general . . .

Last fall, I wrote about the formation of a group which named itself the Whitefish Range Partnership. Their goal was, and is, to write a draft Forest Plan for the Whitefish Range to present to the Flathead National Forest as they begin the process of writing a new plan for the entire Flathead National Forest.

The group has met twice monthly since last fall, with many committee meetings in between. Also meeting with the group have been Glacier View and Flathead Forest officials who acted as resource support. There have also been presentations by other resource folks with special expertise, like wildlife experts Tim Their, Jim Williams and John Weaver.

With a lot of give and take, the group has completed and agreed on most issues, including timber, fire, river corridor and wildlife until only one issue remains — wilderness…

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Larry Wilson: Racking up the bear encounters

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Larry talks about the start of hunting season and some recent bear encounters . . .

In my neighborhood, Trail Creek, the early snow translated to hunter success. Although I have yet to get my winter’s meat, my close neighbors have harvested two bull elk and at least four whitetail bucks.

I don’t know whether other North Fork neighborhoods have been as successful, but apparently not. I accompanied a neighbor to town with his elk last Sunday, and R.J. at the checking station said it was the first elk he’d seen, and he’d checked only two deer in the first two weekends of the hunting season. The checking station is only open on weekends, so animals taken out during the week are not recorded.

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Larry Wilson: Group meets on Flathead National Forest Plan

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Larry reports on a recent meeting of folks interested in the upcoming revision of the Flathead Forest Plan . . .

Updating the Flathead National Forest Plan is almost as much of a controversy as what to do with the North Fork Road. Same thing with the passage of a Montana wilderness bill.

Apparently the Forest Service is going to try again to create a new, updated Forest Plan. According to Flathead Forest supervisor Chip Weber, the Forest is taking preliminary steps, and the process will probably gear up for action in mid-2013.

At least three environmental groups with a big interest in the Whitefish Range have decided to put together a diverse collaborative group to try and influence what happens in the Whitefish Range. The group includes North Fork residents — all three presidents of North Fork organizations plus a few others, Whitefish Mountain Resort representatives, logging interests and a couple of recreationists. Also present for the first meeting were two representatives from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The Kootenai people have strong historical ties to the upper North Fork.

After a two-hour meeting moderated by former Montana Secretary of State Bob Brown, the group decided it was worth meeting again to explore reaching some agreement that would aid the Forest in writing a new plan.

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Larry Wilson: North Fork patrols will stop poachers

Commentary,

Larry talks about the start of hunting season and puts poachers on notice . . .

Hunters should be satisfied if not downright ecstatic. The first day of the general hunting season, we had nearly an inch of fresh snow on the ground. The usually wrong weather bureau predicts more of the same for the next several days. We shall see.

I didn’t go out hunting the first day, but I did keep a good watch out my front windows in case a careless whitetail buck wandered in. My watching was supported by my chocolate lab, Buddy, who has finally learned to not bark at deer or elk. No easy deer the first day, but we still have several weeks.

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Larry Wilson: Fifth-generation North Fork wedding

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Larry spent a few days in Seattle last week, officiating at a fifth-generation, North Fork-connected wedding . . .

I spent most of last week in the Seattle area officiating at a wedding. I have had the honor of doing this several times, and this is only the second time I felt it was worthy of mention in this North Fork column.

The first, which was the first ceremony I ever performed, was when I officiated at John Fredericks’ latest wedding when he married Sharon Costantino. That ceremony was performed in a meadow south of Polebridge, and the bride was delivered in the back of a pickup. Also, the ceremony was mostly attended by family and North Fork friends.

This most recent wedding took place more than 500 miles from the North Fork, but the groom is the fifth-generation of his family with North Fork ties. That makes his wedding of interest to North Forkers.

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Larry Wilson: A scenic cruise down the Inside Road

Commentary, Travel Articles,

Larry talks about driving the Inside North Fork Road, which was recently re-opened all the way from the Fish Creek campground to Kintla Lake. I took the same route a few days earlier and it is, indeed, a beautiful drive . . .

When I tell people that when I was first on the North Fork (1947) that the Inside Road from Polebridge and the West Side road each took the same time to drive to Belton or Columbia Falls, they have trouble believing me.

Nevertheless, it’s true . . .

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Larry Wilson: On gardening, wood-cutting and hunting

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Larry talks about fall activities on the North Fork . . .

My lone aspen tree is now adorned with bright yellow leaves, and the larch are beginning to turn gold. Daytime temperatures have remained in the 70s, but frost is common most nights. It’s definitely fall with fall activities.

Gardening on the North Fork has seen an upsurge in recent years…

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Larry Wilson: Much of North Fork is already ‘wilderness’

Commentary, Environmental Issues, ,

Larry responds to yet another op-ed on the North Fork wilderness issue . . .

I had never heard of a “liberal conservationist” until that label was applied to me by Matthew Chappell in a recent letter to the editor in the Hungry Horse News.

My opposition to a wilderness on the Whitefish Range led Mr. Chappell to believe that I oppose all wilderness and want motorized vehicles to be allowed everywhere.

He supposes that I might want a parking garage at Polebridge and maybe even a Pizza Hut on Trail Creek.

In fact, his suppositions are just so much horse apples. I do not oppose all wilderness. I do oppose a Whitefish Divide Wilderness for what I believe are good reasons.

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Larry Wilson: No outhouses in RAC project list

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Larry starts off discussing some of the projects proposed to the Resource Advisory Committee and finishes up pointing out that bears can do it, but you can’t — at least not on federal land . . .

The Resource Advisory committee (RAC) has been reauthorized for one year. Previous reauthorizations have all been for three years, so this year’s federal dollars may well be the last. Of course, we were told last year that the 2012 monies would be the end of the program, so who knows?

At any rate, the North Fork has received a great amount of money over the years helping to fund road work, battle weeds, thin timber, repair trails and, no doubt, things I have forgotten. Because we have received so much in recent years, we should not really be surprised at the low number of North Fork requests this year.

Flathead County has only requested funding for eight miles of dust abatement, from Camas Junction to Polebridge…

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Larry Wilson: North Fork fall activities slated

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Larry discusses upcoming fall North Fork activities . . .

The ground squirrels have withdrawn to their winter quarters, there’s fresh snow on the mountains in Glacier Park, and the lone quaking aspen in my meadow is nearly one-third bright yellow. Also, orange paint is being sprayed on trees up and down the road. There are even a few folks with blackened faces and camo clothing, armed with bows and arrows, creeping around in the woods.

Due to freezing nights and cooler days, I’m starting to take wood out of the woodshed to warm the cabin. A heavy rain this week probably ended the risk of a major North Fork wildfire until next summer. Sure signs of fall.

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