Tag Archives: North Fork

Late breaking news: Sen. Baucus holding ‘work day’ in North Fork tomorrow

News, , , , ,

According to Valerie Cox, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus is holding one of his “work days” tomorrow morning (Thursday, August 8). It is a trail building work session, beginning at 8:00 a.m. near the Camas Road intersection. Attendees include Sen. Baucus, Hungry Horse/Glacier View District Ranger Rob Davies, a Montana Conservation Core trail crew and any North Fork folks who are interested in attending.

The Daily Inter Lake also posted an article about the event, although it lacked the late-breaking scheduling details. Here’s the lead-in . . .

Montana Sen. Max Baucus will return to the Flathead Valley this week to carry out one of his signature “work days,” this time doing trail work in the North Fork Flathead drainage.

Baucus said he will be working alongside Montana Conservation Corps crews as a tie to his efforts over 40 years to protect the North Fork drainage.

Continue reading the article . . .

Larry Wilson: Search and rescue practice

Commentary, News, , , ,

Larry reports on the recent North Valley Search and Rescue winter training session . . .

Recently, North Valley Search and Rescue held their annual winter training at the Wilson and Ogle cabins. This year, more than 40 members took part in the Saturday training, and “sleep-overs” were held at Wilsons, Ogles, Hoilands and Braunigs. In addition, local residents help out as role players, and we invite others to just visit and learn a little about what we do.

Wide-area mock searches have been more that a little limited in recent years due to Forest Service closure of most public land in the area. This is the result of a behind-closed-doors agreement between the Forest Service, Montana Snowmobilers Association and the Montana Wilderness Association. I guess each of those three got all or part of what they wanted and were willing to give the old raspberry to anyone or everyone else.

Nevertheless, the training was valuable, covering fire building and shelter building as well as map, compass, GPS introduction. Big event was a mock search involving vehicles, ATV and snowmachines. Purpose is to practice actual procedures used in a real search.

Continue reading . . .

Wolf hunt closed in North Fork area

Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

Here is a little more detail on the closure of the wolf hunt in the North Fork area, as well as general hunt status in this corner of Montana . . .

A wolf hunting district covering the North Fork Flathead drainage has been closed by the state because the district’s wolf quota recently was reached.

Wolf Management Unit 110 had a quota for two wolves to be harvested by hunters with wolf permits. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks announced the closure Tuesday.

Only one other wolf-hunting district in Northwest Montana has been closed. District 101 covering the Salish Mountains west of Kalispell had a quota of 19 wolves that was reached Dec. 29.

Continue reading . . .

Two skiers rescued after spending the night lost in Glacier Park

News, , ,

Here’s a little North Fork area search and rescue action . . .

Two cross-country skiers were rescued Sunday from the remote North Fork area of Glacier National Park after spending the night lost and stranded in the backcountry during a winter storm.

A husband and wife from Kalispell, ages 46 and 39 respectively, sent a 9-1-1 text message at 8 p.m. Saturday, saying they were lost in Glacier Park.

Flathead County dispatchers were able to determine that the message originated from a remote location about one mile north of the Akokala Creek Trail in the North Fork, about six miles north of Polebridge. Park rangers were notified, but ground and air searches could not begin until Sunday morning because of bad weather, downed trees and difficult trail conditions.

Continue reading . . .

Larry Wilson: The times they are a-changin’

Commentary, History, ,

Larry Wilson’s column this week discusses the changes on the North Fork over the last century or so, especially those related to Forest Service activity . . .

I have written several times about how change has affected the North Fork, especially the changes brought about by the influx of the two periods of homesteading that opened up the area with roads and dwellings and, most of all, with people.

Of course, there were white men in the North Fork before the homesteaders. The earliest were no doubt trappers and hunters who left no written records to speak of and few marks on the land.

Without a doubt the U.S. Forest Service has had the longest presence on the North Fork closely followed by the U.S. Park Service.

Continue reading . . .

Easement established to protect grizzly bear habitat in North Fork

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

The Vital Ground Foundation has secured a 160-acre conservation easement in the North Fork Valley, just a little ways north of Columbia Falls.

Here’s the lead-in from the official press release . . .

The Vital Ground Foundation announced today that it has secured a 160-acre conservation easement in the North Fork Flathead Valley of northwestern Montana, roughly five air miles southwest of Glacier National Park. The property is located between the Whitefish Range to the west and the Livingston Range to the east. A conservation easement is a perpetual agreement between a landowner and a land trust that limits future development of the land in order to protect its conservation values.

Focused on protecting habitat specific to the needs of the threatened grizzly bear, the Cedar Creek Conservation Easement is Vital Ground’s first project in this corner of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE). As development pressures from the growing community of Columbia Falls push into more remote and wild areas like the protected property, the easement will ensure the permanent protection of the property’s wildlife, riparian and open space values.

Read the entire press release . . .

Wolf hunt did not kill Kintla Pack alpha female

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From this week’s Hungry Horse News . . .

Contrary to rumors, a wolf killed up the North Fork by a hunter was not the alpha female of a Glacier Park pack.

Kent Laudon, wolf management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said the wolf was a 2-year-old and was wearing a radio collar, but it was not the alpha female of the Kintla Pack.

Read the entire article . . .

Dormant North Fork oil leases possible transboundary issue

Environmental Issues, News,

The Flathead Beacon has an excellent article on the issues surrounding oil leases on the North Fork. Dan Testa really did his homework on this one. Here’s a teaser  . . .

During Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s Aug. 11 visit to the North Fork of the Flathead River, he heard from members of various local conservation groups about ways to discourage the development of coalmines and gas drilling in British Columbia, north of Glacier National Park…

…local conservation groups seem to understand that Montana would have a firmer stance from which to discourage coal and gas development in B.C. if it didn’t also have vast swathes of land leased for development down here, much of which covers the Whitefish Range and borders the North Fork.

Read the entire article . . .

More coverage of Interior Secretary Salazar’s visit to the North Fork

Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

The Missoulian covered yesterday’s visit to the North Fork by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar with a nice write-up and about five minutes of video. Here’s the lead-in . . .

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, on a swing through Montana to highlight water issues, came to the North Fork on Tuesday to see the confluence where the South, Middle and North forks join to make the Flathead River. But the crowd milling below Blankenship Bridge, about 10 miles north of Columbia Falls, kept him from water’s edge.

Finally Salazar linked arms with Democratic Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester. Then, turning to Baucus, who has fought upstream development for decades, Salazar said, “Show me your river, Max.”

The North Fork Flathead is not, of course, Max’s river; but it has run steadily through the senator’s political career, countless gallons of wild and scenic water under Baucus’ bridge.

Read the entire article . . . [link repaired]