Tag Archives: Quartz Lake

Several small fires in Glacier Park trigger closures

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Glacier National Park Thompson Fire 2015 at Sunset
A column of smoke from the Glacier National Park Thompson Fire could be seen rising over the Rocky Mountain Front at sunset Aug. 12, 2015. (Photo by Jonathan Moor)

Glacier Park has had several lightening triggered fires over the past week or so. Most are along the west face of the Continental Divide in the North Fork and most are pretty small. There are trail closures in several areas, including the Quartz Lake Loop and the Logging Lake drainage. The Hungry Horse News has a good summary . . .

Glacier National Park has closed some trails and a portion of the Inside North fork Road from Polebridge down to Logging Creek as it battles several small fires in the region.

The fires aren’t large, about a tenth of an acre or so, but there is one at Grace, Logging, Cummings Meadow and Quartz Lake.

Small fires at Bowman Creek and Big Prairie have been put out. Firefighters were also working on a small blaze on Snyder Ridge. Yesterday, a helicopter made water dumps on the fire, scooping water out of Lake McDonald. Visitors could also see helicopters getting water out of the North Fork of the Flathead…

Read more . . .

The pirates of Juvi Bay

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Five days a week, a couple of guys get paid to gill net lake trout out of Quartz Lake . . .

The skull and crossbones hanging from the light pole on the back of the 18-foot fishing boat has worn to tatters.

So has the population of lake trout in Quartz Lake.

Twice a day, Kevin Perkins and Carter Fredenberg string 1,800 feet of gill net through the waters of Juvi Bay – their name for the most productive summertime corner of this 869-acre Glacier National Park lake where juvenile lake trout linger. They come to pillage. The name of their pirate boat is unprintable.

Read more . . .

Glacier Park announces fish conservation projects in the North Fork

Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

Glacier Park announced yesterday a number of fish conservation projects in the North Fork. These include a fish passage barrier to be constructed to protect Akokala Lake and lake trout suppression work at Quartz and Logging Lakes.

Here are the relevant press releases:

Fish Passage Barrier to be Constructed

Bull Trout Conservation Project Approved

 

 

Comments on Glacier Park lake trout removal due by Jan. 24

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

Glacier National Park wants to continue work on removing non-native lake trout from its waterways. Comments on the proposal are due by January 24 . . .

Glacier National Park is home to approximately one-third of the nation’s bull trout population that lives in natural, undammed lake systems.

That gives the park a critical role in regional bull trout recovery and long-term conservation, according to Glacier management assistant Denise Germann.

To that end, proposals to continue lake trout suppression on Quartz Lake and start lake trout removal on Logging Lake are now available for public review and comment.

Comments on the environmental assessment are due Jan. 22.

Read more . . .

For more information on the Glacier Park lake trout suppression project, including online comments, see: http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/LoggingQuartz

Improvements to Quartz Creek fish barrier on the way

Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

The battle to keep non-native lake trout out of the Quartz Creek drainage continues . . .

Following National Park Service approval and an environmental analysis, Glacier National Park officials will move forward with modifications and improvements to the existing Quartz Creek fish barrier to try and suppress lake trout and other non-native fish from getting into Quartz Lake, the park announced Monday.

Located in the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage and the park’s North Fork District, Quartz Lake is believed to be one of the last remaining strongholds for bull trout in park waters west of the Continental Divide. The lake was believed to be the largest on the west side of the park accessible to lake trout but not yet colonized by them. However, lake trout were detected in 2005, threatening the long-term persistence of the Quartz Lake bull trout fishery.

Continue reading . . .

Glacier Park seeks comment on Quartz Lake invasive species fish barrier

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

Glacier Park is trying to keep non-native lake trout out of Quartz Lake . . .

Glacier National Park officials are seeking public comment on a project that would modify and improve a fish barrier designed to stem the invasion of lake trout in Quartz Lake.

Considered one of the last best strongholds for native fish in the entire Columbia River Basin, Quartz Lake’s native fish populations include bull trout, which are classified as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, as well as westslope cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish.

Native fish populations in Glacier National Park have been compromised by the invasion of non-native fish species into the park’s lakes and streams, and lake trout are being targeted as the chief culprit.

Continue reading . . .

Further reading: official Glacier Park press release.

Lake trout removal tactics paying off

Environmental Issues, News, ,

The Daily Inter Lake has a pretty interesting report on the progress being made to remove invasive lake trout from Quartz Lake in Glacier National Park . . .

It’s been rough and wearying work plying the waters of Glacier National Park’s remote Quartz Lake for unwanted lake trout, but the effort appears promising so far.

Since the experimental suppression project got under way in 2009, more than 1,500 non-native lake trout have been removed from the lake through spring and fall gill netting.

“All the signs are indicating that we are making a dent up there for sure,” said Clint Muhlfeld, an aquatic research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “We saw a pretty dramatic decline over the course of the spring sampling.”

Continue reading . . .

More facilities open back up on Glacier Park’s west side

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For those of you keeping an eye on the North Fork side of Glacier Park, this item from one of today’s press releases:

The Inside North Fork Road has re-opened after minor road repairs due to recent flooding. Logging Creek and Quartz Creek campgrounds open Thursday, July 1. Only three of the seven camping sites at Logging Creek are currently open due to flooding.

The press release, which talks mostly about the Going-to-the-Sun Road shuttle service, also mentions that Granite Park Chalet is open, Sperry Chalet will open on July 7 and the Highline Trail should open up on July 10.