Tag Archives: Wild and Scenic Rivers

Flathead Wild and Scenic River water quality meeting May 16th

Environmental Issues, News, , ,
North Fork of the Flathead River - ©Mark LaRowe
North Fork of the Flathead River – ©Mark LaRowe

The next in a series of meetings on developing a comprehensive river management plan for the three forks of the Flathead River is scheduled for May16. It will be held from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, at the at the Heaven’s Peak room in the Cedar Creek Lodge, Columbia Falls.

Here’s the full press release . . .

Flathead Wild and Scenic River: Comprehensive River Management Plan Meeting to Discuss Water Quality

Kalispell, MT. May 3, 2018- The Flathead National Forest, in coordination and partnership with Glacier National Park, is in the process of preparing a comprehensive river management plan (CRMP) for the 3-forks of the Flathead River.

A series of resource-focused public meetings will be held over the next six months, beginning on May 16th. This meeting will focus on water quality conditions, management, and concerns as part of the efforts to develop the CRMP. The meeting will be held at the Heaven’s Peak room in the Cedar Creek Lodge, Columbia Falls, Montana. The meeting will be from 6 pm to 8 pm and include presentations on current water quality information and facilitated discussion on how water quality should be addressed in the CRMP. For those new to the comprehensive river management plan process, an introductory presentation on the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act will begin at 5:45 pm. Future meeting topics and a preliminary schedule will be posted on the Flathead National Forest website.

The CRMP will address the current status of the river and the surrounding resources, outline goals and desired conditions, determine user capacity and create a monitoring plan for the next 15 to 20 years. In order to reflect the diverse users of the river and surrounding lands, the public is encouraged to help craft the future management of this designated wild and scenic river to ensure the river and its outstanding resources are maintained and protected.

For more information, please call Flathead National Forest Recreation Program Manager, Chris Prew at 406-758-3538.
Updates on the CRMP can be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/flathead/home/?cid=fseprd573051&width=full

Glacier Park & Flathead Forest to track river use this summer

Environmental Issues, News, , ,
Rafters head down the Middle Fork Flathead River
Rafters head down the Middle Fork Flathead River

Well, now. It looks like a more serious effort is afoot (afloat?) to track river usage this summer . . .

The Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park are embarking on a joint plan this summer to track river use on the North and Middle Forks of the Flathead, with the eventual goal of crafting management plans for the Wild and Scenic rivers.

The initial plans date back to 1980 and 1986. Since then, visitor numbers to the region have surged, but the management plans have stayed untouched. In Glacier, nearly 3 million visited the Park last year. In 1986, Glacier saw a little more than 1.5 million visitors.

While anecdotal evidence indicates the rivers are getting more crowded with floaters and fishermen, the agencies don’t have baseline data for river usage, said Chris Prew, forest recreation program manager for the Flathead National Forest.

Read more . . .

Flathead wild and scenic rivers – public information meeting, Apr 20

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From the official press release . . .

The Flathead National Forest will be hosting a public meeting for all interested Flathead Wild and Scenic River users on April 20th at 5:30 p.m. at the Tally Lake/Forest Supervisor’s Office, 650 Wolfpack Way, Kalispell, Montana.

The primary objective of the meeting is to provide updates and share information about Flathead Wild and Scenic River management. A secondary objective will be to explore interest and ideas about how to develop partnerships and volunteer opportunities for the management of the Flathead Wild and Scenic Rivers.

There will be variety of topics presented by agency managers from Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, followed by informal breakouts with local area river managers and agencies.

For more information, contact Hungry Horse/Glacier View Ranger Station at 387-3800, or Rob Davies at 387-3801.

Reminder: Community forum this evening, July 17, to discuss wild and scenic rivers

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An announcement from Kascie Herron of Montanans for Healthy Rivers . . .

For the last four years, Montanans for Healthy Rivers has been asking citizens around the state what they love about their rivers and how they want to see those rivers protected. The results of a 2014 bipartisan survey showed that approximately 75% of Montanans support the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act as a tool to protect more Montana rivers. Thanks to the input of hundreds of Montanans, including business owners, landowners, conservation groups, sportsman groups, land trusts (the list goes on!) and many of you, we are ready to share our draft Citizen’s Proposal for New Wild and Scenic Rivers in Montana.

Please join us on Friday, July 17 from 8-9pm at Sondreson Community Hall, to learn about the draft Citizen’s Proposal and to share your feedback on the rivers being considered in the North Fork. This proposal will need your fine tuning and support in order to be successful.

For more information on who we are, please visit our website at http://healthyriversmt.org/.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Community river forum July 17 to discuss new wild and scenic rivers

News, ,

An announcement from Kascie Herron of Montanans for Healthy Rivers . . .

For the last four years, Montanans for Healthy Rivers has been asking citizens around the state what they love about their rivers and how they want to see those rivers protected. The results of a 2014 bipartisan survey showed that approximately 75% of Montanans support the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act as a tool to protect more Montana rivers. Thanks to the input of hundreds of Montanans, including business owners, landowners, conservation groups, sportsman groups, land trusts (the list goes on!) and many of you, we are ready to share our draft Citizen’s Proposal for New Wild and Scenic Rivers in Montana.

Please join us on Friday, July 17 from 8-9pm at Sondreson Community Hall, to learn about the draft Citizen’s Proposal and to share your feedback on the rivers being considered in the North Fork. This proposal will need your fine tuning and support in order to be successful.

For more information on who we are, please visit our website at http://healthyriversmt.org/.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Montanans for Healthy Rivers announces Community River Forum series

Environmental Issues, News,

[Reminder: The local Community River Forum presentation is next Tuesday, June 16. See below for details.]

Montanans for Healthy Rivers is sponsoring a Community River Forum series to discuss watershed protection throughout the state. The closest is in Kalispell at The Museum at Central School, June 16, 7-8pm. (Note that you need to tell them you’re coming.)

Here’s the announcement they’re sending around . . .

In a nation often divided by partisan politics, river conservation is a subject that unites Montanans. In a state sculpted by mountains, valleys and prairie, rivers define our identity. They are a part of our lifeblood. Clean, free-flowing rivers support our agriculture, tourist economy, fisheries, wildlife, and way of life.

From the Stillwater Valley to Big Sky, Rock Creek to Kalispell, many Montana communities are intimately connected to healthy rivers. For ranchers, anglers, paddlers, hunters, outfitter guides, watershed groups, small business owners and larger Montana-based enterprises, this is hardly breaking news.

So it is ironic that nearly all of our iconic rivers and creeks across the state are unprotected from the impacts of future industrial development.

Montanans for Healthy Rivers is proud to present a solution to protect our remarkable river heritage. Please join us at an upcoming Community River Forum to learn more about our draft citizen’s proposal for new Wild and Scenic River designations.

Seeley Lake (Seeley Lake Community Hall) – June 2nd 7-8 pm
Missoula (Holiday Inn Downtown) – June 3rd 7-8 pm
Kalispell (The Museum at Central School) – June 16th 7-8 pm
Bozeman (Bozeman Public Library) – June 23rd 7-8 pm
Billings (Billings Public Library) – June 25th 7-8 pm

Forum on Wild & Scenic Rivers to be held this summer in the North Fork – July 17

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NFNews announced an upcoming public meeting on Wild and Scenic Rivers and related issues . . .

Montanans for Healthy Rivers will be hosting a public forum in the North Fork of the Flathead this summer and would like you to attend to provide your input on present and future river conservation efforts in the North Fork.

Montanans for Healthy Rivers is a coalition of conservation organizations, watershed groups, recreation groups, business owners and landowners from across Montana who know that clean water and free-flowing rivers are important to our economy and our way of life…

Continue reading at NFNews . . .