North Fork Landowners’ Association

Wildfire updates

Posted July 18—The first wildfire of the season on the Flathead National Forest has been contained, reports Keith Van Broeke, assistant fire-management officer for the Hungry Horse Ranger District.
     The fire, south of Red Meadow Creek Road east of the junction of Forest Road 9839 (about half way between the North Fork Road and Red Meadow Lake), was ignited by a lightning strike on July 1. When the slow-growing fire was finally spotted by a lookout on July 13, it had spread to only 3 acres.
     Van Broeke told us that 26 firefighters were dispatched to fight the blaze, which eventually grew to 4.5 acres. Because of the moist conditions, the fire was scattered with limited flaring. He said the fire scene should be cleaned up by July 21.
     Although Red Meadow Creek Road remains open, Van Broeke said, firefighters are using the using the Red Meadow Lake campground during operations.
     To stay abreast of wildfire activity on the Flathead, check the forest’s Fire Information page. Fire restrictions have not yet been implemented on the Flathead. For information about current restrictions, click here. For detailed definitions of Stage I and Stage II fire restrictions, click here.
     For information about fire activity in our national parks, including Glacier, go to the National Park Service’s Fire & Aviation Management page, and the Glacier National Park home page and Webcam page. Also see the NPS Fire News page.
     For a current interactive, zoom-in map of all wildfires in the country, go to GeoMAC (loads slowly). Go to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center’s Incident Information page for a regularly updated list of wildfires, and to InciWeb’s Montana page. Also see the National Interagency Fire Center’s Web site.
     Also see The Daily Inter Lake.
     Finally, for tips on how you can protect your property from wildfire, go to the Fire Mitigation Committee page.


‘Noxious weeds’ proliferate
in Polebridge parade

Posted July 10—A feature story by Michael Jamison in the July 5 Missoulian gives a good account of the Fourth of July parade in Polebridge, along with some of its history.
     Jamison reports that this year’s winning entry was the noxious-weed procession—“a flowering field of ladies dressed as weeds, being corralled by cowgirls toting garden sprayers. Damn Daisy and Nasty Knapweed wilt in front of the judges’ stand (a plywood platform lifted high on a front-end loader), but not before crying out ‘we’re noxious, and we’re obnoxious! We’re taking over the North Fork.’”

Dust study kicks up
familiar paving debate

Posted June 15—While a study by two University of Montana scientists has confirmed that harmful dust is being wafted off the North Fork Road, the Flathead County Board of Commissioners sees no immediate solution to the dust-abatement problem.
     The $10,000 study was commissioned by the North Fork Road Coalition for Health and Safety, which is chaired by Bob Grimaldi. In September, the North Fork Landowners’ Association contributed $500 to the coalition by a member vote. (See Meeting Minutes.)
     “None of the commissioners were surprised that the study showed breathing large quantities of dust was harmful,” writes reporter Michael Richeson in the June 12 Daily Inter Lake, “but how to solve the problem still remains a mystery.”
     Environment issues aside, according to Richeson’s story, the county is too financially strapped to pave or do dust abatement on the more heavily traveled unpaved roads in the county, much less the North Fork Road.
     The Inter Lake story also contains discussions about the pros and cons of paving the North Fork Road by Grimaldi and North Fork Preservation Association President John Frederick.
     In her invitation to representatives of agencies who will attend the July 9 Inter Local Agreement Meeting at Sondreson Hall, North Fork Landowners’ Association President Molly Shepherd specifically asked them to provide an overview of dust-abatement options from their different perspectives.
     She also requested that they present other information related to the road issue—such as an agency’s current and projected use of the road; scientific studies or data on dust-abatement options; statutes, rules, regulations or decisions that might affect the viability of options; costs; any planning currently under way for the future of the road.


Proposed Canadian mines
remain worrisome

Posted May 1—Two proposed mining operations north of the border in British Columbia continue to pose a danger to the North Fork’s water quality, environment, wildlife and human residents.
     Ed Heger, North Fork Landowners’ Association past president, reports that Cline Mining Corp. of Sudbury, Ontario, is moving ahead with the permitting process for its Lodgepole open-pit coal mine on the Flathead River drainage in British Columbia. While Cline plans no field work there this year, there is no indication that efforts by Montanans and Canadians opposed to the mine have been sufficiently effective to stop the mine. Debris, silt and pollutants from the mine would wash into the headwaters of our river.
     Recently however, British Columbia officials have acknowledged the environmental sensitivity of the Flathead, and appear to be more willing to work toward a long-term solution. Talks based on mutual-gains negotiations are in the preliminary stage, Heger reports.
     Last spring, the Montana Legislature passed a bill designating $300,000 for water-quality monitoring on the North Fork of the Flathead River, and to hire a full-time transboundary specialist to work on issues related to proposed coal mine applications in the Canadian Flathead.
     In December, Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester secured $885,960 in federal funds for environmental and risk-assessment studies that can be used to protect the Flathead from mining activity in British Columbia—the Lodgepole mine and BP (British Petroleum) Canada Energy Co.’s coal-bed methane exploration, as well as any future mining operations. U.S. officials as high up as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have expressed our concerns to Canadian officials.
     BP Canada’s proposed operation involves a larger geographical area, poses a greater environmental threat, and has a higher public profile.
     On April 14, the City Council of Fernie, B.C., passed a resolution strongly protesting BP Canada’s plans to drill for coal-bed methane gas in the Crowsnest Coalfield, which drains into the Flathead River east of the Whitefish range and into the Elk River and Kootenai basin to the west. Complementing the official protest was a parade by some 300 Fernie residents who passed in front of BP Canada’s downtown office.
     These actions followed BP Canada’s reneging on a promise to eliminate the Flathead from its plans. The announcement of BP Canada’s decision not to drill was made by Baucus at a Feb. 21 town-hall meeting in Kalispell. Baucus said that just hours before the meeting he received a telephone call from BP America President Malone informing him of the decision. However, a few days later, that decision was reportedly rescinded.
     More recently, reports Heger, BP Canada’s more-immediate plans are to drill in the Kootenai basin, and it has applied for drilling rights there but no drilling operations are planned for this year. However, Heger adds, BP Canada’s baseline research will still include the Flathead.
     BP Canada’s planned coal-bed methane drilling operation will be massive—involving an initial $100 million investment plan and some two dozen coal-bed methane test wells in the Crowsnest Coalfield over the next five years, even before full-scale drilling begins.
     Extraction of coal-bed methane involves pumping out the ground water, which releases the methane. The resulting wastewater often contains contaminants such as barium, copper, iron and ammonium. Also, a drilling operation west of the Whitefish range would still adversely affect wildlife corridors into the Flathead.
     In our own front yard, in March, Baucus and Tester expressed support for a Flathead Basin Commission resolution to retire decades-old oil and gas leases in the Flathead National Forest. The leases were granted in the 1970s, but have remained unconsummated because of a lawsuit by environmental groups demanding full environmental-impact studies before mining began.
     Heger has been actively involved in keeping the NFLA informed of these developments. For much more about proposed mining operations in Canada—including links to media stories about these issues—go to our Canadian Mines page.