Obama against Flathead mine

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama opposes plans for a mine in the Canadian headwaters of the Flathead River.

Sweet deal for Plum Creek

Why am I not surprised that the former timber industry lobbyist now under employ in the Bush administration wants to hand Plum Creek a sweetheart deal at the expensive of Montana communities and county governments? Can January 2009 come soon enough?

If Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey gets his wish, the tangled knot of roads and subdivisions in the forest interface of Montana will only get worse. How many firefighters will have to risk their lives to keep Plum Creek's new subdivisions from burning down?

Access deal close?

A deal may be in the works to settle Montana's debate about accessing streams and rivers using highway easements at bridge crossings. Settling this issue once and for all is in the best interests of all concerned. Anglers will benefit from the improvements at crossing that will ease access. And landowners, who are fighting an upriver battle, will benefit by ending their battle against popular access laws. This has been a PR disaster for the folks — such as ranchers — who have hitched their wagon to this unpopular cause mostly promoted by out-of-state, and ridiculously wealthy, landowners.

Setbacks: Montana's new challenge

OK, so this isn't really a new challenge. However, efforts to actually do something about development encroaching on Montana river's is new. Down in Ravalli County folks are grappling with the setback issue. And in the Flathead, groups representing hunters and anglers are pushing the issue to the forefront as well.

Not so fast

At a meeting last week it was announced BP was pulling out of plans to extract coal-bed methane in the Canadian Flathead. Now it looks as though that announcement was premature, and BP may just be playing for more time.

There's a lot more work to be done if we are going to save this pristine watershed.

Here's a link to a Missoula Independent article on the threats mine development poses to the Flathead River.

Back in action

We've been tied up with other commitments the past few months, letting this blog languish. But our schedule has opened up and we're back in business. Check back for regular posts.

Good news for the Flathead

There's good news for the future of the Flathead River Basin. Petroleum giant BP has withdrawn plans for coal-bed methane development in the Canadian Flathead.

But threats linger from an open-pit coal mine proposed for a North Fork Flathead River tributary in Canada, and energy development in the Kootenai River Basin north of the border.

Griz gone wild

As northwest Montana griz frantically fatten up for winter, they're getting into a fair share of trouble.

While traveling through Columbia Falls last weekend en route to a float on the Middle Fork Flathead River, we passed a bear cage being transported the other way, out of the mountains. Might have just released that bear in the South Fork.

Griz claim elk

Grizzlies have moved in on elk left on the ground overnight by hunters, resulting in closures in some areas of southwest Montana. One hunter was mauled by a bear last week, but in that case the hunter accidentally startled a sow with cubs.

Bluetongue hits deer, pronghorn

Bluetongue disease is killing pronghorn in southeastern Montana, and may be the cause of whitetail deaths as well.

Good news for private-land access

A recent survey by the Montana Wildlife Federation demonstrates the willingness of private landowners to allow access for hunting and fishing. It's up to us to exercise this privilege with respect for the landowners. That means keep your vehicles on roads, pack out your trash, hunt ethically, and simply, treat the place as if it were your own. No, treat it better than if it were your own.

Ecology of fire

The Bitterroot National Forest has established a new auto tour of the infamous Lick Creek site. A series of historical photos taken at Lick Creek indicates that forests in the area may have been more open during the pre-European settlement era than they are today. Logging and fire suppression are considered the prime culprits, and restorative thinning projects followed by a regime of controlled burns is the cure.

The Lick Creek example has been used across the west by those advocating restoration forestry. Unfortunately, the photos don't tell the whole story. The original photos, taken in 1909, apparently show the forest after a logging project. So maybe the presettlement forest wasn't as open as we believe.

By the way, we are supporters of restoration forestry here at www.mthookandbullet.com. But we also think restoration advocates sometimes stretch the truth about how open presettlement forests really were. For instance, in Arizona restoration advocates sometimes make their point with dubious claims such as pioneers being able to ride their wagons from New Mexico to Flagstaff as the pine forests of the Arizona highlands were so open. They also sometimes exaggerate the ecological harm of stand replacement fires. Yeah, some areas get burnt to a crisp. But its rarely an across-the-forest catastrophe. Even the Rodeo-Chediski Fire in Arizona in 2002, which burned 462,614 acres and was the largest in that state's history, left a mosaic of conditions on the ground following the blaze. And mosaics, not continuous stands of old yellow-barked ponderosas, leads to biodiversity.

By the way, we think restoration opponents are just as likely to exaggerate the ill-effects of thinning projects. We'll take that point up some other time.

Fishery threatened by development

State officials admit they don't have the resources to measure the cumulative impact of growth on the fishery at Georgetown Lake. As development crowds the shoreline of this popular southwest Montana fishing hole, more septic systems leak into the lake. The nutrients from the wastewater fuel algae blooms, which choke off oxygen and kill fish.

Fish aren't the only wildlife threatened by lakeside development. The Montana Standard also takes a look at the history of the area, both before and after Georgetown Lake was created.

Front Range opens up

Some fire-related closures on the Rocky Mountain Front have been lifted as the fire season winds down.

Hunting Huns

Outdoor writer Ben O. Williams shares some thoughts on hunting Huns in Montana.

Griz killed in Bitterroot

A bear hunter mistakenly killed a griz on the Idaho side of the Bitterroot range during Labor Day weekend.

Biologists are reporting more confirmations of griz using this country where they have been considered extirpated for decades.

Bull trout blues

Lake trout are in the process of destroying another Montana bull trout fishery, this time in Swan Lake.

Baucus vows mine fight

Montana Sen. Max Baucus has promised British Petroleum Co. a “a massive and unpleasant fight from Montana” if it pursues plans for coalbed methane development in the Canadian Flathead north of Glacier National Park.

Bears on the move

Griz on the Rocky Mountain Front are fattening up before winter, and are on the move. Bird and archery hunters in the region should be extra cautious. The bears have entered into the pre-hibernation phase called hyperphagia, where they eat as much as three times their normal intake.

Bird hunting here

The upland bird and archery big game seasons are upon us. My interest lies more toward the bird hunting side of things, and I took me setter Jack out to Ninepipes Wildlife Refuge last week on an early season tuneup. We were primarily scouting for the pheasant opener, with faint hopes of scaring up covey or two of Huns while we were out. The Huns were a no show, but Jack put plenty of pheasants in the air.

Here's the link to Montana FWP's bird hunting planner.