News – Page 16

Reminder! First Aid/CPR/AED course next week; only three slots left!

For those of you who missed it in May, Bob Lee will be giving his well-regarded First Aid/CPR/AED class in the North Fork again this summer. It is an all-day course, starting at 9:00am. The date is Tuesday, July 12. The course will be held at Sondreson Hall. Cost will be $45/person. (Make checks out to Red Tail Education and Research.)

If it has been two years or more since you took this course, you need to take it again in order to maintain your certification.

Course size limit is 10 people! Contact Bill Walker (wkwalker@nvdi.com or 406-407-2764) if you wish to attend.

Note! Like last time, the certification cards will be distributed electronically. The emails sometimes get misdirected to spam, so it is important to keep an eye out for that.

Bear Resistant Containers Available for Loan or Purchase

NFPA/Polebridge Bear Smart is offering Kodiak brand 96 gallon bear resistant garbage containers for loan or purchase at a reduced price. This opportunity is being made to the Polebridge community with the help of grants and private donations.

Purchase price per canister is $300.
Canister Loan Program fee is on an able-to-pay basisCans are available now!

Please contact Suzanne Hildner sdhildner@icloud.com or (406) 253-3263 to purchase or rent.

Help the Polebridge Community be BEAR SMART!!

Proposed bylaw amendments available online

The Board of Directors spent quite a bit of time over the winter reviewing the NFLA bylaws. As a result, a total of six amendments to the bylaws will be formally proposed and opened for discussion at the general meeting on July 10, 2022. These amendments will be voted on by the membership at the August 14, 2022 meeting.

The proposed amendments can be viewed/downloaded here. This is the same material that was made available in printed form at the June 12 meeting.

Get those issues in! North Fork Interlocal meeting, 1:00pm, July 13th at the hall!

The Summer 2022 Interlocal Agreement Meeting is at 1:00pm, on Wednesday, July 13 at Sondreson Community Hall. This summer’s Interlocal is hosted by the North Fork Landowners’ Association (NFLA). It follows the annual Firewise meeting at 9:30am. Lunch is at noon, with the NFLA providing the main course. If you wish, bring a side dish or desert to share.

Continue reading Get those issues in! North Fork Interlocal meeting, 1:00pm, July 13th at the hall!

Flooding not an issue in the North Fork so far

From Mark Heaphy at 7:58am on June 15 . . .

The North Fork Patrol checked properties for flooding yesterday and all are currently not threatened. One owner adjacent to a creek was notified about a potential concern.

The river is forecast to crest again at the border this weekend but not at flood stage.

More information . . .
Current and forecast river levels, North Fork Flathead River
Flood information links

Ford Schoolhouse preservation work continues

This past week, a Forest Service fire crew removed a number of trees posing a threat to the historic Ford Schoolhouse. According to Forest Service Archeologist Ryan Powell, a Youth Conservation Corps crew will do further clearing at the site in July. In September, the Forest Service historic preservation team out of Missoula plans to reinstall the windows that have been stripped of their lead-based paint, do further foundation work, and replace the existing metal roof with a shake roof. The schoolhouse was originally constructed in 1917-1918. Continue reading Ford Schoolhouse preservation work continues

Attic clean-out silent auction this Sunday

Sondreson Hall by Gerry Stearns During this Sunday’s NFLA membership meeting, there will be a silent auction of items discovered during last month’s Sondreson Hall attic clean-out. Proceeds will go toward replacing our antique digital projector, which doesn’t work with any computer built within the last decade.

Here’s the list of items, as well as photos of most. (Note: This auction is only for stuff found in the attic; we’re not accepting any additional items.) . . . Continue reading Attic clean-out silent auction this Sunday

North Fork Fuels Reduction Field Trip, Wednesday, June 15

Don’t forget the North Fork Fuels Reduction Field Trip Wednesday, June 15 beginning at Mark and Margaret Heaphy’s place, 11530 North Fork Road at 0930. While there we will talk about fuel modification around structures, and the work that has been done in the North Fork in response to our large fires.

Bring a bag lunch to enjoy at Sondreson Community Hall, while NRCS District Conservationist Sean Johnson goes over the Wedge Canyon TIP project – where grant funding is available to landowners not only within the Wedge Canyon Fire Area, but all forested landowners from Teepee Creek/Ford Work Station north to the Canadian Border. He will cover not only the project area and types of work that qualifies, but also the application process. Continue reading North Fork Fuels Reduction Field Trip, Wednesday, June 15

Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for period beginning June 1, 2022

Greetings everyone. Here is our first Outlook that can give us a reasonable hint of what the fire season might look like. The good news is that the forecast looks like a “normal” fire season for Northwest Montana – which of course includes the North Fork.

The bad news, of course, is that the rest of Montana, especially east of the Divide, is looking at potentially being significantly above normal wildland fire potential.
The caution for us is that even with the cool spring, and increased snowpack over the past month or two, those factors are transitory. That is, if we wind up turning off hot and dry in early July, the positive effects that the cool, wet spring we had will dissipate quickly. We had that a few years ago, and meteorologists called it a “Flash Drought.” It was not forecasted that summer and caught the meteorologists by surprise. They apologized the next spring for having told us we would have a “Slow Normal” fire season…

So, we need to prepare for a reasonably active fire season, as normal. One factor of course, is that resources will be spread thin with potentially a lot of activity elsewhere in the Northern Rockies, and around the Country.

While these Outlooks are useful, there are limits to their accuracy. The July Outlook will give us a better look at the conditions going into July, and the weather systems that might affect the rest of our fire season.

Stay tuned.

Thanks to all! Remember our Fuels Field Trip on June 15, and our Firewise Day on July 13.

See you all there! Thanks. Allen

Read the full outlook:
https://www.predictiveservices.nifc.gov/outlooks/monthly_seasonal_outlook.pdf

North Fork Neighborhood Plan draft zoning text amendment begins review process; meeting on June 2, 6pm

The North Fork Land Use Advisory sub-committee members have completed their monumental efforts and now present the revised North Fork Neighborhood Plan draft zoning text amendment for review. Attached you will find four documents: a summary of the revision process; an overview of the changes made; the draft text amendment; and finally the agenda for a North Fork Land Use Advisory Committee (NFLUAC) meeting on June 2^nd, 6:00pm, at Sondreson Hall. We ask that you carefully review the draft text amendment and attend this meeting with your questions and comments. We are following the county process and hopefully, at the conclusion of the June 2^nd meeting, the committee will vote for submittal to the planning office for a staff report, triggering additional opportunities for comment. If you are unable to participate in this meeting or need further information, or if you know someone who is unaware of the committee’s work and might be interested, please contact me. We hope to hear from you!

Randy Kenyon
Chair, NFLUAC
kenyonnorthfork@gmail.com