Category: News

North Fork bear report from Justine

Sow grizzly bear spotted near Camas in northwestern Montana. - Montana FWP
Sow grizzly bear spotted near Camas in northwestern Montana. – Montana FWP

Posted a few days to Facebook by Justine Vallieres, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Bear Manager, Region 1 . . .

Hey everyone, sorry it’s taken me so long to reach out, but I wanted to apologize for not being at the interlocal meeting as I had some things come up that week. I also was out of the state recently for a bit so I am finally getting around to reaching out.

I am currently research and augmentation trapping. I have traps up the Deadhorse and Coal drainage, and I am also trapping up Hay Creek. The road that connects Hay to Red Meadow is currently closed for research and augmentation trapping. The roads are signed, but wanted to give a heads up. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause!

As far as updates go for the interlocal meeting…we really did not have any conflicts up the North Fork this spring. It was just the normal reports of bears eating grass in yards. We know of at least one female with two yearlings and one female with three yearlings, and lots of individuals (to state the obvious), and also have one collared female for research up there.

There were no relocations of conflict bears up there this spring until last week. On July 25 there was an adult female relocated up whale Creek while I was away. She was caught on the east front near a cattle depredation, and was not the target bear. She is collared and has not been around homes.

That’s all I got for now! Thank you!

Larch that are turning brown should recover

Cross-posted from the North Fork Trails website . . .

Western larch leaves
Western larch leaves

Several folks have voiced alarm that a lot of larch are turning brown in the Red Meadow and Moose creek drainages. Elliott Meyer, Silviculture Forester for the Flathead National Forest’s Hungry Horse/Glacier View and Spotted Bear Ranger Districts, offered this explanation: Continue reading Larch that are turning brown should recover

First Aid/CPR/AED Course coming up Tuesday, July 22

First Aid/CPR/AED Class at Sondreson Hall, May 20, 2025 - W. K. Walker
First Aid/CPR/AED Class at Sondreson Hall, May 20, 2025 – W. K. Walker

Bob Lee will once again be giving his well-regarded First Aid/CPR/AED class in the North Fork this summer. It is an all-day course, starting at 9:00am and wrapping up by 4:00pm. The date is Tuesday, July 22. The course will be held at Sondreson Hall. Cost is $45/person. Bring your own lunch and drinks. Class size is limited to 10 people.

This class offers two-year American Heart Association (AHA) certification in First Aid, CPR and AED usage. If your job requires certified First Aid training, your current certification is expiring or if you just want to get up to speed on such things, this is an excellent way to get it done.

Contact Bill Walker, 406-407-2764 or wkwalker@nvdi.com to sign up for the course.

Initial wildland fire potential outlook for 2025

With the fire season starting early this year, it also looks to be a long duration for the Northern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest. Attached is a short four page writeup that explains the forecast for June through September.

The potential for 2025 is similar to the fire years of 2006 (although 2007 was more significant in the Flathead), 2017 and 2021.

What is different this year is that there is no indication of moisture moving in during September – where we usually see either a rainy season-slowing event, or a season-ending rain and snow.

The North Fork has dodged significant fire since 2003. The fires we have had since then have been well-managed and have not had the big runs we saw in 1988, 2001 and 2003.

Be prepared, and hope for the best.

Be sure to attend the Wildland Fire Awareness Training on June 19th, 10 a.m. at Sondreson Community Hall, and the Firewise Day on July 9th, 9:30 a.m. to noon before the Potluck and the Interlocal.

See also: Northern Rockies June July August September 2025 Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook (PDF format)

Issues for the 2025 North Fork Summer Interlocal

Some of the local and agency attendees at the Summer North Fork Interlocal Agreement Meeting on July 10, 2024 – W. K. Walker

In case some of you are North Fork residents/landowners, but are not on the Interlocal mailing list, Here’s a copy of a recent email about submitting local issues and concerns for discussion at the meeting…

Hi, folks.

This year’s Summer 2025 Interlocal  Agreement Meeting is hosted by the North Fork Landowners Association on July 9, 1:00pm, at Sondreson Hall. It is preceded by the annual Firewise meeting at 9:30am and lunch at noon.

For those of you new to this, Interlocal meetings are held twice each year, winter and summer. These semi-annual get-togethers are intended to encourage open discussion between North Fork landowners and neighbors, and local, state and federal agencies. In other words, it’s a big deal if you have an interest in the North Fork.

As a convenience (it’s not required), I’m serving as a central point of contact for issues that North Fork organizations and individuals would like to see addressed by the various government agencies represented at the meeting. If you’ll send me your issues via email to wkwalker@nvdi.com by the afternoon of Wednesday, June 25, I’ll see to it that they get passed on to the various organizations in enough time for them to prepare their presentations.

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

Bill

Two Bear Air at Sondreson Hall, Sun, June 8, 6:30pm

This Sunday, June 8th, at 6:30pm, Two Bear Air will be present at the NFLA membership meeting! Please join us for a demonstration and discussion at Sondreson Community Hall.

Note on parking: Please park close to the building, or along the North Fork Road. Do not park at the end of the parking lot closest to the road! this will allow room for the helicopter to land.

North Fork Road Trash Pick Up Competition, June 6 – June 13

Get out and pick up trash along the North Fork Road during the week of June 6 – 13!

Drop your 13 gallon black bags off at Home Ranch Bottoms (HRB) to be collected and tallied and taken to the landfill. HRB has extra bags if you need them. Check here or on the North Fork Facebook page for tallies. $25 gift certificate to HRB to  be presented to the top collector at the Last Friday Pizza Party on June 17.

For more information, contact Home Ranch Bottoms at (406) 888-5572 or on Facebook or Instagram. Or just drop by their place at 8950 North Fork Road.