Category: News

Glacier Park’s Polebridge entrance to reopen June 15, with restrictions

I received the following note from Jim Dahlstrom, the North Fork District Ranger, concerning the reopening of Glacier Park’s Polebridge entrance on Monday, June 15.

Jim will be available to answer questions about this issue at the NFLA general membership meeting, 8:00pm, Sunday, June 14 at Sondreson Hall. He is the first item on the agenda.

Please note that Sondreson Hall is operating under some COVID-19-related usage restrictions, including a 50-person maximum capacity limit. See “COVID-19: Sondreson Hall Use Restrictions and Guidelines” for details.

…I wanted to pass along some information for you to share at your upcoming meeting this Sunday, regarding Glacier National Park’s phased reopening plans.  I’m sure you’ve seen some of the info we have posted on our website, but to further explain specifically what we’ll be doing in the North Fork this summer (a press release will be going out tomorrow, but not including all of the information here):

  1.  The North Fork area will open on June 15th as a day use only area.  No overnight camping in the frontcountry campgrounds or backcountry.  Backcountry camping should be available about the last week in June, and I would expect we will open our frontcountry campgrounds shortly thereafter.  No fees will be collected, and this year we will have a strict limit to the number of vehicles allowed beyond the gate at one time in the North Fork.  We will start with 150 cars and see how congested that is, and may adjust down if we find that to be unmanageable.  We will allow a limited number of vehicles to form a queue, and when an appropriate number of vehicles leave the area, we will allow the requisite number of vehicles in.  Be aware that we have a total of about 100 parking places in the whole area, including Bowman, Kintla, and Logging Creek, and several small trailheads.  Over the past 3 years, we have averaged around 300-500 vehicles per day, with parking lots turning over about 2-3 times per day.
  2. The Ranger Station will not be open to the public.  This is an effort to attempt to reduce exposure to our employees.  Information and publications will be available outside and rangers will be stationed at both the window and outside on the lawn to answer questions.  The public restrooms at Polebridge will be open, and cleaned and disinfected 3x per day.  Vault toilets at the developed areas will get the same treatment 2x per day.  Water will be available at the campgrounds and sanitizing pumps in key locations.
  3. At 4:30 every day, the inbound gate at Polebridge will be closed and a sign placed indicating its hours as a day use only location.  Visitors in the North Fork after 4:30 will be allowed to exit at their leisure, but again, no overnight use is permitted.
  4. No boating on any North Fork lakes will be available initially.  The AIS inspection station in Apgar is currently the only one operating in the park (and only for non-motorized boating) due to reduced staffing and limited emergency response throughout the park.  I would expect that additional park waters will open incrementally as the season progresses.  At this time, we will not be able to issue any NF resident annual passes for boating as well, as it would complicate visitor perceptions.  NPS employees are not allowed to participate in recreational boating as well, except on Lake McDonald.

This is a lot of information to digest, so if anything is unclear please reach out to me. I’ll  be available by cell the rest of the weekend, and I am more than happy to come to the meeting to deliver this information in person.  Just say the word and I’ll be there.

COVID-19: Sondreson Hall Use Restrictions and Guidelines

Sondreson Hall by Gerry StearnsThe following restrictions, guidelines and notices apply to the use of Sondreson Hall under Montana’s “Phase 2” COVID-19 management plan:

The maximum number of people in the hall at any given time is 50. For a given event, up to 50 chairs will be set up, dispersed as widely as practical. If there are no empty seats available, please do not enter the hall until someone else leaves. If the event requires tables, they should be dispersed as widely as practical with no more than six individuals seated at each table.

No food sharing beyond family groups except under specific circumstances. The exception is when food is distributed in a serving line with the individuals handing out the food using appropriate protection (masks and gloves). It is strongly recommended that the people receiving the food be masked as well.

During clean-up after events, please follow the disinfection guidelines posted throughout the hall:

“Please use spray bottle solution to disinfect all surfaces, including tables, counters, the lectern, the stovetop, and the sink area. Also wipe down any chairs that were used during the event. Disposable gloves are provided. The solution contains bleach so be careful with your clothing. Thank you for helping us keep our members and guests safe.”

Hand sanitizer is available several places throughout the hall. Please use it as needed.

If needed, disposable masks are available at the hall. The suggested donation for a mask is $1.00, but do not hesitate to use a mask just because you don’t have a dollar handy.

(To view or download this document as a PDF, click here.)

First Aid/CPR/AED Course June 16

First Aid SignageREMINDER: Bob Lee will be giving his well-regarded First Aid/CPR/AED class in the North Fork again this spring. It is an all-day course, starting at 9:00am and wrapping up by 4:00pm. The date is Tuesday, June 16. The course will be held at Sondreson Hall. Cost should  be $45/person.

With a course size limit of 10 people, maintaining appropriate social distancing shouldn’t be a problem.

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

Note! Starting last year, the certification cards were distributed electronically. The folks sending the cards insist that every recipient have a unique email address. I.e., if you share an email address with someone else and you are both attending the course, one of you would need to pick up a second address. I can hand out temporary course email addresses if needed, just let me know.

(If something goes awry, the fallback date for the First Aid/CPR/AED Class is June 23rd. I doubt we’ll use it.)

Wildland Fire Potential Outlook – issued June 1, 2020

Here is the weblink for the current outlook:
https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/predictive/outlooks/monthly_seasonal_outlook.pdf

As I said, the Outlooks issued June 1 and July 1 give us a much better picture of how the fire season might shape up.  And, it is not looking good for Northwestern Montana.  We are forecast to have a more active than normal fire season in July, August and September.

Here is an excerpt from the write-up for the Northern Rockies (our Geographic Area including North Idaho, all of Montana, and bits of North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming):

In the western areas, higher than average soil moistures from recent precipitation, and within the remaining snowpack, will provide healthy live fuels growth and limit any significant areas of dry fuels in June in the middle and higher elevations. This will maintain normal fire potential in June. Considering that the Climate Prediction Center outlooks are indicating increasingly drier and warmer than average conditions during the core fire season months, Above Normal significant large fire potential is anticipated from July through August and will continue into September for PSAs 01-09. Although the likelihood is minimal, the potential of a La Niña ENSO pattern developing in late summer or early autumn could enhance the fire potential or extend the duration of the fire season.  (Note:  The North Fork falls within PSA 7 which includes Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.  The North Fork, being on the west edge of PSA 7, is sometimes more similar to PSA 2 which includes the Kootenai National Forest and Eureka and can be drier.)  

In addition, the monsoonal moisture forecast for the Southwest will push up into our area – and will likely increase the scope and scale of dry lightning storms in July and August.  We might be looking at a fire season similar to 2003, 2007, and 2017.  We have to hope that the North Fork will be more similar to 2017 than 2003.  Cross your fingers and be prepared.  Again, these forecasts are useful but are often not incredibly accurate.  It can either be better or worse than forecast.  And as in 2017, a lot comes down to how many starts we have (both lightning and human-caused) and what weather conditions exist at the time (wind especially) and the fuel bed it starts in and resistance to control.

Thanks, Allen

Wernick’s Garden Sale, Wednesday, June 3

Almost forgot to remind everyone about the Market at Wernick’s this Wednesday, June 3, at Noon.

Jerry’s email said: We will have plenty of geraniums and a limited amount of salad greens for sale. Curtis will have his bread also. We still have a few vegetable starts to give away along with two different kinds of seed potatoes.  If anyone has some rhubarb or other items to sell or give away please bring them to the Market. We look forward to seeing everyone again.

Glad to hear that he has more geraniums as mine really got hammered in the storm the other night.

Bring a mask if you are comfortable wearing one, and there’s a lot of room for social distancing.  Hope you can join us Wednesday!

Latest bear update from Tim Manley

Bear Travel Map - May 28-30Here’s the latest North Fork bear information from Tim Manley, Grizzly Bear Management Specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. It was posted to Facebook on Sunday, May 31…

The subadult male I released at the border went immediately west to Fortine. He got into garbage and bird feeders. He was recaptured and killed.

The two females I released in Whale Creek.. also went west to the Fortine, Trego, and Stryker areas. They are hanging around a few residences and getting bird feeders and maybe garbage. No trapping effort for them right now.

The adult male that was from Helmville and released in Coal Creek is now over southeast of Babb outside of Glacier Park. He was photographed near Trail Creek following the scraggly female. He then went into BC northeast of Starvation Peak. He was photographed at a rub tree with a remote camera by BC grizzly bear researchers. That was on May 28th. In the last two days he traveled 48 miles… into Alberta, east of Waterton Lake and then south and was last known to be on the Blackfeet Reservation southeast of Babb.

I attached a map so you can see his travels from May 28th to May 30th.

They rarely stay where we release them…

Bear update from Tim Manley

Momma grizzly and her cubsHere’s the latest North Fork bear information from Tim Manley, Grizzly Bear Management Specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. It was posted to Facebook on Friday, May 22…

Good morning, I see there have been quite a few posts about bears on this page and other pages. I thought I would give a quick update on what I know.

The 2 female yearlings I released at Logging Cr on 4/27 were not collared. Regi got a remote camera photo of a yrlg in that area in mid May.

The 3 subadults I released on May 8th at Whale Cr and the border, are all over near Fortine and Trego.

The adult male from Helmville that was released in Coal Cr on May 8th has traveled a lot. Coal to Big to McGinnis to Apgar Range to Trout Lk to Dutch to Bowman Cr to Long Bow to Kintla Cr to Border Station to Trail Cr. I think he might be the one breeding the scraggly looking female that Dick Leigh photographed. UPDATE… the breeding pair Dick posted was from a few years ago.

The scraggly looking female had two 2-year olds that she had kicked off. She is not collared and has been seen a lot around Trail Cr and Tepee. Very distinctive.

Oattie is radio collared and just came south of the border. He has been seen and photographed around Trail Cr. We are going to try and trigger his collar to drop off… hopefully in Ogles yard.

There is an uncollared light colored female with two 2-year olds that has been seen and photographed in the Trail to Whale Cr areas. I think this could be the bear we called Betsy. Just a hunch.

There is a single uncollared bear that was seen around the Polebridge Bench for a while. I thought it was maybe Monica, until I got a report of a female grizzly with 3 small cubs in the Cyclone area. That is where Monica has denned in the past. She is not collared and I expected her to have cubs this year.

As part of the population trend monitoring program there are the following collared bears in the NFK.

A female with a 3 yr old that was still with her in Coal Cr.
A female with two 2-year olds in Big Cr.
A female with 3 new cubs in Hallowat.
A female with two yearlings in Dutch Cr

Again, sorry for the long post. I appreciate all the texts and photos that are posted and sent to me.
Have a good weekend!
Tim

Latest bear update from Tim Manley

Momma grizzly and her cubsHere’s the latest North Fork bear information from Tim Manley, Grizzly Bear Management Specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. It was posted to Facebook on Saturday, May 9 at about 7am…

Bear update… good morning. Sorry for the long post… I just wanted to provide an update on bears. We will put out a press release but that might take several days.

Two days ago we captured three 3-year old grizzly bears along the NW edge of Swan Lk. This spring they had been bouncing around between Ferndale and Woods Bay. Our first reports were from last year when they were eating grass in yards. They were also in the fruit orchards and were seen at Yellow Bay and Finley Point along Flathead Lake.

A couple of weeks ago we got reports of them getting into unsecured garbage at Woods Bay. They also got bird seed and hummingbird feeders on porches. After several days of trapping we captured them.

My thought was to release them up Spotted Bear River. Due to snow on the roads we weren’t able to go down the reservoir or get to a release site up the Middle Fork.

After consulting with the FS and USFWS we decided to release them in the North Fork. Yesterday we released the two females (173 lbs and 222 lbs) in the Whale Cr drainage. We released the male (241 lbs) at the BC border. All three bears are wearing GPS collars. They haven’t been aggressive at all but definitely are used to being near residences. If they show up at your place, make them leave by safely yelling, banging pots and pans or any of the other approved methods that was in the recent NFLA newsletter.

Also yesterday, in the Blackfoot Valley, Wildlife Services captured two subadult male grizzly bears at a site where a calf had been killed. The first bear was released in Glacier Park at Logan Creek. The second male was released in Coal Cr up the North Fork last night by Jamie Jonkel with MT FWP out of Missoula. Both bears are also wearing GPS collars.

Snow conditions have really reduced our ability to access other relocation sites.

After I got back to the valley, the FS contacted me about a grizzly bear that had fed on and buried a deer carcass in the Big Cr Campground. I was able to contact Jonkel and he picked up the remains of the deer. The decision was made to have people move out of the campground for the weekend and close the gate. The bear will have a couple of nights to return and realize the deer carcass is gone and then move on.

The bear (Oattie) that used to spend time in the field south of Polebridge the last few years is currently 10 miles north of the border.

Lastly, I have not had any more recent reports of the single grizzly that had been observed on the Polebridge Bench.

I didn’t want to wait for the press release to notify you of our activities. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Here’s a video of the male being released at the border: https://www.facebook.com/tim.manley.319/videos/10221922988047890/

[Update on May 11] Just a quick update. I won’t be updating all the bears movements but I wanted to let you know generally where they are since being released. The subadult male we released at the border is now near Review Mountain. The two females we released in Whale Cr are near Center Mtn. and are still together. The male that Jonkel released in Coal Creek is now in Big Creek. Oattie is now 12 miles north in BC.

Tim