The North Fork Patrol recently voted to add Bill and Lois Walker to the Patrol as Directors. They will help Margaret and Mark Heaphy monitor the “southern end” of the North Fork.
We want to thank Bill and Lois for volunteering for this important work. Folks on the North Fork appreciate the time given by all the members of the North Fork Patrol who help keep the North Fork safe throughout the year.
There are a few corrections to the newsletter. First, the older version of the North Fork Patrol sign-up form was accidentally included in the newsletter and doesn’t reflect some important changes. Please download and use the current version of the signup form from here when sending in the 2013 renewal for your NFLA membership. Second, the date on page two of the newsletter for “Gardening with Native Plants Workshop” is incorrect. The correct date is Monday, June 24th. Finally, the date for the second Astronomy night with Mike Hawkaluk listed in the newsletter’s version of the calendar is incorrect. The correct date is Saturday, September 28th.
All of these changes have been updated on the website. You can get the latest version of the newsletter from here and the latest version of the calendar from here. If anyone sees any other corrections that need to be made to either the newsletter or the calendar, please let us know!
The 2013 spring newsletter is available on line. This year’s newsletter contains information about summer activities and announcements about the NFLA as well as the calendar and signup form. Click here to get to the newsletter page on this website.
As always, our thanks go out to everyone who helped with this year’s newsletter. And a special thanks to Flannery Coats for doing all the hard work of putting it together and getting it mailed out.
The new 2013 NFLA Calendar is now available. Many thanks to all of the people who made this year’s calendar possible. A special thanks goes to Larry Kinsolving, the member of the BoD responsible for coordinating the whole schedule. Flannery is working on the Spring Newsletter which will include an abbreviated version of the calendar. Be sure and check the online calendar often during the year as new items could be added.
Jennifer Mayberry LaManna from FireSafe Montana says… Please join us in Libby Montana for the Fire Adapted Communities Workshop on Friday April 26th and Saturday April 27th, 2013. We are looking forward to some good presentations and discussions on how wildfire impacts a community. If you have any further questions you can email execdir@firesafemt.org or contact Ed Levert at 406-293-2847.
2013 marks the tenth anniversary of the Wedge Canyon Fire, which destroyed seven homes and twenty-nine outbuildings in the area between Whale Creek and Trail Creek. 54,400 acres burned. The costs of suppressing the fire and protecting structures exceeded $50 million.
The NFLA’s Fire Mitigation Committee is planning a FireWise Day workshop to recognize the tenth anniversary of the Wedge Canyon Fire as well as the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Red Bench Fire. The workshop will be held on July 10, 2013 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in Sondreson Hall, immediately preceding the Summer Interlocal meeting.
First, we’ll take a look at North Fork fire history, focusing in particular on the Wedge fire. Then we’ll examine changes in the North Fork since 2003 that may affect fire behavior. Finally, we’ll consider the potential impacts of climate change on wildfire in the North Fork. Tentative presenters at the workshop include Wally Bennett and Steve Frye, who played instrumental roles in efforts to suppress the Wedge fire, as well as our own Allen Chrisman
The North Fork’s FireWise Community status has been renewed for another year, based on our activities in 2012. The North Fork has been a FireWise member for eight years, making us one of the longer-standing programs.
In 2012, the DNRC awarded the North Fork community a hazardous fuels reduction grant. It’s the third such grant that the community has received; well over 100 North Fork landowners have participated in the program. Monies are distributed on a cost-share basis, with the grant providing 75% of the cost and the landowner providing the remaining 25%. The total value of the grant, with landowners’ share, is about $133,000.
As of March 1, 2013, most of the grant money has been committed to landowner projects. It’s possible that we can obtain additional funding, contingent on the resolution of budget issues in Washington, D.C. and a demonstration of continuing landowner interest in the program.
A good neighbor provided some North Fork history in the way of letters and post cards from the early 1900s. Check it out on the North Fork History Project page.
By all counts, the Winter Interlocal was well attended and informative with a record breaking crowd of around 50. Molly Shepherd was kind enough to compile a report that includes information on road maintenance plans, lynx, trout, and wolves.