The NFLUAC needs your help! Letters and comments are due by October 26, 2022!!!

 Even if you have written and sent in comments earlier in the process, we need your letters of support one more time to get us across the finish line.

    • Do you have a personal story about how you’ve been, or in the future may be, negatively affected if the zoning is NOT updated?
    • Are you concerned because our zoning is decades out of date and doesn’t meet current growth needs?
    • Are you concerned because our original zoning is sometimes confusing or ambiguous and leads to conflict within the community?

Please send a letter of support to the County Commissioners by October 26, 2022. Their email addresses are: babell@flathead.mt.gov, pholmquist@flathead.mt.gov and rbrodehl@flathead.mt.gov. The physical address is: 800 S. Main, Kalispell MT 59901. If you’re not up to letter writing, you can submit a comment here: cocontactus@flathead.mt.gov. The County Commissioner’s hearing is set for November 1, 2022 at 9:00am, third floor of the courthouse. The presence of landowners would bolster our cause.

Thank you for your support!
NFLUAC

Submit those Firewise-qualifying activities and expenses!

In order to maintain membership in Firewise USA, North Fork landowners must make an annual investment in wildfire risk reduction efforts. We’re required to calculate the number of hours spent in Firewise-qualifying activities, and the expenses associated with those activities.

A summary of some of Firewise-qualifying activities and expenses follows:

    • Collaboration and consultation time with forestry and fire experts
    • Organizing, planning, coordinating, implementing wildfire-related outreach events and educational presentations
    • Program administration time
    • Travel time to risk reduction meetings, trainings, and workshops
    • Attendance at wildfire-related education/informational meetings and events and at evacuation/preparedness trainings
    • Firewise improvements and maintenance on homes and outbuildings
    • Improvements and maintenance within the home ignition zone — for example, thinning or limbing up trees, reducing ladder fuels, dealing with slash and other debris, moving firewood piles
    • Vegetation removal; community clean-up
    • Committee members attendance and participation at Firewise committee meetings
    • Residents’ attendance and participation at wildfire education/outreach events
    • Writing wildfire educational articles

Qualifying expenses include equipment and tool purchases; mileage at the current IRS rate for attendance at wildfire-related meetings and trainings; purchases of food for meetings/trainings; contractor and labor expenses to perform risk reduction work; and the value of volunteer labor participating in risk reduction projects.

The Fire Mitigation Committee asks North Fork landowners to add up the number of hours they have spent in qualifying activities as well as the expenses they have incurred from November 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022. Please email your total hours and expenses to Molly Shepherd, mollshep@gmail.com. Your hours and expenses will be included in applying for renewal of the North Fork’s membership in Firewise USA.

One last zoning push; County Commissioner’s hearing Nov 1

A message from the North Fork Land Use Advisory Committee . . .

SUBJECT: ONE LAST ZONING PUSH!

It’s time for North Fork Landowners to get our revised zoning Text Amendment across the finish line with the County Commissioners! The NFLUAC needs your help!

WHY IT MATTERS:

Many of you have previously written extremely helpful letters of support for the Text Amendment.  We understand there is “planning fatigue”, but we need you to rally yourselves one last time and submit letters of support! Personalized letters pack the biggest punch, especially if they say WHY this matters to you:

      • Do you have a personal story about how you’ve been, or in the future may be, negatively affected if the zoning is NOT updated?
      • Are you concerned because our zoning is decades out of date and doesn’t meet current growth needs?
      • Are you concerned because our original zoning is sometimes confusing or ambiguous and leads to conflict within the community?

Please send a letter of support to the County Commissioners before the November 1, 2022 hearing, the earlier the better to ensure it is received and read. Their email addresses are: babell@flathead.mt.gov; pholmquist@flathead.mt.gov and rbrodehl@flathead.mt.gov.  The physical address is: 800 S. Main, Kalispell MT  59901.   If you’re not up to letter writing, you can submit a comment here: cocontactus@flathead.mt.gov.    The County Commissioner’s hearing is set for November 1, 2022 at 9:00am, third floor of the courthouse.

WANT MORE INFORMATION?

A brief Summary of the Text Amendment, the Text Amendment itself and our letter to the Commissioners are linked below.  Italicized portions of the Text Amendment are those which are unchanged from the existing regulations.

Thank you for your support!

NFLUAC

Attachments

REMINDER: NFLA General Meeting & Food Bank Drive this Sunday!

Sondreson Hall by Gerry StearnsThe last NFLA general meeting of the year is this Sunday, October 9, at Sondreson Hall. Events start at 6:00pm with a presentation by Anthony Nelson, Director of the Glacier Institute. The membership meeting is at 7:00pm.

Bring a snack to share.

We will also be collecting non-perishable items for the Veterans Food Pantry!

And we could use a bit more firewood in the woodshed. The new stove uses 16-inch lengths or less, as opposed to the old stove that ate much longer logs. So we don’t have as much of the shorter stuff as we’d like.

NFLUAC to meet at Sondreson Hall, October 3, 6pm

Sondreson Hall by Gerry StearnsI would like to announce a NFLUAC meeting next Monday, October 3rd at 6:00pm at Sondreson Hall. We hope to see you there as we head down the homestretch. The agenda is attached.

Randy Kenyon
Chair

NORTH FORK LAND USE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING October 3, 2022
SONDRESON HALL 6:00
AGENDA

Call to Order

Members Present

Minutes of the August 4th and 24th Meetings Reviewed

1. Review of Current Status of Text Amendment

2. Discussion regarding the November 1st Commissioner’s meeting.

3. Public Comments

Those with special needs will be accommodated

Prescribed burns planned for Moose and Whale Creek drainages

Flathead National Forest prescribed burns, 2022
Flathead National Forest prescribed burns, 2022

The Flathead National Forest just published information on this fall’s prescribed burns. The only entry of local interest is this one (listed under “Hungry Horse District” for some reason)…

Red Whale Fuels Reduction— Approximately 750 acres will be targeted for prescribed burning this fall in Moose creek and Moran creek.  This project location is in the North Fork of the Flathead about 4 miles northwest of Polebridge.  Depending on weather this burn is planned for mid to late September to early October. The purpose of this project is to help restore a more historical fire regime to the ecosystem, improve wildlife habitat and reduce hazardous fuels to reduce wildfire risk and aid in potential future fire suppression efforts and improve wildlife habitat.

Of course, any prescribed burn is contingent on weather, fuel conditions, and air quality lining up just right.

The entire press release is available online here:
Fall prescribed burns planned in the Flathead National Forest

NFLA awards certificates of appreciation

At last night”s membership meeting, NFLA President Richard Hildner presented well-deserved certificates of appreciation to the following individuals for their volunteer service to the community spanning a great many years!

Mark and Margaret Heaphy
Randy Kenyon
Bonny Ogle and
Lynn Ogle

(Thanks to Jack McFarland for the photos.)

Mark and Margaret Heaphy
Randy Kenyon
Bonny Ogle
Lynn Ogle

September/October Wildland Fire Potential Outlook

Greetings all! The latest Wildland Fire Potential Outlook was released today, and it is as expected. The continued hot and dry weather in early September will give us above normal fire activity in Northwestern Montana:

The good news, of course, is that we did receive a little precipitation in the North Fork – and that was welcome. But, we have two to three weeks of fire season left at least. Days are getting shorter, nighttime temperature and humidity recovery is significantly improving (except in the thermal belts), which really decreases fire activity.

We aren’t out of the woods yet – and we have the potential for some significant fire yet this fall, especially if we remain warm and dry through September into October.

Check out the latest report – and don’t let your guard down! Thanks. Allen