The Daily Inter Lake published an article about the Inside North Fork Road in Glacier National Park that included some good history of the road. Click here to get a copy of that article.
History of the Inside North Fork Road
Glacier Eyes ‘One Car In, One Car Out’ Rules to Ease Crowding
The Hungry Horse News says that if the crowds of last summer continue, Glacier National Park is considering implementing a “one car in, one car out,” plan for some of its dead-end roads, Superintendent Jeff Mow said last week during a talk in Kalispell. The overcrowding problem was particularly acute at Bowman Lake, where parking would fill to capacity and people would park on the side of the narrow, dirt road. Some people last summer even rented a camping spot so they would have a place to park. Read the full story here.
May Wildland Fire Outlook is now available
The summary says… By mid-late July, the western fire season will begin to progress north into the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies. While a normal transition into fire season is expected in the lower elevations, a delayed entrance is possible in the higher elevations as both regions enter their fire seasons having seen abundant winter and spring precipitation and snowpack accumulation.
NFLA Spring Newsletter and Calendar are in the Mail
It’s that time of year again… the NFLA has published its Spring newsletter and calendar for 2017. Very exciting.
In this newsletter you’ll read all about the history of the NFIA/NFLA as it celebrates its 70th birthday. You’ll also read about the long history of dancing on the North Fork, memories from Larry Wilson about the NFIA/NFLA, and the early mail service on the North Fork. There is also an update from the NFLA Fire Mitigation Committee and the upcoming Summer Interlocal.
For NFLA members who have paid their dues for the year, the newsletter and calendar should be coming to you through the mail any day now. Both the newsletter and the calendar can also be downloaded at any time from the NFLA Newsletters web page. You can also get copies of past newsletters from this page as well.
President Randy Kenyon expresses all of our appreciation to the folks who made this year’s newsletter and calendar possible including Allen Chrisman for the layout, scribes Arne Boveng, Lois Walker, Debo Powers, Molly Shepard and Larry Wilson along with Chris Heitz and Jan Caldwell. It’s our hard working volunteers that make the NFLA the outstanding community organization that it is.
Park Road Update
Currently 17.0 miles of the Going-to-the-Sun Road are open for travel.
Visitors can drive 11.5 miles from the West Entrance to Lake McDonald Lodge, and 5.5 miles from the St. Mary Entrance to Rising Sun.
The section of the road between Lake McDonald Lodge and Rising Sun is closed due to plowing. The East Side vehicle closure is currently at Rising Sun approximately 5.5 miles past the St Mary Entrance. On the west side, hiker/biker access is to the Logan Pit, approximately 10 miles past the vehicle closure, while the road crew is working. On the east side, there is no traffic allowed past Rising Sun including hiker/biker restrictions, though visitors need to follow the signage guiding them around the St Mary Entrance Station construction.
The Camas Road is Open!
And here is a special note from our new Polebridge Ranger Jim Dahlstrom… The road is now open going north 7 miles to the gate on the other side of Big Prairie. The road going south is not open to vehicles yet, but might be this weekend.
Randy is trying to arrange for Ranger Dahlstrom to join us at the first NFLA meeting in June.
Public Hearing on the Short Term Rental Proposal
Here’s a message from NFLA President Randy Kenyon… The commissioners are holding a public hearing on the Short Term Rental proposal passed on to them from the Planning Board and Planning Office on June 1st at 10:00 am. The North Fork has been excluded from this proposed regulation. This means we are “almost” assured of not being included, but the commissioners can do whatever they please, however unlikely.
For more information on what this is about, see Flathead County Short Term Rental Regulation Proposal – Summary
Winter Interlocal 2017 Summary
Molly Shepherd has written up her notes from the 2017 Winter Interlocal. Highlights include information about the Federal Lands Access Proposal (FLAP) grant, the Forest Plan Revision, plans for Sondreson Meadow, the battle against aquatic invasive species, updates from FWP on wildlife including grizzly and wolves, the inside North Fork road, and short-term vacation rentals.
These useful and interesting notes may be downloaded as a PDF document to your computer by clicking here.
Fire Mitigation Committee Report, Late Winter 2017
The Fire Mitigation Committee is planning for the North Fork’s 2017 Firewise Day, which probably will be held the morning of July 19, preceding the Summer Interlocal. Byron Bonney will be our featured speaker. He has been instrumental in working with landowners on hazardous fuels treatments in the Bitterroot. We expect him to tell us about the effects of those treatments in the area burned by the Roaring Lion Fire last summer. Although many homes were destroyed in the fire, almost all of the homes whose owners had created defensible space around them were spared. The treatments brought fire to the ground and limited the fuels that could be ignited by flying embers. They also improved the chance of survival for neighbors’ homes downwind. So as you’ll hear at the workshop, the fire provided important corroboration of the value of defensible space.
We have at least $10,000 left in our 4th hazardous fuels grant, with about 55 acres already treated and 35 in process. So far, landowners and community members have provided over $80,000 in cash match and in-kind labor. Special thanks goes to Flathead County, which donated almost $8000 in equipment and labor for chipping the slash that resulted from our Trail Creek Project. The Fire Mitigation Committee probably will apply for a 5th grant if it has the opportunity.
The Flathead Economic Policy Center administers the grants and provides landowners and the committee with invaluable technical assistance. We’ve just learned that our friend Mason Richwine, a FEPC forester who has worked with many North Fork landowners, is retiring in order to concentrate on hunting and fishing. We wish him success. Bill Swope will continue to work with us.
Flathead County is launching another revision of its Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The Fire Mitigation Committee expects to update its North Fork Wildfire Mitigation and Planning Report in conjunction with the county’s revision. We’ll need community input in the process. We’ll also need to update maps of the significant public and private work that’s been done on the North Fork since the fires of 2003.
Finally, the DNRC is sponsoring a multi-media presentation on the Era of Mega-Fires in Kalispell this Spring. The presentation will be held on Tuesday April 25 from 6 – 8 p.m. at Flathead Valley Community College, Arts & Technology Room 139. We understand that the program is compelling.
Zoning regulations text amendment and meeting – UPDATE: CHECK OUT PAGE 2
UPDATE: Chris H. and some others pointed out that we failed to look at the back page of the agreement. So… we’ve added page two. You’ll want to check it out.
A message from Mark Mussman, CFM, Director dated January 5, 2017 and from Flathead County Planning and Zoning…
The Northwest Montana Association of Realtors has submitted a zoning regulations text amendment to allow short-term rentals, or vacation rentals, with the approval of an Administrative Conditional Use Permit in the following zoning districts: AG _ 80, AG-40, AG-20, SAG-10, SAGoS, R-2.S, R-I, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-S, RC-I, RA-I, Ashley Lake, Labrant/Lindsey Lane, Lakeside, North Fork, Rogers Lake, and West Valley.
The Flathead County Planning Board will conduct a public hearing on Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 6:00 P.M. in the 2nd floor conference of the South Campus Building located at 40 11th Street West, Kalispell, MT to consider this request. I have attached the proposed standards for Short-term Rental Housing submitted with the application for your review.
Please feel free to attend the hearing and submit comments. You may also submit written comments to the Department. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
NFLA 2017 Calendar
The NFLA Board of Directors is starting work on the 2017 NFLA calendar. The NFLA calendar includes events sponsored by the NFLA as well as other events at Sondreson Hall that are not sponsored by the NFLA (for example, a private party). If you would like to nominate an event, please send the information to the NFLA webmaster by clicking here.
We will use the NFLA Calendar page to coordinate dates. Please note, however, that events marked with an asterisk indicates a proposed date, not a final date. Our plan is to have the calendar finalized by mid March. If you see any information that is incorrect on the proposed 2017 calendar, please do not hesitate to get into contact with us.