NFLA – Page 56 – North Fork Landowners Association

Fire Mitigation Committee Report, June 2015

Firewise Day

The North Fork’s annual Firewise Day will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2015 from 9:30 – noon in Sondreson Community Hall. The Firewise workshop will precede the Summer Interlocal meeting.

We anticipate another excellent program. We’ll begin with a video about wildfires in Washington and Oregon in 2014. The video depicts extreme fire behavior. Then Lincoln Chute, Flathead County Fire Service Area Manager, will give a presentation about evacuation planning, structure triage, and county responsibilities during a wildfire. U.S Forest Service personnel will inform us about fire season projections and staffing levels. DNRC foresters will explain their role and the services that they provide on the North Fork. Finally, we’ll have a display and demonstration of common tools for fire suppression and information about sources for the tools.

The program is timely and tailored to what is expected to be a very active fire season in Western Montana, given the record-setting warm and dry conditions this Spring. We hope to see you at the workshop.

Ten Years as Firewise Community

The North Fork recently was honored for having been a Firewise Community for ten years. The two basic requirements are to hold an annual Firewise Day event and make a minimum per capita expenditure on Firewise activities. We received a trophy commemorating our long-time membership. It will be displayed in the Hall.

Grant Status

Landowners along Trail Creek Road have received a letter informing them about potential grant assistance for removing hazardous fuels on their properties adjoining the road. The project is a priority for our fourth hazardous fuels grant. Treating fuels along the road will improve landowners and firefighter ingress and egress. It also will afford an escape route over the Whitefish Divide for the north end of the valley.

Yellow Hawkweed is in Bloom on the North Fork

All over the North Fork, along driveways and in yards, Yellow Hawkweed has started to bloom. To the unaware, it looks like a beautiful flower, but it is actually a very noxious weed…..one of the worst weed problems in the North Fork. It spreads insidiously through its prolific seeds which can be carried afar on the wind, vehicles, boots, and animals. If untreated, a few flowers will become a thick field of yellow in just a few years choking out native wildflowers…….and it will spread to other people’s property.

The NFLA Weed Committee mailed postcards to all North Fork landowners featuring the most common noxious weeds. In addition, there are free booklets at the Community Hall with pictures of various noxious weeds and how to manage them. Continue reading Yellow Hawkweed is in Bloom on the North Fork

A word from Fire Chief Lynn Ogle

January, no snow, some rain, February not much snow and some rain, lots of ICE. March little snow and rain. April clear skies, no snow or rain. May, however was another thing. Sunshine, wind and rain. It appears that there was lots of rain and that we will have no, or not a great fire season.

While I am not a doomsday sayer, I must remind everyone that You have to have a burn permit this month. You should have the proper tools to maintain your fire in a safe manner. As an example, shovel, rake (Not Plastic), hoe, garden hose that is charged and ready to use. If you have a tank with water, have it full and the pump ready to use. When you are finished, Make sure your fire is out! Drowned it out if possible.

For more information: www.firesafekalispell.com. For questions 406-751-8730. Also check out http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/predictive/outlooks/monthly_seasonal_outlook.pdf

There is NO burning of household items such as covered chairs and or couches. No plumbing waste or electrical wires. Burning plastics is an environmental problem. Take your plastic water bottles to the landfill. (There have been enough water bottles manufactured in the world to circle the world at the equator 9 times to date.)

Again this year we will have a Firesafe Workshop at the Community Hall the day of the Interlocal, July 15, 2015. We will have interesting speakers and or presenters. We will start around 0900 AM. Lunch at about noon, with the Interlocal after. Please plan on attending.

Fire Season, begins July 1 through September 31, 2015

Lynn P. Ogle
Trail Creek Fire Company, Chief
lpogle@lazys-o.com

Looking for a wooden shelf

The NFLA Trails Committee needs a wooden shelf to display books on the flora and fauna of the Northern Rockies that people can check out at the Hall. If you are willing to donate a shelf, please email the dimensions and a picture of the shelf to debopowers@gmail.com. The committee would also like to have a section in the library of books by local authors that people can check out. All local authors are encouraged to donate a copy of their book(s) to the NFLA check-out library.

2015 Sondreson Hall Cleanup Day

On Saturday, about 20 members of the NFLA showed up to help with the annual Hall Cleanup Day. It was a pleasurable neighborhood experience—a combination of chatting and light work—cleaning, dusting, sweeping, organizing, trimming bushes, washing windows, and splitting kindling for the wood stoves. Everyone had a good time and there were enough people to complete all of the tasks in a short period of time. Our Community Hall is now ready for a season of fun-filled community activities to begin. A delicious lunch of chili, salad, and dessert completed the day.

Grizzly bear population monitoring on the North Fork

Here’s a message from Rick Mace, Research Biologist of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks… The grizzly bear population monitoring team would like to capture and radio collar a couple grizzly bears in the NF Flathead River starting in the next few days. We would be working both on FS and private lands. All of the Forest Service sites would be off of the existing open road system as we have done in the past. All sites will have approved signs and we will obviously avoid any active timber sales and trail heads. Most of our sites have been used now for many years without incident. We anticipate capture sites in Trail, Red Meadow, and Moose Creeks. Also we may work off the main north fork road near Mud (Garnet) lake going towards the border. We would like run the capture program for a maximum of about 10 days depending on success, starting later this week. Approximately one month ago, we placed a press release in the local newspapers informing the public of our intent to capture bears on public lands.

North Fork Neighbor Beth Weber Passed

Our good neighbor Bethany Ann Warner Weber died from ovarian cancer on May 2, 2015. She is survived by her husband Steve Weber. Her obituary in the Daily Inter Lake says… Beth enjoyed her time with family and friends at the North Fork cabin and various North Fork community activities which included creative roles in the Polebridge Fourth of July parade, her many years hiking in Glacier National Park with her hiking groups, The Great Gripe Getaway and The Trampers, her rotating supper club, the Basic Food Group, her Riverview Greens book club, all things Notre Dame, and she was a proud member of PEO, Chapter BM. Summer trips with her nine grandchildren were planned carefully and were a great source of pleasure. Beth’s full obituary may be found here.

Beth is going to be missed by everyone on the North Fork. And we apologize to Steve for not having said something sooner. We failed to see her obituary in the paper until today. We’ll try to be more vigilant in the future.

Tom Edwards, Long Time North Forker, Passed

Tom Edwards, “North Forker” and long time resident of the Flathead valley passed away on May 15, 2015 at Whitefish North Valley Hospital, after a battle with lung cancer. Tom was born in 1944, in Seattle, the first of three sons born to Burt and Thelma Edwards. He spent the summers of his youth at the Logging Cr. Ranger Station where his father worked as a Park Ranger. These early interactions on the North Fork fueled his life long love for the local area.

Tom’s gregarious nature made him a natural salesman. These skills served him well in his career as he moved from grocery store clerk to manager, and eventually into sales with Western Building Center, where he worked until his retirement in 2011.

Tom loved good food, and socializing, and enjoyed visiting and playing cards with friends. He took pride in his community. He was active with the Columbia Falls City Council and served on the Board for Whitefish North Valley Hospital as well as being actively engaged in the North Fork Landowner Association and History Project.

Twice married, Tom is survived by his wife Carmen Edwards as well as many loved ones, cherished friends and family members. Tom wished for a simple remembrance with no funeral services. Memorial gifts in Tom’s name can be made to the North Fork Landowner Association for continued maintenance of Sondreson’s Hall and other community events: P.O. Box 1603 Columbia Falls, MT 59912.