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 FireWise Day
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
2013 FireWise Community Status
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.
Fuels mitigation grant
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.
North Fork history in letters and post cards
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.
Winter Interlocal – 2013
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.
Montana Noxious Weed Trust Fund
The North Fork Landowners Association is in the process of applying for a Montana Noxious Weed Trust Fund grant for the 2013 weed season. The grant would reimburse landowners for 50% of the cost of having a commercial applicator spray the weed infestations on their property. Ideally, we are seeking approximately 10 landowners who would like to sign up to participate in the pilot year of the grant. Please email Valerie Cox, Weed Committee Chair at valeriekcox@yahoo.com or call her at 406-570-7734 to sign up.
Polebridge school investigated
Alexander James Kroll selected an interesting historical topic for his Bachelor’s of Arts in Anthropology thesis at the University of Montana… the Polebridge schoolhouse. Alex says that this is the very first schoolhouse that was archaeologically investigated in the state of Montana and only the 5th to be looked out in the West. You not only learn about the Polebridge schoolhouse, but also the historical context and all about rural education.
You can download a copy of Alex’s thesis from here, but be warned that it’s 178MB so could take awhile and a lot of FAP.
Don’t forget that you can get access to Alex’s thesis and biographical information as well as other historical interviews and North Fork stories on the North Fork History Project’s web page. Check it out.
What the Waldo Canyon Fire teaches us about pre-fire mitigation
Following the most destructive fire in Colorado’s history, representatives from the Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) coalition toured Colorado Springs to analyze the Waldo Canyon Fire’s impacts and learn how the community had prepared itself. NFPA’s Fred Durso wrote an account of the team’s visit. Download a copy of “Moving Toward a Fire Adapted Community” (PDF, 3 MB).
Fuels Reduction Grant
As of late August, 2012, fifteen North Fork landowners have signed cost-share agreements under the North Fork’s third hazardous fuels reduction grant. A total of $53,465 has been obligated. The total amount of the grant is approximately $100,000. The Fire Mitigation Committee encourages landowners who are interested in participating in the program to apply. The expiration for the grant is September 30, 2014. For more information, download the NW Montana Hazardous Fuels: Landowners’ Guide to Cost-Share Funding from here