North Fork summer in full swing

July has had a hot beginning, and not just because of the weather. As always, the Fourth of July parade at Polebridge started the real North Fork summer.

Thanks to Ray Brown, the parade had a new, patriotic twist. Ray organized a reading of the entire Declaration of Independence just before the parade began. Readers were mostly veterans, starting with World War II veteran Carl Pittman. The large crowd was attentive and respectful, and everyone I talked to said it was a great addition to the celebration.

In addition to a large crowd, there were many American flags, a ton of good looking, happy kids and interesting floats which mostly had some kind of political message, ranging from “Big dogs not fat cats” to “Trap mice not wolves.”

There were more Democrats in the parade than I thought existed in Flathead County and, of course, the Republicans managed to make their opposition of Obamacare known. My personal favorite was the singing country band that this year expanded to a pickup towing two trailers. I also liked the Chinese dragon.

The Fourth continued with a square dance at Sondreson Hall, and there has been some kind of social event nearly every day since, ranging from hikes to cribbage and river rafting to bocce ball. Until July 11, when a “firewise” seminar and the Interlocal Agreement focused on serious issues rather than purely social events.

The North Fork Landowners Association’s fire mitigation committee, led by Molly Shepherd, organized an extremely informative and educational panel of landowners who spoke and showed pictures of their experiences with wildfire, as well as how to manage forested property to minimize fire risk and promote their goals for their property.

Allen Chrisman, a retired forester and firefighter, stressed the variety of goals in managing his family’s forest. These ranged from protecting buildings from fire, reducing fuels, producing timber for harvest and protecting wildlife — from birds and small mammals to ungulates and predators.

Larry Kinsolving, whose entire forest burned in 2003, talked about the effects to reduce erosion and create a healthy forest after a fire, and Jerry Wernick combined both fire preparation and timber management as necessary.

The seminar, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, was followed by the Interlocal Agreement from 1 to 3 p.m. Most agencies and private groups merely informed attendees what they are doing or plan to do in the near future.

Only real complaints I heard regarded the poor boat launch slides at the Canada Border and Ford Cabin and the lack of sanitary facilities at the Sondreson River Access Site. Forest Service failure to accommodate recreational use is inexcusable to me.

Also, one resident was incensed regarding Glacier National Park’s lack of information regarding their “dark skies” initiative.

Neither Flathead County or the Border Patrol saw fit to send a representative to the meeting.