Outdoor news
Comments sought
Fish, Wildlife and Parks is seeking public comment for its Flathead River Hybrid Trout Suppression Project. FWP proposes to continue removing hybrid and rainbow trout from the mouths and channels of Abbot, Sekokini, Rabe, Ivy and Third creeks in the main stem and the North Fork of the Flathead River. Trapping and electrofishing would be used to catch fish during their spawning season, from April to May, and move them to community fishing ponds. FWP would also electrofish between July and September to remove hybrid and rainbow trout offspring. The goal of the proposed suppression effort is to minimize the loss of westslope cutthroat trout populations in the Flathead River system. A draft report on the project is available for a 30-day public review through March 8. For more information, contact FWP fisheries biologist Amber Steed at 751-4541 or asteed@mt.gov.
Avalanche talk
The Flathead Avalanche Center and its partners will host an avalanche safety awareness event at the Whitefish Moose Lodge, 230 West 10th Street, in Whitefish, on Tuesday, Feb. 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Presenters will include Mark Dundas with Big Mountain Ski Patrol Inc. on backcountry skiing around Whitefish Mountain Resort; Steve Burgland with Flathead Nordic Backcountry Patrol and USGS snow scientist Erich Peitzsch on recent avalanche incidents; and Seth Carbonari with the Forest Service and the Flathead Avalanche Center about the center’s role as a resource for decision-making. For more information, visit online at www.flatheadavalanche.org/education or call 758-5204.
Bird count
The 2013 Great Backyard Bird Count will take place on Feb. 15-18. The annual event is for beginners to experts. Participants enter their observations on the GBBC Web site. For information on local counts, contact Bob Lee at 406-270-0371 or rml3@centurytel.net or Kathy Ross at 406-837-3837 or mtkat@montanaport.net.
Freezeout Lake
Flathead Audubon will lead their annual trip to the Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area south of Choteau to view the snow geese migration on Saturday and Sunday, March 23 and 24, led by Dan Casey. As many as 400,000 geese have been seen there at one time. Thousands of tundra swans, tens of thousands of northern pintails, American widgeons, and a wide variety of other waterfowl add to the excitement, and often the first white pelicans, shorebirds and Franklin’s gulls of the spring are also seen. Their daily comings and goings against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountain Front make for an incredible spectacle. For more information, contact Casey at 857-3143 or danielcasey55@gmail.com.
Park talk
The Montana House and Glacier National Park Fund will co-host a “Look Listen and Learn” presentation by Chris Peterson, photographer for the Hungry Horse News at the Montana House in Apgar Village at Saturday, Feb. 16, at 4 p.m. His photographic presentation will be about taking long multi-day loop hikes in Glacier National Park and Bob Marshall Wilderness. His work has appeared in the New York Times and National Geographic’s Crown of the Continent Map. He is the creator of the quarterly Glacier Park Magazine, now available as an iPad app. For more information, call 892-3250 or visit online at www.glaciernationalparkfund.org.
Bat talk
Flathead Audubon will present a talk on “Montana’s Bats — Those Fascinating Night Fliers” by Lewis Young during their meeting in the United Way Conference Room at the Gateway Community Center on U.S. 2 West, in Kalispell, on Monday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. Young will review all 15 bat species in Montana, including their biology and ecology, bat survey methods, and bat habitats. He has been involved with bat surveys each summer since 2006 and intermittently before then.
Wilderness talks
The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation’s 2013 Wilderness Speakers Series will present three talks about wilderness stewardship, conservation and recreation. Research biologist Kate Kendall will talk about grizzly bears on Feb. 21, local author Matt Holloway will talk about “The Wild and the Not-Wild: A Discussion of Wilderness in Today’s Mind” on March 14, and former Glacier National Park ranger Charlie Logan will talk about “Recollections of a Rocky Mountain Ranger” on April 11. The talks will be held in Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts and Technology Building from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Ice-fishing derby
The Babb/St. Mary Volunteer Fire Department’s annual ice fishing derby at Duck Lake will take place Feb. 9 and 10 with hourly prize drawings, 50/50 ticket drawings, coffee and food at a concession stand. Fee is $20 with fishing on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon. Tickets will be available at the lake on Friday from 1 to 5 p.m., Saturday starting at 7 a.m. and Sunday from 8 to 10 a.m. Cash prizes for longest fish are $700 first, $400 second, $200 third and $100 fourth. Children 12-and-under fish for free. Donations can be dropped off at the Babb/St. Mary VFD or mailed to P.O. Box 69, Babb MT 5941. For more information, call 406-732-9292.