U.S. Forest news from years past

Flathead National Forest, termed fourth largest in the United States, made front-page news in 1948. Announcement of district ranger appointments was made by supervisor F. J. Neitzling.

Ray Gardner was promoted to district ranger at Big Prairie, 40 miles from road’s end at Spotted Bear and in the heart of a large primitive area.

Gardner was to report to Big Prairie as soon as travel permitted, probably in mid-May. Russell Cloninger, former Big Prairie ranger, was promoted to the Yaak District of the Kootenai. Aubrey Arthurs, Deer Lodge, succeeded Clarence Stillwell, transferred as district ranger to the Coeur d’Alene National Forest, as district ranger for upper Swan Lake, also a remote station.

Others announced were B.A. Bealey, Coram District; Harley Hartson, Tally Lake; Virgil Eastman, Bigfork.  

John Castles was to open the North Fork District station at Big Creek by mid-April. Charlie Shaw was scheduled to report to Spotted Bear in May. Schaefer Station was to be opened by Earl McConnell about the same time. 

A new Forest Service plan called for bids for an airplane to be headquartered at Spotted Bear. Previously when observation planes were used, they came from regional headquarters of the Forest Service at Missoula. Lookouts at Kah, Jumbo, Bungalow, Spotted Bear and Red Plume mountains and at Mud Lake would still be manned. 

Ten smokejumpers would be stationed in the primitive area in charge of fire control in the 2,622,737-acre forest.

Planting 96,000 small ponderosa pines was project scheduled. District ranger John Castles was to have charge of planting 43,000 of the little trees on 55 acres. One section would be on Fool Hen Ridge and one on Teakettle Mountain. Both were up the Flathead’s North Fork.

Coram District ranger B. A. Bealey was to supervise planting of another 48,000 pines on a 60-acre tract on Desert Mountain.

Last artificial planting on Flathead Forest took place in 1946, when 600 small Douglas fir were started on Crystal Creek above Columbia Falls and near Teakettle Mountain. 

Snow measurements at Strawberry Lake, just over the top of the Swan Range and south of Columbia Mountain, were reported at 186 inches of snow. Art Whitney and Walter Peterson, Flathead Forest rangers, took measurements.

Les Darling and Ted Paullin were on a snowmobile trip to Spotted Bear, Desert Mountain and Logan Creek on the Tally Lake District taking snow measurements.

Gladys Shay is a longtime resident and columnist for the Hungry Horse News.