Esther Chrisman, in remembrance

The North Fork was saddened this week by the passing of Esther Chrisman, 89. She and her late husband, Baird, came to the North Fork to visit their close friends Orville and Helen Foreman in the 1950s and by the end of the decade purchased the Monahan and Talley homesteads and spent many summers here with their children Kari and Allen. Inevitably, the kids fell in love with Montana and as adults moved west from the family home in Illinois.

As a result, Baird and Esther moved to Kalispell when they retired and became full time Montanans.

Esther was a tremendous cook as well as a gracious hostess and continued to cook and entertain guests until her death. Her parties on the North Fork and in Kalispell will be long remembered by us all. If I were to remember Esther with one word it would be feisty. She combined that trait with a quick wit and a fantastic sense of humor. She also made the best snickerdoodles I ever tasted. When Baird passed away we were devastated and now, with Esther gone we feel their loss even more. Hopefully, they are together and our sympathies are with the family.

A sizable group of North Fork residents met at the Northern Lights to be brought up to date on the $2 million FLAP request (Federal Land Access Program). The joint request by Glacier Park, Flathead Forest, Border Patrol and Flathead County with some funds provided by each agency would be used to improve the road from the Polebridge Mercantile to the Glacier Park entrance, and from the Canadian Border south. No real details on the actual work until or if the money becomes available.

Currently, a group is looking at 60-plus requests and will evaluate them. Then yet another group will prioritize the requests and distribute the money.

Projects could be fully or partially funded. The decision on funding should be made late this fall and then detailed planning would be started and priorities set for actual construction which could then begin in 2018.

Of concern to everyone is maintaining the rustic nature of the North Fork while balancing the desire to allow recreational use of federal lands.

Certainly recreational use is increasing — floaters alone have greatly increased traffic, not to mention hundreds of cyclists and an increasing number of motorcycles and big RVs. All of the increased traffic makes it more and more important that we have a safe road.

The problem is how many people is too many? How much recreational use will it take to destroy the wildlife, water or other special things on the North Fork? It is certainly possible to love the North Fork to death. Somehow we need to balance human desires with protecting our resources.

Mandated birth control? Limit access to Glacier Park?

Close more roads, remove more campgrounds, obliterate more trails?

Shorten or eliminate hunting seasons?

Ban trapping?

What do you think?