Changes

If you read last week’s column you probably guessed that I don’t like change- especially any change to the North Fork. I am told that is a common trait among folks over 50 and includes almost all of the people over 70. Maybe that makes me normal to wish for the “good old days” and at least try to modify the future.

The North Fork I knew as a boy and young man is gone forever and no amount of wishing will bring it back. Hardly anyone remembers that heavy logging traffic created a need for a better road and, as a result, the North Fork Road was widened, straightened, and generally improved in 1954 and that logging paid for it.

Today, logging, like the homesteaders, is mostly a memory. Now it appears that the road needs more improvement just to make it safe for those who travel it. The increased traffic going into Glacier Park (about 20 percent increase each of the last three years) is just part of the increased traffic. I suspect the increase is as much north of Polebridge as it is into Glacier Park. There are as many more floaters, hikers, campers, ATVs, and snowmobiles adding a lot more visitations than Glacier Park, which is closed in the winter. The National Forest is a year-round playground for more and more people.

In addition, Columbia Falls is no longer the industrial hub of the Flathead. Only Stoltze remains as a major sawmill and the aluminum plant is gone. The only avenue for Columbia Falls is to emulate Whitefish and promote tourism and maybe become a bedroom community for the Flathead.

No matter how you slice it that translates to more and more recreationists coming to the North Fork. In my mind that means that both Glacier Park and Flathead Forest will need to expand recreational opportunities, not just upgrade the main road. That means better trail maintenance, more campgrounds, and more opportunities for motorized recreation. It also means we will need more law enforcement, improved access to medical help as well as more Forest Service and Park folks to maintain additional facilities.

If British Columbia expands Waterton Park west from the Continental Divide to the North Fork River that will add more traffic to the area and maybe reopen the border stations.

In my view, this scenario will make it necessary to pave the road, which will probably increase the number of year-round residents.

When I was a boy it was rare to meet 20 vehicles on a trip to or from town. This summer I averaged 50 per trip and one time counted 88.

I may not be in favor of change but I think it is inevitable. What do you think?

Larry Wilson’s North Fork Views appears weekly in the Hungry Horse News.