North Fork Road an emotional issue

If the future of the North Fork Road wasn’t such an important issue, the emotional arguments on both sides of the issue would provide a lot of laughs. Some of the arguments on both sides range from silly to downright comedic.

That being said the emotional sides of the issue are still important. We do need to consider what will really affect the North Fork now and in the future. Do we want more and more development of the areas? Is it really important that we get to town, be from town, 15 minutes quicker than we do now? To me, the solution to that question is to go to town less often.

Whether or not the road is paved more people are going to be coming to the North Fork. The last 50 years attest to that fact. In 1948 it was rare to see 20 other vehicles on a trip to town. During the high logging years over 100 truckloads of logs were removed from the North Fork every working day. Now, logging trucks are rare but recreationists are increasing every year. This summer I averaged seeing 50 vehicles every trip to or from town except in the middle of the night. Without a doubt paving the road would increase traffic and some folks would drive over the speed limit. I doubt that this would have any real impact on wildlife as some suggest.

Since the government, state and federal, owns well over 90 percent of the land north of Big Creek they are the ones who will manage recreation. The Forest Service is already reducing recreational use by closing roads and campgrounds and refusing to establish sanitary facilities where they are needed. This has concentrated recreational use to the river corridor, i.e., the North Fork Road. I feel certain that soon they will take action to limit river use—and maybe it will be really necessary.

The number of folks entering Glacier Park at the Polebridge entrance has had double digit increases in recent years. How long will that continue? No one knows.

The problem is that federal lands are owned by all of the people and both the Forest Service and the Park Service have a responsibility to provide recreational opportunities for the general public whether they are North Forkers, citizens of Flathead County or Omaha, Nebraska. With that mandate they must also provide for the reasonable safety of visitors and the resources. To some, that means safe roads, maintained trails, toilet facilities and training and maintenance of search and rescue units not to mention law enforcement officers.

In the end, I believe the only way to keep the North Fork as much like it is today as possible would be to close the bridges at Camas and Polebridge, ban river floating, close the area to fishing and hunting and then condemn all private property. Will any of that happen? Boy, I sure hope not. My only consolation is that I am so old I will not see the ultimate end of what I think of as “My North Fork.”

What do you think?