Looking forward to Forest Management

As I write this column, it is four days until Christmas. Despite forecasts of a big snowstorm, it turned out to be all rain in Columbia Falls and there is no snow on the ground. Some snow (about six inches) fell on parts of the North Fork, but it was mostly wet heavy stuff followed by 40-degree temperatures and rain.

As a result, the North Fork Road is a mess with water on ice and both Wurtz Hill and Vance Hill are dangerous. A North Forker called me this morning and said they chained up all four tires and kept them on until Canyon Creek and helped two vehicles that had slid off the road. My own method is to stay off the road during these kind of conditions.

By the time most of you read this, Santa will have come and gone, Christmas dinner will have been consumed and we will only have New Years to look forward to as 2019 comes to a close. Then we can really start planning and looking forward to the New Year and especially to spring and summer.

The Landowners Association is planning next year’s summer schedule and my part is to schedule the education/information sessions prior to regular meetings.

So far, tentative plans are for North Fork archivist Lois Walker to have a slide show before the June meeting, Rob Davies, Glacier View Ranger, in July is to talk about the new Frozen Moose Management Plan. I am really excited about this one. I have been a longtime critic of the U.S. Forest Service for not really managing the forest. This proposal would be active management for over 8,000 acres of National Forest. It would involve logging, thinning, fuels management, recreational issues and interaction with local landowners. I’m sure there will not be total agreement on everything the Forest Service proposed, but it is a great way to begin putting the Forest Plan into active management of the land. Best of all, both the Forest Plan and the Frozen Moose proposal are the result of local forest employees working on behalf of the forest and the general public. This is in sharp contrast to the River Review, where they paid outsiders tens of thousands to baffle us with B.S.

In August we hope to have Mike Connor, retired Forest Service, report on the origins of the Land Use Advisory Committee. Mike was a key part of that process.

The September meeting should have Anne Boveng talk about the Inside North Fork Road. Anne is a capable amateur historian and will share the history of that road and why it should be maintained as a primitive access to the North Fork.

So far, we still have October open and I am looking at possibly talking to recently retired wolf specialist Diane Boyd, a wildlife expert or maybe a game warden. Anyone with suggestions please contact me at Box 3, Columbia Falls, MT, 59912 or call 406-892-5951.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and a happy and healthy 2020 and beyond.

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