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Deborah Schatz

Going-to-the-Sun Road plowing progress continues

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road plowing status

ROAD ACCESS:

On the west side, the Going-to-the-Sun Road is open for vehicle traffic to Avalanche Creek, approximately 16 miles from the West Entrance.

On the east side, the road is open to Jackson Glacier Overlook, approximately 13 miles past the St. Mary Entrance.

HIKER/BIKER ACCESS:

On the west side the hiker/biker closure is located Road Camp, approximately 10 miles past Avalanche Creek, while the road crew is working. The section of road between Avalanche and the Loop is also posted due to bear frequenting.

The hiker/biker closure on the east side is located at Siyeh Bend, approximately 2 miles past the vehicle closure, while the road crew is working.

Current road plowing status

Bison designated as National Mammal

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BISON

WASHINGTON – The bison has become the official national mammal of the United States under legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama on Monday.

Lawmakers spearheading the effort say the once nearly extinct icon deserves the elevated stature because of its economic and cultural significance in the nation’s history.

Millions of bison once roamed the Great Plains. About 500,000 now live in the U.S. but most of those have been cross-bred with cattle, and are semi-domesticated. About 30,000 wild bison roam the country, with the largest population in Yellowstone National Park.
Supporters of the legislation say they believe the recognition will elevate the stature of the bison to that of the bald eagle, long the national emblem, and bring greater attention to ongoing recovery efforts of the species.

“I hope that in my lifetime, thanks to a broad coalition of ranchers, wildlife advocates and tribal nations, we will see bison return to the prominent place they once occupied in our nation’s shortgrass prairies,” said Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, who worked with Republican Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota to pass the Senate version of the legislation.

TWO MEDICINE VALLEY – A river snakes through this valley southeast of Browning like a muddy belt on a barren landscape. This corner of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation is relatively unchanged from when the nearby hills were shaped several millennia ago, a time when millions of bison roamed the Great Plains.

The bison have long been a crucial species for the Blackfeet, but more than a century ago they were wiped off this landscape at the hands of white settlers. Now, the Blackfeet Nation is leading an international effort to return these iconic animals to the Rocky Mountain Front.

Last week, those efforts took a giant leap forward in this small valley on the Blackfeet Reservation with the arrival of 88 young bison that will form the core of a herd tribal officials hope will one day roam freely on their native land. But those plans could be stifled as the animals have become a source of controversy in the state and as communities debate the implications of bison reintroduction.

The FLATHEAD HOTSHOTS fire fighting crew is 50 years old this summer

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Article from the The Flathead Beacon, May 4, 2016

Flathead Hotshots 1966

The Flathead Hotshots are among the oldest and most respected firefighting crews in the nation, dating back 50 years this summer.

The country’s first hotshot teams were formed in Southern California in the late 1940s as a rugged, multi-skilled group that got its name for attacking the hottest parts of wildfires.

As firestorms increasingly emerged on the nation’s landscape, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies formed the Interagency Hotshot Program and established nine national crews in the early 1960s, including the Lolo Hotshots south of Missoula. The Bitterroot and Nez Perce national forests formed two separate teams in 1962, and in 1966, the Nez Perce crew, called the Slate Creek IR Crew, was moved to the Flathead National Forest, where the hotshot team was based at the Big Creek Ranger Station up the North Fork.

The local crew worked out of Big Creek until 1982, when its duty station was moved to the Glacier View Ranger Station. In the fall of 1993, the team moved to the newly established compound at the Hungry Horse Ranger District, where it remains today.

In this era of violent wildfires burning larger and more often than anytime in the nation’s history, there are now 107 hotshot teams across the country. Yet fewer than 20 remain from the original era of the 1960s, such as the Flathead Hotshots.

“The fact that they have been in place and been as respected as they are as a crew for 50 years is a significant accomplishment,” says Steve Frye, a longtime wildland firefighter and Type I incident commander with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in Kalispell.

“The Flathead Hotshots, and the Region One hotshot crews in general, are the standard against which I judge all other hotshot crews — their experience, the level of leadership, training and cohesiveness. They really embody the concept that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”

Frye added, “The Flathead Hotshots are a known commodity. They’re the best of the best.”

As another summer approaches, the local hotshots are preparing for six months of non-stop action. Even if this corner of Montana is quiet in terms of activity, the hotshots travel the continent chasing fire, from Canada to Alaska and anywhere in the U.S. On average, the Flathead Hotshots work 100 operational shifts a season with two days off every two weeks. An operational shift can run anywhere from eight to 16 hours without a break.

The number of large, catastrophic wildfires has increased dramatically in the last decade. Wildfires have consumed millions of acres of forest and destroyed hundreds of homes on an annual basis in recent years, and the number of wildfires larger than 1,000 acres has doubled across the West since the 1970s. Six of the worst fire seasons in terms of burned acreage have occurred since 2005.

In the heart of fire season, hotshots are among the most in-demand resources in America.

The 20-person crews boast a lean-and-mean reputation as an elite unit of men and women who can do it all. Outside of fire season, hotshots respond to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, and search and rescue operations.

They use every fire tool in the arsenal, from Pulaskis to chainsaws and drip torches, which are used for burnouts and backfires. Their ability to “fight fire with fire” distinguishes them as particularly unique and useful. Only a select few resources in the nation can carry out burnout operations. A burnout or backfire involves sparking a new fire that consumes the fuels in the path of an opposing blaze, creating a buffer. It effectively halts a cataract of flames in its tracks. It also can doom fire crews and create hundreds, if not thousands, of acres of trouble.They also understand the importance of fire watch company and immediately contacted Denver Fire Watch Services to keep safety for future

For this reason and many others, including the severity of the situations crews regularly find themselves in, hotshots undergo rigorous training. In the coming weeks, the team will embark on an 80-hour critical training program that includes classroom and field work. It will also involve serious physical training and “hell day,” an experience described as similar to the military’s boot camp.

“It’s all designed to push humans to the limit of their capability. But it’s not their capability that I’m interested in testing, it’s their will,” says Shawn Borgen, who first joined the Flathead Hotshots in 1996 and is in his second summer serving as superintendent of the crew.

“What I care about is the heart you put into the job. That’s what everybody respects.”

Read more about fire fighting in the Flathead Beacon.

Going to the Sun Road plowing has begun

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NB-Biking-to-the-Sun

Excitement is building in the Glacier region because plowing operations inside Glacier National Park have officially begun. Plowing the Going-to-the-Sun Road is a monumental task that usually takes about ten weeks, depending on weather and snowpack. The iconic alpine highway is considered one of the most difficult roads in America to plow and typically does not open until the third week of June. Sections of the road remain closed while the plows are working, but during times they are not working, the road is usually open to hikers and bikers. Biking the road before it opens to vehicle traffic is an amazing way to experience Glacier.

For current road status, travel tips and mileage information, visit our website. It won’t be long until you can find yourself back in the saddle on the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

The Sky’s the Limit Episode One: Open Road

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Travel along with two sisters, Gale and Laura Straub, as they experience the endless possibilities waiting for them in Montana and be inspired to discover Montana for yourself. This is the first video in the series of four.

Flathead Valley economic outlook positive for 2016

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By SEABORN LARSON/Daily Inter Lake

According to economists and real estate experts, Montana and the Flathead Valley might be in for another positive year.

Joe Mahon, an economist and analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, on Wednesday headlined the 14th annual Flathead Valley Economic Forecast in Kalispell where several economic experts looked at what’s expected in 2016.

Mahon opened by asking who in the room was optimistic about the economic outlook for this year and nearly everyone raised their hands. That response was similar to surveys completed by the Federal Reserve in recent months, where most business owners in the Ninth District said they were also optimistic about 2016, but less so than in 2015.

The Ninth District covers Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Montana and portions of Wisconsin and Michigan.

“Things might be more positive here than in other parts of the state,” Mahon said after the presentation. “As for business owners here, it might be interesting for them to hear that elsewhere in the region, the outlook is a little more moderate.”

The Federal Reserve uses two tools in making economic forecasts: a computer-generated statistics model that bases the forecast on how certain industries have moved in the past, and surveying business owners and individuals about things such as wages, expansions and employment.

Since the last forecast was released by the Fed in July, the data showed that employment, home building and personal income should continue growing at a moderate rate in the Ninth District.

“In case you didn’t know, the recession has been over since mid-2009,” Mahon said. “The recovery has been slower than we like, but that’s been the story for the last few years.”

The statistics model used by the Fed expects Montana employment to grow by about 1.9 percent, although Mahon said surveys showed that Montana had the lowest outlook in the region in terms of expecting additional hiring in 2016.

The model expects Montana’s unemployment to dip to 3.5 percent in 2016, but Mahon said he’s not positive that will be true by the end of the year.

“I think that’s pretty optimistic,” he said. “That’s a historically low unemployment rate.”

While surveyed business owners have said they’re having trouble finding and retaining adequate workers, Mahon said few owners expect to substantially increase wages. Most of the business owners surveyed said they plan to raise pay 2 or 3 percent in the next year.

Five other presenters followed Mahon’s talk with a tighter focus on the Flathead Valley.

Brad Eldredge, vice president of Instruction and Student Services at Flathead Valley Community College, and Maya Tsidulko, institutional research analyst at FVCC, covered Flathead Valley employment trends over the last 10 years.

Several local industries took a harder hit than most of the country in 2009, Tsidulko said. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, construction jobs were nearly cut in half in 2009. Those numbers have regained some strength since 2011, coming up almost 9 percent between 2014 and 2015.

Health care and social assistance, which account for about 15 percent of jobs in the Flathead, have been on the rise without losing step, growing at higher rates than in Montana and the United States.

“We do know that because of the increasing population of baby boomers retiring in recent years, the regional health-care center has been expanding, which is great,” Tsidulko said.

Eldredge said the Flathead Business Roundtable has been able to collect data that points to higher wages and an employment growth of around 2 to 3 percent this year.

“When we talk to business leaders in the Flathead, they usually have more timely information than the government,” he said. “It seems that the business community believes we’re going to have a pretty good year.”

Ellie Clark from Clark Real Estate Appraisal and Barbra Bennett, with Bennett Appraisal Services discussed the outlook for commercial and residential real estate.

“In recent years, pricing has increased as well as demand. That’s usually a sign of a good market,” Clark said.

New construction numbers have also climbed since 2009, but they’re not as high as they could be, Bennett said.

“There’s been consistent behavior in the last three years, but it’s still below the peak of 2006 and 2007,” she said.

Overall, Bennett and Clark said 2016 residential real estate should see decreases in demand and new construction in Whitefish while Columbia Falls should see an increase in both. Kalispell should see a sustained growth in demand over the coming year, while Clark and Bennett do not expect a significant change in new construction.

To close the seminar, Montana West Economic Development CEO Kellie Danielson presented a few economic factors concerning Canada. Alberta, currently in a mild recession, is expecting its economy to shrink 1.2 percent in 2016. At the same time, British Columbia, which relies less on oil production, is expected to grow.

The Canadian dollar, which is currently valued at 72 cents against the U.S. dollar, is expected to average around 78 cents through 2016. There are a few optimistic forecasts on the horizon, Danielson said, while Canadian economists expect the loonie to rise to an average 82 cents in 2017 and 2018.

After the seminar, Mahon said he walked away with as much input as those attending the event. Things he learned through the other presentations Wednesday morning will be brought back to the Federal Reserve to better understand this region’s economic status.

“I learned a little bit more about the real estate market which I’ll share with my colleagues,” Mahon said. “I think it’s also interesting to hear about how much this region is affected by interaction with Canada. That was one of the most interesting things to hear about.”

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at [email protected].

Park Officials Preparing for Another Bustling Year in Glacier

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Glacier National Park entrance

By DILLON TABISH, MAR 3, 2016, Flathead Beacon

In Glacier National Park, where crowds arrive like a flash flood once Going-to-the-Sun Road fully opens, heavy traffic was once again a noticeable sight in the main corridor. Some vehicles were even waiting at spots along the Sun Road for hours at a time on many days to gain parking at Logan Pass Visitor Center, which regularly fills up before noon during summer.

As park officials are starting to realize, this could be the new norm in America’s most popular outdoor attractions like Glacier, which set an annual record for the second year in a row in 2015 and ranked 10th in terms of top visitation among all national parks.

Jeff Mow, superintendent at Glacier Park, is preparing his staff for another potential record-breaking influx over the next nine months. Mow said it is not hard to imagine the overall attendance jumping 20 percent this year, which would be an unprecedented spike.

“If there’s not a lot of fire and smoke, we’re going to be prepared for that 20 percent,” Mow said. “We’ve never seen 20 percent in one year. We don’t know what that looks like.”

Attendance across the board is expected to rise this year specifically because it is the NPS centennial, which is drawing added attention to the nation’s 409 parks. Also, the economic recovery and low gas prices are driving domestic travel, while increased marketing efforts appear to be largely succeeding.

This scenario is leading park officials to devise clear strategies for large crowds, including how to re-route traffic and maintain resources. Last year’s raging wildfires forced temporary closures of sites and the Sun Road, which provided a learning opportunity, Mow said. Amid unseasonably dry, hot conditions that sapped the region’s snowpack earlier and faster than usual, Logan Pass nearly ran out of water, leading park officials to prepare an army of porta-potties as a worst-case response.

“It was really hard on the staff when we had to evacuate St. Mary. It will be easier for folks this year because we’ve been through the drills recently,” he said.

Glacier is receiving $190,000 from the NPS for the expected boost in visitation because of the centennial. Mow said he is devoting those funds to hiring more employees during the peak of summer.

By early summer, park officials expect to release the recommended alternatives of the Sun Road Corridor Study, a multi-year planning effort focused on addressing increased visitation and congestion along the main thoroughfare. The list of options includes expanded parking, a larger fleet of free shuttles with fleet management software implemented, and controlled vehicle entry through a reservation system.

Indeed, Glacier Park is big business for Northwest Montana and the park’s public persona and status are heavily linked to the local economy.
Marketing efforts have increased in recent years to capitalize on Glacier Park’s status as a global icon. Now Mow said the park is discussing with community leaders and marketers ways to expand the reach of tourism in the region.

“I think what’s critical with all of this is thinking about what that visitor experience is like,” he said. “For folks who don’t want delays, they need some alternatives. We’re really interested in working with the Forest Service and the (chambers of commerce) to let folks know we may see congestion this year. If you want to go to Logan Pass, maybe come back later in the day or in the evening. For some people, there won’t be an option and they don’t mind waiting.”

Tia Troy, communication manager for Glacier Country Tourism, characterized Glacier Park and the Sun Road as quintessential attractions, while also pointing out that this region does have an abundant supply of other unique amenities.

“While there are certain parts in Glacier National Park that are nearing capacity during our peak visitation times in July and August, there are so many other places to explore both inside and outside of the park,” said Troy. “We’re looking at this as an opportunity to introduce visitors to more unexplored and underutilized areas throughout the region.”

Bikes are allowed on the Going to the Sun Road before it opens to vehicle traffic. Check here for updates…

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