Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 5.20.2015

10 | MAY 20, 2015
NEWS
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Tricia Rossettie, center, grabs a tree to plant as she, Luke Dovre, left, Nancy Ann Little, right, and other members of the Montana Conservation Corps plant native trees and shrubs along the banks of the Flathead River as part of the River to Lake Initiative.
GREG LINDSTROM FLATHEAD BEACON
Volunteers Help Restore Land Along Flathead River
Facts
The Flathead River to Lake Initiative works to preserve riparian environment in the valley
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
Volunteers with the Flathead River to Lake Initiative have stayed busy this spring as they work to protect and restore critical land along the valley’s namesake river.
This spring, 35 volunteers planted more than 1,000 shrubs and trees on two different properties along the river. The plantings help stabilize riverbanks, known as a riparian area, so they can withstand the powerful river and reduce the amount of sediment going downstream.
“We’re always working to protect and restore our natural areas,” said Aaron Clausen, river program coordinator.
The initiative began in 2000 to help craft and coordinate conservation proj- ects that help the environment and pri- vate landowners. Since then, thousands of acres of land in the river basin and flood- plain area has been protected or restored. According to Clausen, because of the ef- forts of the River to Lake Initiative, 41 per- cent of the area’s floodplain has been pro- tected with various land easements.
The initiative has numerous partners, including the Flathead Lakers, Flathead Land Trust, the American Bird Conser- vancy, the Confederated Salish and Koo- tenai Tribes, the Flathead Audubon, the Intermountain West Joint Venture, Mon- tana Land Reliance, Montana Fish, Wild- life & Parks, the USNA’s Natural Resourc- es Conservation Service, the Flathead Conservation District and the Flathead River Commission.
Clausen said the initiative’s work has only grown in recent years and this year it has added another member to their team. Megan Stockfisch joined the effort in coop-
eration with the Big Sky Watershed Corps, part of AmeriCorps. Clausen also started as a Corps member last year and is stay- ing on to help the Flathead River Steward program, which helps coordinate conser- vation projects.
Among those projects was the resto- ration of 1,400 feet of riverbank south of Kalispell on land owned by Ken Louden in April. The work, completed by volunteers, will help improve the area habitat for fish and wildlife and protect water quality. Be- sides planting shrubs and trees to stabi- lize the soil, volunteers occasionally build fences to keep deer and other animals away from the land to prevent the riverbank from eroding and falling into the water.
Officials with the initiative say projects like the riverbank restoration will be even more important in the coming years as the valley’s population continues to grow.
For more information, visit www.flat- headrivertolake.org.
[email protected]
Numbers in the news
54.3
Crimes per 1,000 residents in Kalispell in 2014, ranking sixth among large cities in Montana.
32.7
Crime rate in Bozeman last year, the lowest in Montana for the fourth time in five years.
37.2 million
Projected Americans who will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, a 4.7 percent increase over last year.
9
Members of rival mo- torcyle gangs who were killed during a weekend shootout at a restuarant in Waco, Texas. About 170 people were charged with crimes.
FIGURES