Timber projects, the Flathead River system’s long-awaited Comprehensive River Management Plan (CRMP) and dwindling elk populations in the South Fork drainage were among a slate of Flathead National Forest (FNF) updates provided to county commissioners on Tuesday as part of a new quarterly briefing.
FNF Supervisor Anthony Botello on March 9 updated Flathead County commissioners Randy Brodehl and Brad Abell on timber projects like the Blacktail Powerline Project and the Big Mountain Fuels Project, both of which are being implemented this year to reduce the risk of wildlife and protect infrastructure.
As the public comment deadline for the updated CRMP nears on March 13, Botello said agencies are preparing to finalize the management plan, which includes an “unrestricted, unlimited” permit system as river use rises on the three forks of the Flathead River.
In recent years, northwest Montana’s population growth has led to a surge in river recreation on the North, Middle and South forks, causing issues with human waste, litter, fire rings and crowding. While there’s been a concerted effort among partners to educate the public about proper river etiquette and reduce impacts, Botello said it’s important to collect a data set that will help guide future management for the Flathead River system.
“At some point, we have to figure out what the existing use is, what our intended use is and see where we are between those two numbers,” Botello said. “We are just trying to gather data at this point.”
The permit system would be presented as a “self-issued survey,” according to Botello, that would entail users filling out surveys at river access sites.
“It’s basically when you launch your boat on the river, you fill out a visitor card like you do when you go in the backcountry and you drop it in the slot so we know how big your party was, how many boats you had, and what stretch you were floating on,” Botello said. “It’s just to give us a more reliable data set to determine where we are in those use levels.”
As the FNF works to collect river user data, officials are also working with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) to capture and collar elk in the South Fork drainage to collect population data.
“We don’t have a lot of data on that elk population,” Botello said. “We know from Fish, Wildlife and Parks and also from some sampling that it’s not meeting objections from a numbers standpoint and they don’t know why.”
Factors like habitat conditions may be contributing, Botello said, but capturing and collaring elk with the help of Spotted Bear Ranger District staff will offer more clues relating to the population decline.
“They know that country very well,” Botello said, referring to Spotted Bear Ranger District personnel. “To date, I’m told we’ve captured nine elk and collared them.”
I’m Maggie Dresser, here with today’s Daily Roundup.
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