Category Archives: News

Trail condition reports for July 27 posted

Lower Chain Lake, June 29, 2021 – W K Walker

Fire season slowed things down a bit, but the July 27, 2021 Forest Service Trail Condition Reports for the Glacier View and Hungry Horse Ranger Districts have been posted to the website Trail Conditions page.

These reports contain a fair amount of useful information. Besides trail conditions, they include trail numbers, their official names and end-to-end mileages. The reports may also list information on trail and area closures, especially during fire season.

The current fire danger is EXTREME. All county, state and federal lands are under Stage 2 fire restrictions.

Updated food storage restrictions for Flathead National Forest

From the press release. (See also the official order, which is much more detailed and contains supporting material.)

Kalispell, MT, July 19, 2021—The Flathead National Forest has updated the existing food storage restrictions for all Flathead National Forest lands outside of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and reminds the public to be bear aware. The updated order can be found on the Flathead National Forest website. The intent of food storage restrictions is to reduce the likelihood of a bear getting into unsecured food and garbage. Bears can become food conditioned if they receive a food reward. Food conditioned bears can lead to an increase in conflicts between humans and bears, which compromises the safety of both.

The order requires all attractants to be stored in an acceptable manner when unattended. Attractants can include, but are not limited to;

Human Food
Garbage
Pet Food
Livestock Feed

Acceptable methods of food storage include;

Secured in a hard-sided recreational vehicle, vehicle trunk, trailer cab, or dwelling
Suspended at least 10 feet up and four feet out from an upright support
Stored in an approved bear-resistant container
Stored within an approved and operating electric fence

As always, there is inherent risk to recreating in bear country and it is vital that everyone does their part to be Bear Aware and Recreate Responsibly. It is often said, “a fed bear is a dead bear.” Please don’t be responsible for a bear becoming conditioned by receiving human food rewards. For more information on approved bear-resistant containers please visit the Flathead National Forest website.

Ticks suck — how to ID and avoid them

Deer Tick, Adult Female – UMaine Cooperative Extension-Griffin Dill

This article from NPR is probably more than you wanted to know about ticks, but it’s that time of year again . . .

Ticks aren’t known as beach-lovers, so ecologist Dan Salkeld and a colleague were surprised when they found 180 ticks in less than a mile on a coastal trail near Muir Beach in California one day in 2016.

“Contrary to most people, we were delighted at the high numbers of ticks! It was exciting in terms of sample sizes and data,” says Salkeld, whose findings were published in June.

But it’s also sobering. For years, people who track black-legged ticks — the kind that carry Lyme disease — have been finding them in further flung territory, though still in mostly traditional habitats of forested areas with tall grasses and leaf litter.