My Page: Kate Schwab
New West Feature
Montana Deer Hunting Hit Hard by Disease
White-tailed deer hunters in eastern Montana will have to scramble for licenses this season.
The number of “B” licenses for antlerless white-tailed deer in the region has been reduced for the 2011 hunting seasons from 5,000 to 2,000, because of a tough winter on the animals, followed by a disease outbreak.
Berrying
Who’s That Behind the Bush?
Last week, I accompanied my guy on a business trip to Lincoln, Mont. Although it’s probably most famous as the location of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski’s hideout (the cabin has since been moved), this rural community remains noteworthy for its beef jerky, which is produced locally and sold under the Hi-Country brand.
It’s also an easy distance from prime berry country, so naturally we were prepared to grab a few wild huckleberries during the journey home.
[more]New West Feature
Cougar on the Rise
In rural New Mexico, trailheads leading into cougar country often are posted with signs that explain what a hiker should do in case of an encounter.
Maybe Robert Giannini had read such advice, because he did the right thing—eventually.
[more]National Park News
Wildfire, Flooding Danger Shut Down Bandelier National Monument ‘For Foreseeable Future’
Most of Bandelier National Monument is slated to remain closed “for the foreseeable future” because of wildfire damage, according to the National Park Service.
About half of the New Mexico park, home to ancestral pueblo remains dating back to 1150, was destroyed by the Las Conchas Fire, the park’s web page reports. Because officials expect seasonal thunderstorms, the rest of the park will stay closed because of flash flooding danger. Frijoles Canyon, which includes the visitor center, is considered one of the most hazardous locations. The visitor center is closed.
New West Feature
Failed, High-End Ameya Preserve on the Auction Block
Bullis Creek Ranch, a property near Livingston, Montana, once planned as a high-end eco development complete with cooking classes by Alice Waters and dinosaur digs with famed Western paleontologist Jack Horner, has hit the auction block.
The ranch that would have been the Ameya Preserve, an ambitious and controversial gated community owned by entrepreneur and American Skandia executive Wade Dokken, was on the market for $30 million last year, according to Adam York of Sublime Public Relations, which represents the auction house.
Now the minimum reserve bid for the 11,000-acre property is set at $15.6 million. Sealed bids are being accepted through Thursday, July 21.
[more]New West Feature
Oil Spill on the Yellowstone’s Threat to Fish, Other Wildlife, Humans Under Investigation
It’s too early to tell how much Saturday’s oil spill on the Yellowstone River will ultimately affect aquatic wildlife, Bruce Farling, the executive director for Montana Trout Unlimited, said Tuesday.
The spill took place in “a transitional reach where coldwater species start giving away to cool- and warm-water species,” he said in an e-mail. No federally listed endangered species live within the spill zone, and that section of river is not part of the pristine “blue ribbon” section prized by trout anglers. That’s the good news. But in addition to goldeye, sauger and channel catfish—all native game fish—the area is home to popular non-native sportfish such as rainbow and brown trout, smallmouth bass and walleyes, as well as non-sport species, including minnows, longnose dace and Flathead chub.
More worrisome, the pallid sturgeon, which is endangered, and its relative, the shovelnose sturgeon, are found downstream from Miles City. Should the oil reach that far, it could prove problematic, Farling noted.
[more]Flood Roundup
Flood Problems Slowly Decreasing for Rocky Mountains
Flood warnings still haven’t dropped this week for cities in southern Wyoming, eastern Utah and northern Colorado, the National Weather Service reports.
Baggs, Wyo.; Grand Junction and Steamboat Springs, Colo.; and Green River, Logan, Vernal and Duschene, Utah, were all under flood warnings Friday. Utah’s Moab and Manila and Colorado’s Kremmling, Vail and Rifle remain on flood advisories. Last week’s flood advisory around Heber, Utah, has been lifted.
Central and southeastern Wyoming are under several flood warnings, including Laramie, Rawlins, Dubois, Riverton, Lander and Greybull. Lowlying areas outside Sheridan and Cody are also affected.
[more]New West Feature
Hearing Officer: Exxon Should Get Permits for Megaloads
A retired judge and sitting hearing officer ruled this week that permits should be granted to ExxonMobil for sending oversized truckloads of specialized equipment up Highway 12 through Idaho and Montana, the Idaho Department of Transportation reported.
In his legal findings of fact, hearing officer Duff McKee said he could not find a legal basis to deny the oversized load permits. Idaho transportation officials properly followed the existing permit process, he concluded. The permits, if issued, would enable ExxonMobil to move its shipments from Lewiston, Idaho, to the Montana border.
The so-called megaloads, which can run more than 200 feet long and easily take up two highway lanes, have drawn widespread condemnation from opponents who have variously argued that they pose a safety hazard, an environmental threat and an eyesore. Manufactured in Korea, the equipment is bound for the Kearl oil sands in Alberta, Canada, a joint project between ExxonMobil and Imperial Oil. About 200 shipments are in the works.
[more]New West Feature
Montana Osprey Suffering From Unfishable Rivers, Baling Twine, Toxins
Spring flooding in the Rockies is adding a new challenge to an already struggling osprey population, according to a researcher at the University of Montana’s Project Osprey program.
High, murky rivers have been forcing nesting parents to fly as far as 10 to 15 miles away from their nests in search of clearer mountain streams where they can better spot prey, Erick Greene, director of UM’s Environmental Biogeochemistry Laboratory in Missoula, said.
“Some of the nests we’re watching, they’re not bringing in fish,” Greene said. “Maybe once every third or fourth day. Some of these chicks are starving.” Because light bends, it is impossible to spear fish by aiming directly at them, he explained. To catch fish, which comprise about 99 percent of their diets, the birds have to target their dives elsewhere, depending on the position of the sun and angle of their flight. An osprey may plunge anywhere from 30 to 100 feet above the water to snatch a fish.
[more]New West Update
Flooding Still Affecting Rockies, But Water Expected to Recede
Idaho’s Lemhi River reached its 6.5 foot flood stage at 5 a.m. Friday, triggering a warning from the National Weather Service, aimed at local ranchers, who should expect flooding along the waterway from Tendoy to Salmon.
Upstream rains mean alerts are still out for the Teton River in Madison and Fremont counties, which is just below flood stage. Minor flooding on low ground near St. Anthony, Sugar City and Rexburg is expected late Friday through Saturday. Flooding on Henry’s Fork Thursday is also impacting agricultural lands and local roads around Rexburg. Lake Pend O’Reille at Hope and the Pend O’Reille River below Albeni Falls are flooding Bonner and Pend O’Reille counties. Lake residents can expect flooding in yards, boat ramps and local recreational areas.
Snowmelt is feeding flood waters on the Bear River from the Wyoming border to Stewart, Idaho. Dingle and Pegram areas are advised to keep close watch.
[more]
