Snowshoe hare tracks bound deep in the snow next to the trail above Krause Creek. They criss-cross it, run along side it and disappear into the trees.
The snow is light and muffles the sound of movement.
It’s the first snowshoe and cross-country ski trip of the season for the Swan Rangers hiking group. Keith Hammer, who started the weekly hiking group in 2005, said they usually are snowshoeing and cross-country skiing by mid- to late December.
“This year, it’s like we’re at least a month late,” Hammer said. “There’s a lot of trails that up to a few days ago were bare.”
Read the full Bigfork Eagle article.
Bigfork Eagle photo by Camillia Lanham
Forest thinning to help prevent or reduce severe wildfire will release more carbon to the atmosphere than any amount saved by successful fire prevention, a new study concludes.
In research just published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Oregon State University scientists conclude that even in fire-prone forests, it’s necessary to treat about 10 locations to influence fire behavior in one. There are high carbon losses associated with fuel treatment and only modest savings in reducing the severity of fire, they found.
“Some researchers have suggested that various levels of tree removal are consistent with efforts to sequester carbon in forest biomass, and reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels,” said John Campbell, an OSU research associate in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society. “That may make common sense, but it’s based on unrealistic assumptions and not supported by the science.”
Even if wood removed by thinning is used for biofuels it will not eliminate the concern. Previous studies at OSU have indicated that, in most of western Oregon, use of wood for biofuels will result in a net loss of carbon sequestration for at least 100 years, and probably much longer.
Read the OSU press release here.
Download the research paper here.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 6, 2011) — Whether a species can evolve to survive climate change may depend on the biodiversity of its ecological community, according to a new mathematical model that simulates the effect of climate change on plants and pollinators.
Read the ScienceDaily article.
A huge “migration” of trees has begun across much of the West due to global warming, insect attack, diseases and fire, and many tree species are projected to decline or die out in regions where they have been present for centuries, while others move in and replace them.
Read the full November 3, 2011 Science Daily article.
A mountain bike racer was rammed full-speed by a Red Hartebeest while competing in a race in South Africa’s Albert Falls Dam and Game Reserve. The charge was filmed by a fellow biker working for the race’s sponsor, Max Cluer Sports Marketing.
The biker fortunately survived with whiplash and a concussion. Rhino and buffalo also call the game reserve home.
Check out the ABC News report.
The Forest Service is removing a number of breakneck biking jumps and ramps from the Beardance Trail on Crane Mountain, where they weren’t supposed to be installed in the first place
Rich Kehr, the district ranger at the Swan Lake Ranger District, said mountain biking features at Beardance — and any other trail in Flathead National Forest for that matter — need to follow the guidelines of a trail management objective.
“(The features) didn’t meet with the objective of the trail,” Kehr said. “They cause riders to go off the main tread of the trail and form these side trails and parallel trails.”
Read the full Flathead Beacon article.
What began as an act of civil disobedience by renegade mountain biker Ron Cron - who in May 2009 was caught building an illegal trail called “Original Sin” on Crane Mountain near Bigfork - has since evolved into a volunteer service agreement with the Flathead National Forest to maintain and improve existing trails.
But a conservation group charges that much of Cron’s trail work exceeds the scope of mere “maintenance,” and accuses Forest Service officials of turning a blind eye to a growing network of unauthorized “extreme” downhill bike trails.
Keith Hammer, chair of the Swan View Coalition, says the mountain biking community has been building unauthorized ramps and jumps along the Beardance Trail above Flathead Lake for years, as well as a network of unauthorized downhill bike trails on the north side of Crane Mountain above Ferndale.
“The construction of these unauthorized ramps, jumps and trails is in violation of the law and they must be removed,” Hammer said.
The trails serve as an example of another multi-use area being assaulted with jumps and stunt features, Hammer said, similar to the controversial user-built trails on Spencer Mountain in Whitefish.
Read the full Missoulian article.
The documents show that [Ron] Cron was fined $300 for three days he spent developing a trail on Crane Mountain after he said he found Swan Lake Ranger District employees unreceptive to his proposals to expand trails there. An agent found his hand tools on the trail, took them as evidence and left a business card. Cron later called and admitted building the trail.
“We purposely left the beginning and end of the trail obscured and not brushed out so it was not obvious because we knew we were doing something illegal,” Cron wrote in the affidavit. “We wanted to build the trail first before telling the Forest Service because we knew once the trail was established it would never be removed.” . . .
[Keith] Hammer believes any future public process considering mountain biking on Crane Mountain is illegitimate while the trail there already exists.
“The trails continue to be used and have been used for over two years,” Hammer said. “So the entire process is biased until the Forest Service goes out and shuts down these illegal trails.” . . .
Other emails by Forest Service officials express concern over how freeride mountain biking fits with other uses. That compatibility is what has Hammer concerned about the Beardance Trail, where riding features like elevated logs and other natural obstacles have been incorporated.
Read the full Flathead Beacon Article. While there, be sure to add your comments to help insure laws to protect wildlife and other forest users are followed on our public lands!
Email Swan Lake District Ranger Rich Kehr and Flathead Forest Supervisor Chip Weber today and ask that all unauthorized bike trails, jumps and ramps on Crane Mountain be removed to protect wildlife and other forest users!
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Read our previous article about Crane Mountain Trails for more background.
The glint of a Swan Ranger’s eye!
