Reining in Snowmobiles and ORVS

From Swan View’s News, Spring/Summer 2002
SVnews-SS-02.pdf

U. S. District Judge Donald Molloy on March 18, 2002 reaffirmed his 1999 decision ordering the illegally established snowmobile and off-road vehicle trail in Krause Basin legally closed and, if violated, physically restored and revegetated. Because the trail closure was promptly violated by motorcycles in 1999, Swan View Coalition organized a volunteer effort to help the Forest Service restore and revegetate the trail, as required by the court ordered settlement agreement.

This article published on May 25, 2002 • [Permalink]

The Big Creek watershed on the Flathead National Forest has been restored by removing 61 miles of the logging roads that helped put it on the "impaired water quality" list.

Comments submitted by Swan View Coalition and Friends of the Wild Swan lay out the scientific basis for restoring fish and wildlife habitat in the Swan Valley by removing roads, not trees.

Environmental groups are suing over a second logging project in the Spotted Bear area in as many months, claiming the South Fork Flathead River area above the 23,000 acre Hungry Horse Reservoir is a critical corridor for fish and wildlife.

The Max-Planck Institute, Oregon State University and others find large-scale production of bioenergy from forest biomass is neither sustainable nor greenhouse gas neutral.

The very fires often regarded as “unnatural” and “destructive” are the very fires that provide the best conditions for the most fire-dependent plant and animal species.

Send us photos of your Swan Ranger patch engaged in mindful adventure anywhere in the world for our new Swan Rangers Around the World slideshow!

Urge Flathead National Forest not to kill 270 large larch trees simply to collect their cones one time for seed!

Over 80% of Flathead Beacon readers say they support protection of America's roadless lands in two polls taken six months apart.

A report by William Baker in Ecosphere finds dry-site forests were historically more mixed and dense, and experienced more severe wildfire than previously thought. He recommends "Given historical variability in fire and forest structure, an ecological approach to restoration would restore fuels and manage for variable-severity fires, rather than reduce fuels to lower fire risk."

Researchers find that high-severity fire was historically a part of dry-site forest ecology and that these forests were more variable than the simplistic open, park-like forests that have become the poster child of land managers wanting to thin forests to reduce fuels.

Are bark beetles setting the stage for larger, more severe wildfires? And are fires bringing on beetle epidemics? Contrary to popular opinion, the answer to both questions seems to be “no.”

Please write a short email today to support the establishment of two non-motorized trails in the Lakeside-Blacktail area and to stop damaging motorized vehicles from using roads closed to protect wildlife!

Welcome the New Year by enjoying video Moments of Peace and Quiet on Swan View's YouTube Channel! Revisit these short Swan Range videos whenever you need a break from the daily grind, but can't get outdoors!

Take a few minutes to celebrate Winter Solstice, the Holidays and New Year! View our Changing Seasons slideshow and enjoy!

Read the Holidays 2011 issue of Swan View's News!

You can help the Swan Rangers maintain trails in the Swan Range with hand tools. Volunteer today!