Outdoor news
District ranger
Hungry Horse/Glacier View District Ranger Rob Davies will meet members of the public at the Flathead Forest Friday breakfast at the Nite Owl restaurant in Columbia Falls on Friday, Nov. 16, from 7 to 9 a.m. Spotted Bear District Ranger Deb Mucklow also will be available for information and questions and will provide an overview of this summer’s work on the Spotted Bear district and the fires in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Those planning to attend should notify Flathead Forest public affairs officer Wade Muehlhof at ewmuehlhof@fs.fed.us or 758-5252 by Nov. 14.
Basin commission
The Flathead Basin Commission will meet at the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation office, 655 Timberwolf Parkway, in Kalispell, on Wednesday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The agenda includes FBC administration, updates from monitoring and transboundary committees, a discussion of the FBC legislative agenda, focusing on Aquatic Invasive Species, an overview of priority projects by Flathead County planning director BJ Grieve, a talk by Lex Blood about the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem Education Consortium, and a talk by Robin Kelson, from Algae Aqua Culture Technology. For more information, call 240-3453.
Photographing the Falklands
Photographer Tom J. Ulrich will host a program on “Photographing in the Falkland Islands” at 4 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Montana House in Apgar Village inside Glacier National Park. Ulrich spent 6 weeks in the Falkland Islands about 700 miles off the southern tip of Argentina. He sometimes lived with the locals but much of the time stayed in shacks out near the bird colonies. This allowed him to photograph thousands of penguins, cormorants and albatross where he was literally within arm’s distance. Photographic opportunities were endless. The program will run a little over an hour showing several hundred photos. Ulrich has been a freelance and award winning photographer since 1975 and is highly acclaimed around the world for his nature photography skills, with many of his photographs appearing in numerous publications including National Wildlife, Audubon, and National Geographic. He is also the author of seven nature books, including Mammals of the Northern Rockies, Birds of the Northern Rockies, Once Upon a Frame, Photo Pantanal, Mt. Reynolds: The Story, Mammals of the Canadian Rockies, and Birds of the Canadian Rockies. The event is hosted by the Montana House and the Glacier National Park Fund. Reservations are required. Call 888.5393 or email 1960mthouse@qwestoffice.net.
Trout program
On Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. the Flathead Valley Chapter Trout Unlimited will welcome longtime chapter member Tim Joern for a program on Fishing for Trophy Rainbow trout on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The program is in the public meeting room on the north side of the Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks building at 490 N. Meridian Road in Kalispell. The public is welcome to attend.
Boating class
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will offer a boating safety class on Wednesday evening, Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m., at the FWP office in Kalispell. Montana had 11 boating fatalities in 2012; six of these deaths occurred west of the continental divide. The class will include an overview of boating safety equipment requirements and the rules of safe operation. Montana law requires youth 13 and 14 years of age to pass a boating safety course in order to operate a motorboat or personal watercraft without an adult on board. Class participants will learn how to obtain the motorboat operator certificate. Paddle craft operators will learn about training for non-motorized vessels, too. The class is free of charge and is open to anyone who operates a motorized or non-motorized boat. Class participants should be at least 12 years old and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. To register, call: 752-5501, or visit the Fish, Wildlife and Park’s office at 490 North Meridian Road in Kalispell.