A sad report on the death of a cub

The combination Community Firewise Meeting and summer Interlocal meeting makes for a long day at Sondreson Hall. The Firewise Meeting started at 9:30 a.m., and lasted until noon, followed by a great lunch with brats and hamburgers provided by the North Fork Trails Association and potluck side dishes. Lunch was followed at 1 p.m. by the Interlocal which lasted until 4 p.m.

The Firewise Meeting, organized by Allen Chrisman, was particularly well done and followed a well-thought out agenda. Purpose is to educate and inform residents about wildfire and that we all have a responsibility to protect our property and make it possible for firefighters to safely combat wildfire efficiently.

To this end we viewed a slide show depicting the 2014 wildfires in surrounding areas to give us an idea about fire behavior. This was followed by speakers outlining what needs to be done by residents to best protect structures and the kind of access firefighters need to get equipment and firefighters to and from residences in case of fire.

A fire truck needs more room on a road and plenty of room to turn around.

Also discussed was the necessity of evacuating early to clear roads for firefighters and their equipment to get to a fire.

A good informational meeting that included valuable information for newcomers and longtime residents alike. Being firewise is not a one-time activity. Every year something more can be done to make our homes and community safer.

By its very nature, the Interlocal cannot be very well organized. The agenda provides for every landowner group to give a report on their activities as well as every agency involved with questions from the audience after each report. Three hours just is not enough time to give justice to 15 different groups.

My suggestion would be to return to the original purpose of the Interlocal. Then, only concerns would be discussed. In advance, the landowner groups and private individuals would notify the agencies of concerns so they could answer them and be questioned. If residents need or want to know about the purpose or activities of the landowner groups there are better ways to do it.

I am sure the agencies are not interested in our social activities. If they are, they are welcome to join the NFLA as associate members and get the newsletter. Same with NFPA.

From the reports we can be assured that Glacier Park will not fix the Inside Road this year and probably not in the foreseeable future. Ditto U.S. Forest Service doing anything at Sondreson Meadows regarding either sanitation or camping facilities.

Despite the agencies' lip service to supporting recreational use of federal lands, their actions point more toward concentrating people than encouraging dispersed recreation. The Forest Service talks about education and river patrols but never reports on how many tickets are issued to violators.

Saddest report was that our well-known grizzly sow, Betsy, who had twins two winters ago and never caused any trouble, lost one cub this year.

It was caught in a snare, somehow broke a hind leg and had to be killed - a rare event but still tragic. No net loss though. A sheep-killing sow with two cubs was transplanted from Valier to Frozen Lake.