Personal items, such as duffel bags, backpacks or suitcases, can no longer be left to clutter public spaces in Whitefish, under a city new ordinance.

The Whitefish City Council last week approved the ordinance that says storage of “excessive personal property” is not allowed on public property as it interferes with the use of public property.

Police Chief Bill Dial said the police department gets complaints every year about people storing personal items in public areas such as on a bench on Central Avenue or in the gazebo at Depot Park.

“There was really nothing we could do to make them relinquish the bench,” he said. “This ordinance will help manage people who don’t want to share public areas.”

Dial said those who leave items in public areas are doing so for their personal use and that has an impact on businesses and residences. Items can not be left or stored in parks, parking lots, streets, sidewalks or any other public right-of-way.

Violation of the ordinance could result in a fine of up to $500 and up to 6 months in jail.

— Whitefish Pilot

Several environmental groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have reached a settlement in a case involving wolverines in the Lower 48 states.

Under the settlement, the Service has agreed to make a final determination on whether to list the wolverine by Aug. 31 under the Endangered Species Act. The Service in 2013 proposed listing wolverines, but it was never finalized.

This latest agreement stems from a lawsuit conservation organizations filed in March to prod the agency to determine the fate of wolverines after four years of delay. That delay followed a 2016 court ruling that directed the Service to take action on requests to grant legal protection to the wolverine “at the earliest possible, defensible moment in time,” stressing that “[f]or the wolverine, that time is now.”

There are fewer than 300 wolverines left in the contiguous United States. The animals are threatened by climate change, which reduces the spring snowpack they need for denning, and habitat loss caused by snowmobiles, roads and other development, environmental groups claim.

Montana used to have a trapping season for wolverines with a very limited quota, but it has since been closed.

Wolverines den under deep snows. Of the 300 estimated to live in the Lower 48, about 50 are estimated to live in Glacier National Park, previous studies have found.

Protection under the Endangered Species Act would trigger new conservation efforts for wolverines.

— Hungry Horse News

With so many summer activities closed this year, Lake County Conservation District has come up with a flower tour.

The District has given out free pollinator-friendly seed packets for the past few years, and they are in full bloom at many sites around the county right now.

Several sites around Polson and Ronan are offering their flower patches for drive-by— or bike-by — viewing on a self-guided tour through July 26. Different plots sport different plants, including sunflowers, vetch, poppies, native grasses, and many more. The Boys and Girls Club in Ronan has several beds, and the flowers attract pollinators to the adjacent food plants such as peppers and tomatoes. Each number on the map includes information about that site’s species and site preparation.

Heidi Fleury of the District and her coworkers had a vision of creating small pollinator plots with native wildflowers all over the county to provide habitat and bring in more beneficial pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and moths, to the area. They created the Pollinator Initiative, which provides free wildflower seed and technical assistance in plot establishment and maintenance. Seeds are available for fall or spring planting.

Access the online tour map through lakecountyconservationdistrict.org or their Facebook page. Call at 676-2811, ext. 4, for more information.

— Lake County Leader

Paradise isn’t lost, but it is sharply divided.

The division within the community was on display last week during a 90-minute meeting at the Paradise Center in which those against constructing a $4.5 million sewage system and treatment plant on the west end of the unincorporated community had another chance to voice their displeasure with the proposed project.

Opponents consider the utility improvements unfair taxation for a system that is not needed.

The counter argument, presented mostly by embattled Sanders County Sewer District President Sunny Chase, centered around environmental and development concerns. Chase noted Sanders County, which is required to approve the project because Paradise is not an officially incorporated community, put the issue on the ballot in 2010 and 57% of residents voted to form a Sewer District.

In the years since the ballot measure passed, Chase said, the district has been working with, and in many cases waiting on the county for approval to proceed with the work.

Along the way the Sewer District and County have sought and secured more than $3.6 million in grants and other funding sources that leave the District with the need to finance the remaining $770,000 estimated to build the system.

As a result, local landowners have been informed that they will be on the hook for $185 a year in taxes, along with approximately $35 a month in system service fees.

Chase said the district and county are still pursuing grants, including one possibly from the federal Delivering Local Assistance program that would make up the $770,000, which currently is planned as a loan. If that grant can be obtained, landowners would have only the $35 per month to pay, she said.

The district is purchasing six acres west of the community on which it plans to construct the sewage plant and drain field.

Chase indicated there may be more public input meetings in the future.

— Clark Fork Valley Press