North Fork Preservation Association hosts Dan Fagre at annual meeting

The North Fork Preservation Association will host their annual meeting on Saturday, Aug. 22 at the Sondreson Community Hall located eight miles north of Polebridge on the North Fork Road at Whale Creek Bridge.  

The public is invited to a potluck supper at 5:30 p.m. followed by a short business meeting at 6:45 p.m. and the main event with speaker Dan Fagre, retired U.S. Geological Survey glaciologist, at 7:30 p.m.  

This year’s meeting will focus on climate effects in Glacier National Park by welcoming Fagre, who was responsible for mapping the historic range of 146 of the park’s eponymous landforms. Today just 26 named glaciers remain in Glacier National Park, and those are fractions of their former sizes. He has dedicated his career to understanding and communicating science about the interactions between climate, mountain ecosystems and snow-glacier dynamics in Glacier National Park and across Western North America. 

“A very special guest indeed, Dan will share exhibits from the USGS  Repeat Photography Project, a series of historic photos taken during the late 1800s and early 1900s that researchers replicated from the same vantage points starting in 1997, said North Fork Preservation Association Board Chair Flannery Freund. "Fagre led the program during his time with the USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center in West Glacier, constructing side-by-side visual comparisons of the images to measure glacial recession.” 

The mission of the North Fork Preservation Association is to champion the
exceptional biodiversity and wildness of the North Fork of the Flathead River
watershed in Northwest Montana. Decades of relationship building between NFPA members, the Polebridge community, and agency decision-makers has resulted in a healthy, informed and engaged decision-making process as they continue to work together on how to best preserve the 97% public land and watersheds in the North Fork.

The North Fork of the Flathead River valley, along the western flanks of Glacier
National Park, is a jewel in the “Crown of the Continent” ecosystem. This unique and pristine international watershed features spectacular, glaciated mountain peaks, wildflowers, open grasslands, a wide river valley, diverse wetlands and clear, clean water. A rich complement of indigenous species still exists, including grey wolves, grizzly and black bear, mountain lions, lynx, wolverine and the endangered bull trout. The North Fork flows through the traditional homelands of the Ktunaxa, Kootenai, Séliš (Salish). 

The NFPA is the proud sponsor of Polebridge Bear Smart providing outreach on
living and recreating safely in bear country through seasonal employee training, aid in efforts to help short term rentals owners educate guests and initiate a rapid response program in connection with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to help property owners discourage bears from becoming habituated. 

Residents founded the North Fork Preservation Association in 1982 in response to proposals to develop a coal mine upstream in Canada and pave the road , changes that would have forever altered the natural landscape of the valley. The association continues its work with the community to develop land-use planning and an education program that demonstrates how human and natural communities can successfully coexist.  

For more information go to gravel.org.