North Fork roads, weeds and toilets

I think almost all North Forkers have been pleased with the use of federal and Flathead County funds on the North Fork Road from Camas Junction to Polebridge.

That work, done with a 50 percent Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) grant and 50 percent county funds, has provided a smooth, virtually dust-free corridor on the section of the road that has the most traffic in the summer.

County maintenance on the paved portion from Home Ranch near Coal Creek to Hay Creek Bridge has also helped. The RAC grant was approved in 2009 and most work was completed in 2010. Additional dust abatement was approved in 2010 and applied in 2011 with county matching funds.

Also, a 2010 grant was approved for an additional eight miles of gravel mixed with bentonite binder to be applied from Polebridge north. The gravel will come from the Demers Ridge pit, and crushing began this week. It will be applied this fall if weather permits. If the weather does not cooperate, the gravel will be applied in spring 2012.

As with the Polebridge-to-Camas section, this will be a 6-inch layer of gravel which will be compacted. When finished, the North Fork Road will be much improved from Camas Junction to approximately Whale Creek.

Many of us assumed that Flathead County would apply for a grant to continue work north to Trail Creek. That will not be the case.

This year, the RAC committee will have about $300,000 to award. Half the money must be spent on roads and trails, and there are also requests for weed control and other recreation and forest health projects.

Flathead County alone has applied for six project-approvals totaling $271,600. Two of these involve the North Fork - $25,350 for additional dust abatement and $35,250 for work on narrowing the North Fork Road from Columbia Falls to Camas Junction. The other four projects involve Blankenship Road, Ashley Lake Road and Star Meadows Road.

One thing is certain - all six projects will not be funded. I believe the county will be lucky if they get 30 percent of their requests.

Also affecting the North Fork is a joint request by several North Fork groups, the Flathead County Weed Department and the Forest Service to continue a combined effort to combat noxious weeds. The grant request is for $12,350, with the Forest Service adding $13,500 and private groups - the North Fork Landowners Association, North Fork Preservation Association and North Fork Compact - adding $6,500 in volunteer work.

In addition to pulling and spraying weeds, the project will finish mapping infested areas to identify future work as well as educate landowners and visitors. This kind of collaborative approach is the only way to protect the area from massive weed infestations.

I am disappointed the Forest Service has no proposal for toilets in heavily used areas of the North Fork. Human waste and toilet paper blown in the wind at Sondreson Meadow and the Trail Creek bubble-ups is a continuing and growing problem.