Outdoor news

Festival of the Fly

Glacier Anglers will host a full day of free fly-fishing lessons, competitions, product demos, raffles and presentations at the Glacier Outdoor Center on U.S. 2 in West Glacier on Saturday, June 16. Two showings of the 2012 Fly Fishing Film Tour will take place at Glacier Outdoor Center’s Bear’s Den. Tickets for the film are $10. For more information, visit online at www.glacierraftco.com or call 888-5454.

Wilderness walks

The Montana Wilderness Association will offer its 50th Wilderness Walks program in 2012 with 150 statewide outings, including 37 in Northwest Montana. The walks are for hikers of all ages and experience levels and range from day hikes and field trips to overnight backpacking trips and trail maintenance projects. All outings are free, but reservations should be made. The complete list is available online at www.wildmontana.org for free at the MWA office in Kalispell. For more information, call the MWA office in Helena at 406-443-7350.

Plants hike

The Flathead Chapter of the Montana Native Plant Society will sponsor a field trip on Columbia Mountain on Tuesday, June 5, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The slow, two-hour, 2-3 mile evening walk will be led by Glacier National Park biologist Tara Carolin. Hikers will see spring and early summer blooms along the forested trail and rock outcrops. The group could locate nearly 100 different plant species. Participants should meet at the Columbia Mountain parking lot and trailhead. For more information, call Tara at 888-7863 or e-mail taraywc@yahoo.com.