July 28, 2008

DNRC photo of Lindberg Lake fire.

First Fire of the Season
by Cori Stanek

In Northwest Montana fire season and the summer season go hand in hand, and with such a late, wet spring we’ve all been wondering when our own fire season will start.

For Condon, our answer came on Monday as flames started right here at Lindberg Lake. The fire started around 1:00 pm on Monday and word of its catch spread around the valley faster than, well, wildfire.

Closure area for Lindberg Lake Wildland Fire.

The fire started on the southwestern side of Lindberg Lake (T 19N, R 17W, Secs 22 & 27) and was initially fought both on the lake and by air. Fortunately there are no homes or other structures in danger on the western side of the lake as the fire continues to creep up the steep terrain.

As of Friday morning the fire was estimated to be around 104 acres in size and is 65% contained. The fire crews with Montana DNRC are on top of it, and the Condon Work Center/Swan Ecosystem Center is abuzz with activity—perhaps downright crazy with energy.

For more information and more current updates, visit www.inciweb.org/state/27/.

Above images from http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1434/.

Garden Update

A full week and no ground squirrels! And our veggies are recovering nicely, in fact one could arguably say that our garden has doubled in size in the past week.

No tomatoes or beans yet but we’ve been packing kale into the freezer for the L&L students this fall, and our spinach and lettuce mixes are making a second coming.

Adam also liberated the sad little pea remnants from their end of the bed and sowed seeds for a few more chard and lettuce mixes. We’re beginning to strategize for the fall semester…

The garden beds are filling up with big, happy plants!	Zucchini has staked it’s claim!

The Passed Week at Connections

It’s been a busy week here in the Swan and at the homestead as the second half of summer hits full force.

Steve, along with the help of a few other NwC-ers started a project doing land fire fuels surveys this week as a part of a multi-agency research project to map fuel vegetation and fire regimes in the Swan.

Cori and Mark Ruby, the Swan’s Bear & Loon Ranger, went door to door this week in Condon to promote the upcoming Seeley-Swan Bear Fair. Though hesitant, and leery of the multitude of ‘NO TRESPASSING’ signs, the effort went well and the event should be well attended.

The Condon Community Farmer’s Market has been a wild success! In its fourth week, the weekly Wednesday market sold out of fresh veggies in its first hour and a half this week!

The first wave of public meetings in the Swan regarding the Montana Legacy Project began this week as well. In a moderated meeting Thursday night, representatives from the Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, Missoula County, and Plum Creek Timber Co. presented the project to Condon residents in a meeting hosted by the community council. Questions and discussion were cool-headed and productive, all in all the first of many meetings was a success.

For more information on the Montana Legacy Project and its impacts on the Swan visit their website at www.themontanalegacyproject.org.