Road opens at Glacier

NATIONAL PARKS – The Inside North Fork Road has been opened to vehicle traffic for the first time since a storm caused extensive damage in November 2006.

The road is the park’s oldest, built in 1901 when oil was struck near Kintla Lake. The narrow, bumpy, gravel road runs 28 miles between Fish Creek and Polebridge, providing access to some of the park’s pristine backcountry.

Recreational, towed, and low clearance vehicles are strongly discouraged from traveling this road. In ideal conditions, about two hours are needed to travel the 28 miles.

Officials recommend putting a saw or ax in your trunk.

Rich Landers

Limits lifted at several lakes

FISHING – Wildlife managers in Montana have removed fishing limits from six backcountry lakes this summer as part of an attempt to eliminate hybrid trout and replace them with genetically pure westslope cutthroat trout.

The lakes are Clayton, Margaret and Pilgrim in the Jewel Basin east of Kalispell, and Pyramid, George and Woodward in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

The decision is part of the agency’s South Fork Flathead Cutthroat Conservation Plan to kill off non-natives and hybrid fish in 21 mountain lakes that feed into the South Fork Flathead River, a cutthroat stronghold.

Westslope cutthroat, officials said, are present in only 9 percent of their historic range in the region due to habitat loss and hybridization with nonnative trout.

Associated Press

Ketchum may get Whitewater park

PADDLING – Whitewater enthusiasts in central Idaho have proposed building a whitewater park they say will draw tourists and offer waves for kayakers, boogie boarders and surfers.

Guy Robins, a member of the Wood River Whitewater Park Committee, presented the idea recently to the Ketchum City Council. He said the park along BLM land would be a great place for experienced boaters and novices looking to improve their skills.

Associated Press