Exploring Idaho one step,cast,curve and vista at a time
Wyoming Governor disagrees with BLM proposal
Here's the latest from around the our neighborhood
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As wolves push elk out vegetation grows in Montana
Around The Region
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Ashton Dam Repairs causing water treatment problems
Yellowstone Lake Has Marine Life
For more than 30 years, Dr. John Varley was head scientist at Yellowstone National Park
spearheading research on areas such as the controversial bison/brucellosis issue as well as studies on elk, wolves, grizzly bear and trout.
For most of that time Varley and his associates looked at Yellowstone Lake, the largest
lake in North America above 7,000 feet in elevation, as a beautiful, though rather unexciting study subject in the midst of hundreds of other more interesting and easily assessable areas of
inquiry.
Varley’s reviews of the 100 years of scientific research regarding the lake found it to beecologically plain and kind of boring. Then in 2004 everything changed.
While using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to explore the areas near geothermal vents on the lake bottom, a team of researchers from Montana State University and elsewhere, lead by Varley, discovered life where none was known to exist before.
“Yellowstone Lake has been studied for more than 100 years,” Varley said, “and yet
nobody had done any work on the base of the food pyramid which is presumed to be what makes up the majority of the biomass in any body of water.”
As it turns out their 2004 study lead to evidence that showed that the majority of the biomass in the lake is microscopic, living in 89,000 acres of open water primarily on the bottom of the lake near geothermal vents that pour heated water and gasses into the lake in a ceaseless flow.
Invasive pike pose problem
Lake Pend Oreille — Northern Pike are not native to Idaho and it is thought that a high-
water flushed human-planted pike down the Clark Fork, into Lake Pend Oreille, where
they then migrated down the Pend Oreille River and into Box Canyon in Washington
state.
Their numbers in the Box Canyon have jumped in recent years, from around 300 in
2004, to more than 10,000 this year.
The Kalispel Tribe in northeastern Washington are worried about the effects of
this non-native further down the Columbia River ecosystem.
Tribal Executive Director
for Natural Resources, Deane Osterman says that northern pike pose a significant risk to
not only salmon and steelhead, but could also disrupt the $500 million spent thus far on
restoring native fisheries on the Pend Oreille River.
Osterman said tribal biologists have estimated that at least 500,000 fishing hours
would be needed to reduce and stabilize the pike population.
He said the tribe felt the
pike population could be brought down to a manageable level within three or four years.
One suggestion the tribe would like the states to implement is reclassify the northern pike
as an invasive species; currently its listed as a gamefish in many states.
Some states are ahead of the curve in combating northern pike; California and
Maine require by law that any northern pike pulled from the water must have their heads
removed. In 2006 the Idaho Department of Fish & Game removed the limit on northern
Big Wood Backcountry Trails
By C. Colt Crane
Big Wood Backcountry Trails (BWTB) is the premier resource group for information and
advocacy in support of all dirt single-track trail user groups in and around Idaho's Wood River
Valley.
Nancy Humphrey is the group’s spokesperson and she says their major mission is to represen mountain bikers, hikers, equestrians and motorized bikers in Blaine County and to ensure the
preservation and responsible use of mountain trails in central Idaho.
The organization strives to foster respect for and by all users of the trail system by educating users and raising awareness to protect the trails for everyone.
Humphrey said BWBT works with the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the Sun Valley Company—all local Blaine County groups.
“The cooperation fostered by all users is our hallmark and that makes us a model for all trail associations,” Humphrey said.
Big Wood Backcountry Trails is proud to be a part of a few key projects that are relevant to all responsible dirt trail users.
The group is currently working on new trails and looking into several possible trails on Proctor Mountain.
In addition to the group’s dedication to the proper use of Idaho’s outdoor resources, they
are would like to see their trail as part of the largest interconnected trail system in the nation available for all single-track users.
Big Wood Backcountry Trail’s vision is bigger than their numbers.
They encourage anyone interested in supporting their efforts to learn more by visiting their website at www.bwbt.org.
