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No slow down sign ?
Lets try to understand why its critical to slow down here. The local traffic is very heavy. Cars and Trucks trying to pull onto the highway. Sometimes so packed you have to wait for several oncoming vehicles and then, when the time is right floor it. Now you get passed in a double line area and then get the finger...and hear the horn all at the same time. Now that's a true multi tasker. In the summer, traffic flow multiplies. Its hilly here, up and down so at night your headlights aren't often focused on the obstacles ahead. So seeing wildlife soon enough is not applicable here. At this spot, wild life funnel, darting across from timbered forests to the fields or river. Now add the tall grass 3’ deep, right up to the pavement. Travelers can’t focus on wildlife! Now this is in best conditions. Foul weather add ice and snow packed roads, maybe rain at night. There are constant accidents, slide offs, over corrections, seasonal soft shoulders and abrupt edges, pot holes, roll over's, hitting bickers, and kids. Many deaths in this area alone. My mom and my two small sisters on their way to church one early morning, were struck from behind on icy highway here. Then they were pushed head on into oncoming log truck. Mothers maverick was unrecognizable after the loaded log truck crushed them in between the rock wall and a load of logs then drug them around Spencer Lake’s dead mans curve. Where a high school friend died in 1969 several years before. Truckers all day long travel at 65 mph, log truck's, chipper trucks, service trucks, construction workers, SUV’S, farm equipment, all in a hurry. In summer thousands of tourists visiting Glacier Park. Canadians’ s coming to the states to shop, with a free pass to speed, heading north and south it’s very busy. Big 18 wheelers at night want to avoid the tourists and local traffic, run through this area all night trying to beat the daylight rush hour from here to Missoula. Its a mess and seems no one is in a hurry to fix it. Slow it down and create a official Corridor
Who else uses this Highway 93 ? Grizzly, Moose, Wolves, Elk, Deer, Eagles, Lions, Wolverine, Lynx
· Get travel corridor recognized at highway 93 and slowing it down set aside forests · Abundant big game live and travel thru this natural brushy lodgepole forest surround this funneling area, lets add to it. Protect it. Set it aside, Bridge it, Enhance it? · All wildlife uses these roads , grizzly, wolves, elk, deer, eagles, lions. wolverine, Give them a break. · Big game need more canopy cover to migrate across the valley at this spot. Improve it. · At this time the highway 93 is the biggest killer of wildlife in this area. 3 x national average for human deaths. · Future Animal bridge may be nessciary so lets start the planning. Enhancing the corridor now · Wildlife fencing for safer crossing places with wildlife sensors and lighting. · Flashing lights warring signs, lower speed limit... · Secure adjacent lands to allow wildlife friendly and safe passage · Purchase adjacent land for the future animal Bridge access and maintenance · Who would feel they may like to sponsor this? Bonneville Power? Plum Creek? Redford? National wildlife organizations ? Anyone...anyone? We been doing all we can for years... alone
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From Kerry R. Hubble 3015 so. 460 west, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 rick@dolog.com
Salt lake 801-9 3880 Hyw 93N. Whitefish, Montana 406-253-0659 |
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“death from the highway” One deer a week...human loss is 3x national average, seasonally At this stretch ...North bound from here
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U.S. Highway 93 looking north Major Forest Funneling of Wildlife at this Migration Crossing, Flathead National Forest to the Left and to the Right of road here only
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Believe it or not your looking at US Highway 93… Exactly you cant see it! At 70 mph a lot of drivers can find it in the dark either, much less see the wildlife crossing it at night... |
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Grizzly Bear Recovery Map |
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Bear crossing underneath U.S. Highway 93. Photo courtesy CSKT, MDT and WTI-MSU |
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Pictures of Highway 93 accidents Aug 14, 2013 |
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Top of that hill is Flathead National Forest, looking East. Thick canopy cover is why they cross here scheduled to be logged in 2013-14 in spite of what we shown them |
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...any one care about the senseless slaughter at this location...daily |
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That timber ahead, is where the wildlife try to cross, here to Canada the Highway is wider, flatter and faster and the country is populated, fenced. Speed Limit 45 to 120 seams. |
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Skyles Lake to the left, our land and US highway 93, 2011, State Forest, Spencer Lake Mountain on right. Major wildlife crossing but not part of the Salish Mountains Wildlife Corridor ... Its to late here |
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Dead man curve we called it when kids, Tally Lake turn off at Spencer Lake |
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Major wildlife crossing and Tally Lake turn off |
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Skyles Lake on left and Spencer Lake Mountain on right, our land on Left. To late to help |
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Unsafe for Wildlife |
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[google5c31a1d490549b4f.html] |
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This is the place, a funnel, bottle neck that connects Bob Marshal, Great Bear Wilderness's, Glacier National Park, to the Idaho panhandle, Flathead-Kootenai-Cabinet-Yaak National forests. We are located between two Grizzly Bear Habitats, all wide roaming wildlife skirt the flathead lake, then the flathead valley low lands suburbia, where the two national forests, state forests, all come together, a 1/2 mile Bottle Neck of timber and fields here. This is where they funnel thru.. we own both sides of highway and witness the slaughter. Why do the wildlife use us to funnel here ? LOCATION, COVER, SKRITING SUBURIA, QUITER Grizzly Bear recovery Map If you were a Griz and needed to get from the continual divide to the northwest you would be funneled to go around rural and urban sprawl, open country, 125 mile long Dam,s ,large lakes, major highways for hundreds of miles, but here its only 1/2 mile to cross and every year we loosing the forest Canopy |
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All that’s left of ancient migration route, between Glacier Park and the Idaho Panhandle. Where Wildlife prefer /forced ,funneling through the Forest Canopy and cross the Stillwater River bottom, 1/4 mile dash from the Flathead National Forest through our area. then cross the busy highway 93. Deer, Elk, Moose and predators water, feed in the tall summer grass. In winter they migrate across the valley and highway 93 again, crossing Stillwater River onto the Salish Mountains or the Tally Lake wintering area. We have the timber canopy with in 12’ running up to the highway crossing up to Glacier Park ! We have Bear, Lynx. Lions, Wolverine, Wolves, and Grizzly passing through. Summer We see a deer a week on the average hit and killed here. We eliminated the fences and planted windrows to help the game move freely across the fields to get to the river. The fast heavy traffic day and night is killing everything. We would like to enhance the bordering land to benefit the wild life, leaving plenty of cover and at the same time allow safer highway crossing and consider a future animal bridge for this mountain pass wildlife corridor. |
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US 93 and at crossing 2013 See two cars ? |
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US 93 and at crossing 2013 |
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2013 |
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Help save Wildlife Habitat... other States get it and care to do something about it......but not Montana. Local Federal Forests, local State Forests, Montana Highways Department, Whitefish Commerce and nothing from the Fish and Game....Dad always said this place is 10 years behind the rest of the nation.....Why is it that Sportsman and Hunters seem to do more, know more for protecting of wildlife land than the lawmakers/politicians. |
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Utah gets it. |
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In the news this summer three grizzlies destroyed near city limits ...why isn't any one making a path for them around town ? 2012 |
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The hour glass funneling point |
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2013 |
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Looking South bound from here |
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Standing on National Forest looking on Highway 93 and other side of far fields in Tally Lake also National Forest. The best place to get wildlife across the Flathead. |
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