Flathead Chapter

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We look forward to seeing you for upcoming programs at 7 pm. We will be meeting at the Teakettle Community Hall (235 Nucleus Avenue in Columbia Falls) until the boiler at Discovery Square is fixed. All are also welcome to a 5:30 meeting to discuss MNPS business and projects  

The Flathead Chapter serves the greater Flathead, Northwest Montana, and Glacier National Park area. Monthly meetings are the 3rd Wednesday of the month in October, November, and January through April (temporatily) at Teakettle Community Hall 235 Nucleus Ave. in Columbia Falls . Programs start at 7 unless otherwise noted. We also encourage members to attend the 5:30 general meetings to discuss and plan Plant Society activities and business. Feel free to bring your sack supper. For for more information, contact:

Jennifer Hintz
725 Twin Lakes Road
Whitefish, MT 59937
(406) 270-7028

Click here for a list of native plant gardens in the Flathead area.
Interested in Native Plant Landscaping in our area? Click here
When do our Northwest Wildflowers Bloom?... Here's a handy list.
 

Programs

  • Wednesday, 4/18. Artist panel or topic to be announced. This is the last chance to bid on the wonderful plant books from Dee Strickler’s collection, donated by his wife, Claire. Bring your checkbook. Silent auction closes at 7:10, so come early to browse.
  • Wednesday, 5/16, 7 p.m.  “Beautify Your Yard With Native Plants: Tips, Tricks and Inexpensive Ways to Add Native Plants to Your Landscape.” Laura Law will share her experience transforming her Columbia Falls yard from a mowed lawn to a collection of inviting small gardens that incorporate native plants. The presentation includes a 30-minute slide show, followed by a short stroll to see Laura’s garden.

Events and Field Trips

Tuesdays in May: Bigfork Wild Mile Corridor Wildflower Walks. Join Anne Morley and Neal Brown from 10:00 am to noon for a gentle stroll of spring birding and wildflower identification. This is an easy 2-mile hike along the Old Swan River Road. Meet in front of Showthyme at 10:00 am. Contact Anne (886-2242) or Neal (837-5018) for more information.

May 31 and July 26 - Guided Naturalist Hikes on the Sprunger-Whitney Nature Trail Anne Morley, botanist and naturalist, will be leading two guided hikes along the Sprunger-Whitney Nature Trail on May 31st and July 26th at 10am. She is well versed in the ecology of the Swan Valley and will identify plants, birds, trees, and wildlife habitat along the trail. Meet at the trailhead. Bring water, lunch and appropriate clothing for the weather. The two-mile loop trail meanders through a low elevation old-growth forest with interpretive and plant identification signs along the route. Over 50 different birds and plants are found in the trail area. Directions: Take Hwy. 83 approximately 7 miles south of the Swan Lake Trading Post in Swan Lake. Turn right at the Point Pleasant and Sprunger-Whitney Nature Trail signs (1/2 mile south of milemarker 64) and follow the sign to the trailhead. For more information contact Anne at 886-2242.

Saturday, June 2:  Johnson Mountain Terraces. Enjoy a 2-3 mile, easy, cross-country hike along a series of moist, mossy rock terraces with a variety of diminutive plants.  Meet at the rest area at the soccer fields across from Grouse Mtn. Lodge in Whitefish at 9:30 a.m.  Bring lunch, water, and your favorite plant ID book.  Dress for changeable spring weather.  Call Betty Kuropat (892-0129) for details and to sign up.

Tuesday, June 5: Columbia Mountain Field Trip.  Join Glacier National Park Biologist Tara Carolin on a 2-hour evening walk up the Columbia Mountain trail.  Enjoy spring and early summer blooms along the forested trail that also offers lovely rock outcrops in the sunshine.  Although the trail can be a little steep in places, the pace will be slow and we will be going only 2-3 miles at most.  We could potentially find nearly 100 plant species. Meet at 5:30 pm at the Columbia Mountain parking lot and trailhead. Bring a sack supper if you like.  Contact Tara at 888-7863 or writetaraywc@yahoo.com for more information.

Saturday, June 16: Dancing Prairie Preserve. Located just north of Eureka, this spectacular native prairie remnant has been set aside by The Nature Conservancy. The preserve also serves to protect the world’s largest population of a rare plant: Spalding’s Catchfly. TNC botanist/ecologist Maria Mantas will guide participants through the rich mosaic of native grasses and prairie wildflowers. Bring water, lunch, hat, sunscreen and gloves for weed pulling. Meet in Whitefish at 9:00 am. Contact Maria for meeting location at 837-0066 or mmantas@TNC.ORG.

Thursday, July 26: Sprunger-Whitney Nature Trail. See description above, dated May 31st.

Saturday, September 8: Mission Mountain Wildflower Hike. Maria Mantas, botanist/ecologist for The Nature Conservancy, will lead a high-elevation hike featuring alpine and subalpine wildflowers. The exact location will be decided later in the summer. Contact Maria in August, at 837-0066 or mmantas@TNC.ORG, for details.

Wednesday, June 6: Native Plant Garden Tour. Join native plant gardener Bill McClaren for a tour of the FVCC and Central School Museum Native Plant Gardens. Meet at FVCC, behind Blake Hall, at 7:00 pm. If it is raining, meet inside Blake Hall. Contact Bill at 257-2540 or email mccl@bresnan.net. No RSVP necessary. The tour is wheelchair accessible.

Tuesday, July 17: Glacier National Park Weed Blitz. Join other citizens in removing invasive plants from priority sites in Glacier National Park. Park biologist, Dawn LaFleur, will train participants on identification and effective hand-pulling techniques for targeted weed species. Meet at the West Glacier Community Building at 10:00 am. Space is limited, so call 888-7864 for more information and to sign up. If there is sufficient interest, a second date may be set.  

High and Dry: Gardening with Cold-Hardy Dryland Plants available at a discount

The Flathead Chapter has copies of this “thorough and engaging” book (see review in your Spring 09 Kelseya). For a $25 copy (cover price is $35), contact your chapter representative before the early November MNPS board meeting. Flathead chapter members can contact Betty to reserve a copy to pick up and pay for at the October 21 meeting. You can also send $30.00 (includes shipping) along with your mailing address to: Betty Kuropat, 2688 Witty Lane, Columbia Falls, MT 59912.

Glacier Discovery Square

The Glacier Discovery Square is the new center for Flathead Valley culture, history, community and visitor education, as well as the future home of the Columbia Falls branch of the Flathead County Library. It is in the town square and commerce center of Columbia Falls. This effort is being driven by the grassroots community organization, The First Best Place Task Force. Their name, "First Best Place," reflects the notion that the Columbia Falls area is the oldest community in the Flathead Valley.

A wide variety of diverse individuals and organizations have volunteered to contribute their skills and efforts to the task force. Among these groups is North Valley Music School, whose mission is to enrich the musical life of the community through music education and performance. They have been making music in Whitefish for the past 10 years and currently have over 600 students a year from babies to retirees. In addition, the Chamber of Commerce, Flathead Valley Community College, and the local Rotary chapter have joined the effort. Terry Divoky, Elizabeth Nauertz and Joyce Lapp from the Flathead Chapter of the MNPS have begun a partnership by consulting with the First Best Place Task Force to create native plant demonstration gardens throughout the Discovery Square. For more information about Glacier Discovery Square and First Best Place, visit http://firstbestplace.org/.