Author: Pat Jaquith

Fighting Wildfires in Northern Montana 1911-1960s

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by Pat Jaquith and Barbara Boorman
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Editor’s note: Captions on these images are transcribed from the reverse side of the photo. For more images from Barbara’s collection, click here.

In 1910, there were disastrous fires in northern Idaho and northwestern Montana when
hundreds of thousands of acres of timberlands were destroyed; many lives were lost, and much
property outside of the forests was destroyed.

In May, 1911, many timberland owners and other owners of other property in northwestern
Montana met and organized the Northern Montana Fire Association (NMFA), a non-profit organization for protecting life and property in the region. A.E. (Albert) Boorman became the Chief Fire Warden and secretary/treasurer of the organization.

The boundaries of the area covered by the NMFA were from Whitefish south to Nirada (north of Hot Springs) and from Kalispell west to Lost Prairie, McGregor Lake, and Flathead Mine. In 1921, the NMFA charged $0.015 per acre to anyone – forest owner, rancher, homesteader – who appreciated the availability of a firefighting crew in the area should the need arise. As A.E. Boorman said in a Daily Interlake interview in 1921, the organization charged just enough to cover costs “and no more.”

A. E. Boorman, Blacktail Lookout. Probably July 10, 1934.
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One Summer in a Lady’s Slipper’s Life

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by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Cypripedium montanum (Mountain Lady’s Slipper)

The Mountain Lady’s Slipper, aka White Lady’s Slipper, is a striking sight, whether as a single stalk like this one or a in big clump. Although their very existence requires an amazing amount of chance and even the support of a fungal partner, they find a niche that works for them in our area. I visited this solitary plant at least once every month from June to October, 2022. Read on to watch its progress.

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Yellow-Rumped Warblers

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by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Members of the Wood-Warblers’ family, Yellow-rumped Warblers are one of the earliest Warbler species to arrive in the West Valley. There are two main populations: “Audubon’s” breeds mainly in the mountains of the western U.S. and into British Colombia; “Myrtle” breeds from the eastern U.S. across Canada to Alaska.

(Audubon’s) Yellow-rumped Warbler (male) preening
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Upland Game Birds in West Valley Part II

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by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Ring-necked Pheasant 4.29.20

Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), native to China, were introduced to Montana prior to 1895. The male pheasants, flamboyantly-feathered birds with crazy-quilt plumage, are easily recognized and quite commonly seen near water, around feed lots, in hedgerows, and even in our backyards. The ground-nesting females have mottled brown colors that camouflage them as they incubate a dozen eggs at a time and tend one or two clutches of chicks per summer. Read on for more pictures of Pheasant activity and other non-native game birds we may see.

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Upland Game Birds in West Valley, Part I

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by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Merriam’s Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo merriami) 4/23/20

We have seven species of Upland Game Birds in our area: Wild turkeys; Ring-necked Pheasants; Hungarian (Gray) Partridge; Ruffed Grouse; Blue Grouse; and Chukar Partridge. As noted in discoveringmontana.com, prior to the 1950’s, upland bird hunting was not well-managed in Montana. Popular game birds were heavily hunted to the point that populations began to suffer. Starting in the ’50’s, it was recognized that limiting hunting would allow these species and their habitats to be self-sustaining and healthy. Today, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks controls and monitors hunting and harvesting upland bird species.

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Owl Encounters

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by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Northern Pygmy-owl 10.14.21

Seeing owls is always an unexpected treat because their schedule is generally opposite of mine! But occasionally, one of the several species that live in the West Valley does pass my way in daylight. These predatory birds’ coloration blends in with their environment and makes them very hard to spot. With the exception of the diurnal Pygmy Owl, their wing feathers are structured to propel them silently through the air, and their ability to perch motionless and wait and listen for prey to reveal themselves are characteristics that are key to their success as hunters.

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Nomadic Winter Bird Visitors

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pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Redpolls in West Valley 12.09.21

Northern winters can be tough!! Arctic temperatures, deep snow and ice-covered roads can be enough to send some of us south. Sometimes birds that typically live north of here head south, too, but it’s food shortages that prompt that decision, and they set out in search of better ‘pickings’ . Read on to see pictures of Redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks, Bohemian Waxwings, and White-winged Crossbills that I have seen here in recent years.

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Three Gentians in the West Valley!

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by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

When I first heard the word “gentian”, it was in reference to a veterinary medicine that I needed to apply to a cow I was tending. It was called “Gentian Blue” and although I had little understanding of its role in healing my bovine, it was the most intense blue I had ever seen! Subsequently, my appreciation of the various hues of blue have been in reference to the blue of that medicine. It was many years before I moved to the west where I saw my first flower in the Gentian family, and I was amazed to learn that the green plant I saw was a Gentian! (Frasera speciosa). That one doesn’t grow in the West Valley, but here are some I have encountered here.

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Violet-green Swallows Raising a Family

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by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Violet-green Swallow (male)

John James Audubon described the diminutive (4.25″) Violet-green Swallow as “the most beautiful of all the genus hitherto discovered.” Indeed, there are few birds in our neighborhood that can compete when the sun illuminates the iridescent emerald green cape, amethyst and sapphire wings and back set off by a clean bright white belly, neck, and face. Read on for an account of one pair raising their young from a nest under the eaves.

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Great Spangled Fritillary Butterflies

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by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies on Musk Thistle (Carduus Nutans) 8..02.2020

The male of this species is bright orange and brown; the female is brown with a patterned cream-colored border. The host plant for the Fritillary caterpillars is the violet. That’s where the female will lay her eggs, so you may see her spending a lot of her 14 – 45 day life seeking out violets. The eggs hatch in 10 to 15 days. The caterpillar will feed on violet leaves and overwinter in the protection of vegetation near violets; in spring it will continue to munch on the new violet leaves until it forms a chrysalis. It goes through its final transformation in about 2 to 3 weeks before hatching out as a butterfly.

Great Spangled Fritillary (male)
Great Spangled Fritillary (Female)
Chrysalis