Glacier Lily - Lance Schelvan photograph |
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As snow banks disappear and long days of sunshine
begin warming the soil, the valley bottoms and the lower slopes come alive with a variety
of wild flowers and morel mushrooms. Usually the first flowers are the buttercups of field
and open woods, followed closely by glacier lilies, bloodroot and shooting stars. After
these first early blossoms, a continuous progression of colorful flowers offers itself to
the photographer and traveler in forest valleys. For more
information on wildflowers see Wildflowers of
the Kootenai National Forest. |
| Spring is usually the best time for
viewing and photographing wildlife in Lincoln County. Bighorn mountain sheep are often
visible on the south slopes of Berray Mountain in the Bull River Valley, the Kootenai
Falls area and a along Koocanusa Reservoir near Sheep Creek. Deer and elk can be seen in
the spring in these same areas, as well as other areas. |
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Bighorn Sheep - Kootenai Falls area - Lance
Schelvan photograph
Whitetail Fawn - Lance Schelvan photograph |
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| Down in the valley bottoms, hungry bears are searching for new
grasses; the birds and mammals that have spent the winter in the area are now regaining
energy that was lost in winter's cold and snow. This is a critical time for the animals,
for they need an abundance of food, and the quest for it often carries them near man where
they are vulnerable to man-caused stress such as off road vehicles and dogs. The area has
a great diversity of animals that range from moose to mice. |
Pika - Lance Schelvan photograph |
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Some of the species residing in Northwest Montana include
elk, mule and whitetail deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, moose, black bear, mountain
lion, grizzly bear, coyote, weasel, mink, wolverine, beaver, otter, porcupine, skunk,
snowshoe hare, mountain cottontail, pika, bobcat, and lynx.There are also 191 species of
recorded birds in the Kootenai National Forest. |
Kootenai Falls - Lance Schelvan photograph
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 To the fisherman
Spring means ice is soft and unsafe on lakes, and the big river is perhaps the only place
to fish, even though insect hatches have not really begun. In many tributaries the
spawning runs begin now, and the gravels of streams feeding the two rivers and reservoirs
serve as important resources. Most streams and lakes of the Kootenai National Forest
harbor fish, usually trout, and seasons and regulations for fishing them are set by the
State Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.Usually the first
lakes to be ice free for recreation use are those low elevation areas such as Thompson
Lakes, Bull Lake , and a few others. |
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