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missoulian.com
TUESDAY, September 3, 2013
Copyright 2013 $1
FLATHEAD LAKE
WILDFIRES
Smoke likely from Yosemite
Shift in air flow isn’t expected until next weekend, expert says
By JENNA CEDERBERG of the Missoulian
KURT WILSON/Missoulian
Ken Edgington, a cherry grower on the east side of Flathead Lake, talks about the lengthy process he and 29 other growers from the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers association went through this past season to attain Global GAP certification. Edgington holds a notebook thick with rules, regulations and required record keeping to stay within the good agricultural practices.
SELLING
SAFER FRUIT
So did 29 other growers from the Flathead Lake Cherry Growers association, who volunteered to tackle the rules, regulations and required recordkeeping laid out in a two-inch-thick binder where the table of contents alone takes up seven pages. From AF 1.1.1 (maps of each orchard) to FV 4.1.12 (water or ice used on harvested fruit must be potable), the growers agreed to abide by the organization’s very specific rules for good agricultural practices. Good agricultural practices – that’s the “GAP” the program refers to. It covers everything from worker safety and
“Drift smoke” from the massive wildfire burning outside Yosemite National Park in California continued to hinder air quality across western Montana on Monday. A stubborn southwesterly flow was sweeping the smoke into the area, said Chris Gibson, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Missoula. “We still think it’s the Yosemite fire, Gibson said, ” noting that with the recent cloud cover and multitude of smaller fires burning across the region it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the smoke was coming from. “But the flow is still coming up from the southwest. ” See WILDFIRES, Page A5
INSIDE
? Crews make progress on 357-square-mile Yosemite fire. Page A5
CHERRY ORCHARD OWNERS EARN CERTIFICATION THAT PROTECTS CONSUMERS
By VINCE DEVLIN of the Missoulian
PAINTED ROCKS RESERVOIR
Y
ELLOW BAY – Ken Edgington, a former Baldwin Piano Co. vice president-turned Flathead Lake cherry grower, did something this year he didn’t have to. It took little money, but a lot more hours than the 68-year-old Edgington cares to count. And it put him under more than a little pressure. Still, it was worth it, Edgington says. When it was over, his Bear Dance Orchard at Yellow Bay had attained Global GAP certification.
hygiene to fertilizer and pesticide storage and application. “If you had to sum it up, it would be all about food safety to the consumer, ” Edgington says. There is no law requiring the orchards to participate, but they still may have to eventually, Edgington says, if they want to sell their fruit to major retailers. The program, in place in Europe for several years, didn’t gain a strong toe-hold in the United States “until they had that lettuce problem in California, Edgington ” says of an E. coli outbreak linked to fastSee ORCHARD, Page A4
Anglers needed to save trout
Repair work this fall may leave some fish stranded downstream
By PERRY BACKUS Ravalli Republic
Another parcel of land bought for rail-to-trail project
By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian
Route of Olympian will run from Lookout Pass to St. Regis
Kennedy and the folks at Five Valleys Land Trust aren’t thrilled. The four-acre parcel in Saltese is one of 42 tracts necessary to connect a recreation route that runs 35 miles between Lookout Pass and St. Regis. When Kennedy started working on the project five years ago at the U.S. Forest Service’s Superior Ranger
SALTESE – On the map, a new addition to the Route of the Olympian rail-to-trail project doesn’t actually connect anything new. But that doesn’t mean Beth
Station, she only had 15. It also furthers a plan to create a double route along the old railroad passage. Both the Milwaukee Road and the Northern Pacific railroads built lines along the St. Regis River. See RAIL-TO-TRAIL, Page A4
HAMILTON – When repairs to the 75-year-old Painted Rocks Reservoir Dam restart in October, a small army of anglers may be waiting downstream to help save a few trout. The repairs planned for this fall are a continuation of those that began last spring to the dam’s outlet tunnel and main See RESERVOIR, Page A5
The Flying “R” Café Espresso & Grill TODAY’S FORECAST
Some t-storms High 82º Low 56º Page A8
$20 GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR ONLY $10
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Affordable housing: Homeowners move in after helping build new digs. Page B1
Festival for fliers: Pilots invited to fly in for animal shelter benefit. Page B1
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