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The Fourth of July came at a perfect time, weather-wise, for the Blackfoot and Clearwater watersheds - just before temperatures were supposed to get into the high-nineties and even hundreds this week. Celebrations across the valleys were a delightful mix of some of the best parts of small town Montana, with elements that catered to locals and visitors alike. Books were available for purchase to support the Swan Valley Community Library, families wore matching outfits and water and popsicles,...
On June 18 Missoula County Commissioners voted unanimously to amend some of Missoula County's building codes. Greenhouses, hoop houses, certain deck designs and non-residential entryways or covered patios will no longer be required to have building permits. Public feedback and a recent public survey prompted commissioners to roll back requirements. Montana Code Annotated gives the Board of County Commissioners the right to exempt certain structures from requiring a building permit. "We did a...
Forty-foot long cinder block cooking pits lined by piles of cherry, pine and oak wood, folk music in the background, kids flying homemade kites and beef quarters seasoning on kitchen tables mark the beginning of the second annual Old Salt Festival. The festival was the brainchild of Cole Mannix of the Old Salt Co-op in Helena and fifth-generation Montanan from Helmville. Mannix said the Old Salt Festival was designed to bring together local food, local people and agriculture through...
Nearly 90 plant enthusiasts gathered for Prairies to Potholes, the 2024 Native Plant Society annual meeting held at Camp Utmost June 28-30. The meeting was highlighted by 22 workshops and field trips throughout the Blackfoot and Seeley valleys. Trips visited public and private locations from Gold Creek to Browns Lake and north to Clearwater Lake. "This was a remarkable way to see some of the plant and ecosystem variety in the Swan Valley," Susan Ballinger, from Washington, said. "I've been a...
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks swore in a new game warden to cover the Seeley Lake area in January 2024. Garrett Kocab of Helena started the lengthy hiring process while completing two degrees at Carroll College. Graduating in May 2023 with Environmental Policy/Project Management and Sociology degrees and hired in January 2024, Kocab then had three months of law enforcement training in Helena before coming on the job in Seeley Lake in May. "Although I used to come up here hunting while going...
Full coverage to come in an upcoming Pathfinder edition....
Tour Divide frontrunner Justinas Leveika, 35 of Lithuania (pictured) rode into Ovando on Sunday at about 11:30 a.m. He was followed by second place Laurens Ten Dam, of the Netherlands, at about 1 p.m. and third place Ulrich Bartholmoes, from Spain, around 4:15 p.m. The riders are racing the Tour Divide on the 2,745-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells on the Mexican-American border. Ovando is located right on the route. The frontrunners took advantage of th...
The tables in the sanctuary at Mission Bible Fellowship were full of people filling out raffle tickets for the fundraiser at Loving Hearts' annual fashion show and fundraiser Saturday June 8. Raffle tickets were for the 61 "baskets" of like-new goods displayed in the auditorium. Each basket had a box for raffle tickets where people could put in as many tickets as they wanted for a basket. The annual event supports Loving Hearts' scholarship fund for local high school students. This year Loving...
It was a beautiful blue sky weekend for the 45th Annual Father Mac tournament June 1-2 at Helmville's Wilson Field. Six teams vied for championship status, which was taken by Deer Lodge's team with a 15-5 win. Reserve champion was the TDS team from Missoula. Runner-up was The Pine Beetles, also from Missoula. There were no gold chains around the players necks or even matching uniforms as the Men's Fast Pitch Softball teams took to the diamond. A sense of camaraderie prevailed amongst the teams...
The Dusty Banditas gravel race returned to Ovando for a second appearance June 1. This year 300 riders entered, 60 for the 80-ish mile race and 240 for the 45-ish mile race. It was an increase in ridership of 100 from last years' 200-rider limit. The Dusty Bandita is the nation's first all-women gravel bike race. "Overall the event was hugely popular and successful," Jenna Tomiello, one of the co-race directors and director of MT Alpha Cycling in Missoula, said. "The positive energy at the...
Scenic Montana Trails (SMT) is continuing its efforts to develop all-season trails for bicycles, fat tire bikes, e-bikes, ATVs, UTVs and snowmobiles in the Seeley Lake area. An event held June 21-23 will introduce bike trail plans for the Nordic ski area off Morrell Creek Road. SMT has been working in partnership with the Forest Service, the Nordic Ski Club and a trail designer to develop the trails. The bike event is designed to introduce people to SMT and the proposed new bike trails, and prov...
In an area where history, hindsight and remembrance are important, it's not surprising the Seeley and Swan Valleys - where at least in Seeley Lake 14.6% of the population are veterans, according to Census data - treated Memorial Day as something special, and not just a three-day weekend. The Pathfinder was able to attend three celebrations throughout the valleys, and further afield, to see how the holiday was being commemorated. From Condon, to Seeley, to Helmville, one thing was for sure - the...
Sunset School celebrated their end of the year celebration on May 24, the last day of school. Family and friends packed the Lubrecht Forest Pavilion for the ceremony. The ceremony celebrated the school year with individual student awards, drum music, recognition of graduates and an emotional thanks to teacher Miss Peterson. "I'd like to thank the board members and staff who provided a robust and individual school experience this year," Toni Hatten, Head Teacher, said. "I like to recognize that...
The Lolo National Forest Plan Revision committee held the first of four meetings region-wide in Seeley Lake on Monday, May 20 at the Community Hall. Thirty people filled the chairs and contributed comments on draft alternatives to the proposed Lolo National Forest Plan. "We just closed the scoping comment period on the proposed Lolo Forest Plan," Carolyn Upton, Lolo Forest Supervisor, said. "Then I had a great idea, why don't we go to the communities to see if we got the issues right?" The three issues the National Forest suggested for...
Instead of a line of trucks overflowing with antler hunters bombing through the west gate of the Clearwater-Blackfoot Game Range on opening day, 115 vehicles followed a game warden driving a side-by-side pilot vehicle through the east gate off Woodworth Road. Safety concerns because of excessive traffic around the Game Range west gate on opening day led Montana Fish and Game to explore options for the management of opening day. People camping and parking across Highway 83 and crossing the highwa...
The Powell County Community Wildfire Protection Plan is in the process of being updated and public meetings have been held across the county, including in Avon and Deer Lodge, for residents to express any concerns and provide input on the new plan. At a meeting in Helmville, residents and county officials listed drought, road maintenance and people that are new to the area and not as familiar with living close to fire as topics to address. The Powell County Wildfire Protection Plan is a...
Protect the Clearwater hosted two gatherings April 27 at the Seeley Lake Community Foundation building and May 1 at the Montana Natural History Center in Missoula. Both events were aimed at raising awareness about Protect the Clearwater's mission to safeguard Montana communities, waterways and ecosystems from the environmental threats posed by expedited permits for open cut gravel mines. The April event was a family friendly open house, featuring kids activities with drawing pages, edible...
Curiosity led the way for Ovando artist Andrea Morgan to learn new ways of expressing herself through mixed media artwork. Morgan's lifetime of creating led to making and selling paper mache roosters and other animals in 2009. She upcycles paper maps, old encyclopedias and recycled books for the paper mache. She became acquainted with selling her work at Montana Made fairs and displaying in a few local galleries. Through an online art class in 2020, Morgan found another outlet for her curiosity...
The Missoula County Commissioners approved the proposal to adjust operating hours for the Seeley Lake garbage container site at their meeting April 18. The new hours will be Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., effective May 1. These hours will remain the same year-round. “I did outreach at (the) Seeley Community Council and through the Pathfinder,” Kim Myer, Seeley Lake projects and operations coordinator with Missoula County Public Works, said. “There was only one negative comment and I received many emails in favor...
Springtime in the garden often starts with big dreams and memories of the beauty and abundance from the past season. Here in Montana we get a break from gardening as our season is short and hopefully sweet. Often our spring thoughts turn to questions like: Is the fence high enough to keep the deer out? Will cardboard really work to quench the quackgrass? Do I have enough row cover for that mid-season frost that nailed the garden last July? Deer that aren't used to fence jumping can usually be...
Travelers on Highway 200 may have noticed the new cell tower near the Monture Creek Bridge, three miles west of Ovando. The tower was built in January by Bridger Corporation. "Construction will be completed around July," Jason Evans, Verizon site acquisition specialist said by email. "Service will be up soon after that depending on the fiber company's final install. The community should see service as early as this summer." A lease agreement for Verizon service on the tower has been filed with...
The monthly Swan Valley Community Council Meeting on March 19 had reports from the Swan Valley Volunteer Fire Department and the Forest Service. In addition, special guest speaker Jim Nave from Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation discussed water rights in the Swan Valley. “The Swan Valley is one of the only basins in Montana that still has surface water rights available,” Nave said. “Other basins are closed for new surface water rights.” The Swan Basin encompasses the Swan River drainage to its confluence with Flathead...
Proposed schedule changes at the garbage dump, Special Management Area updates and a forestry report on treatments at local campgrounds rounded out the Seeley Lake Community Council meeting on March 11. Garbage dump schedule change A proposed schedule change for the Seeley Lake Refuse Collection Site, or the garbage dump, led the Seeley Lake Community Council meeting. A 2020-2023 study of the number of site visits per day showed that Sunday had the highest number of site visits at 37%, Wednesday 33% and Saturday at 30%. The proposed new...
Riley Comstock, a double major Environmental Science and Sustainability and Journalism sophomore at University of Montana, accepted an internship with Protect the Clearwater (PTC). Protect the Clearwater a nonprofit founded in 2023 challenges Montana DEQ's actions as violations of the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), the Montana Public Participation Act and the Montana Constitution. The internship is funded through the Baucus Institute Climate Scholars program. The internship will be...
The Blackfoot Challenge hosted the first ever Winter Ski Day on the Blackfoot Community Conservation Area (BCCA) Feb. 24. "I spend a lot of time skiing on the BCCA in the winter and wish that other people were enjoying it too," Elaine Caton, Blackfoot Challenge Education Coordinator. Thirty adult and children winter aficionados attended the ski day on the Blackfoot Challenge property north of Ovando. Maps were distributed and small groups found their way by cross country skis or snowshoes on a...
