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When the timber industry can sit down with conservationists and ranchers can see eye to eye with recreationists – we need leaders who will listen and honor those efforts. That’s why the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project (BCSP) is so unique. It’s a Montana-made model for managing our lands – a much better alternative to selling off our public lands to the highest bidder or settling for top-down, one-size-fits-all land management directives from Washington, D.C. As a tech entrepreneur, our public lands provide a competitive advanta...
In Montana, we know how to turn casual conversations into collaborative policies that work for the benefit of all. The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project is a model for homegrown collaboration that works. It includes the support of a diverse group of local businesses and individuals. Through the passing of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act, the Forest Service will be given more tools to actively manage our forests and continue to put our neighbors and friends to work. This Act and the tools provided therein is an example of how...
SEELEY LAKE - U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA) at the Rich Ranch Feb. 22. While collaborators and supporters gathered to voice their support, not everyone believes the legislation goes far enough to protect motorized recreation opportunities. The BCSA designates more than 79,000 acres of additional wilderness to the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and Mission Mountains Wildernesses and establishes the 3,835-acre Spread Mountain Recreation Area and the...
SEELEY LAKE - It doesn’t matter if you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent. It makes no difference if you enjoy snowmobiling or hiking or both. Regardless of personal preferences, all Montanans can be proud of the proposal a group of local folks generated over ten years. The proposal is now known as the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act. If passed it will enhance timber, recreation and conservation forever in about 80,000 acres near Ovando and Seeley Lake. It turns out working together is valued by most Montanans. A poll, conducted b...
MISSOULA – The Southwestern Crown of the Continent Collaborative and the Flathead, Helena-Lewis and Clark and Lolo National Forests received the 2016 Forest Service Chief's Award for Sustaining Forests and Grasslands through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP). The award was accepted on behalf of the Collaborative and the Forests on Dec. 8, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. by Tim Garcia, Lolo National Forest Supervisor. The recipients were chosen from more than 80 n...
As a mother of four kids myself, I've been guilty of the common complaint that "kids these days" just don't play outside or have opportunities to explore and figure things out on their own like we used to when we were kids. They're so often plugged in, over scheduled or over managed. I feel lucky to have grown up in Montana in a simpler time, before the internet and social media, when our parents nudged us out of the house in the morning and called us back in for meals. What happened in between...
SEELEY LAKE - As part of its mission, the Seeley Lake Community Foundation (SLCF) endeavors to help charitable groups in Seeley Lake fund projects to benefit the community. In this capacity, the SLCF strives to be a community resource and catalyst for innovative approaches to improving the quality of life in Seeley Lake. The Small Grants Program supports the ever-changing needs of a community that is diverse and growing. Qualifying non-profit and public organizations are afforded the opportunity to receive assistance from the SLCF, provided the...
MISSOULA - Recently representatives from the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA), Montana Mountain Bike Alliance and MTB Missoula signed on as supporters of the collaborative landscape proposal the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project (BCSP). There have been numerous stories from across the country of mountain bike advocates butting heads with wilderness and conservation groups over the past year. Mountain bikers across the west are concerned about a potential loss of riding opportunities and finding permanency for our...
Recreational public access and wildlife habitat have been protected on nearly 5,500 acres of former industrial timberland in the Blackfoot Valley. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) transferred the land to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) using an award from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This was the first transfer in TNC's Clearwater-Blackfoot Project in which the organization acquired more than 117,000 acres of large forest land tracts. The aim of the Clearwater-Blackfoot Project is...
As snow finally blankets the valley, the quiet and cold gives us time to reflect on the last year. 2016 has been an incredibly busy year for The Nature Conservancy in Montana, including for those of us who work on the Clearwater-Blackfoot Project. In almost two years since acquiring the 117,152 acres that comprise the Clearwater-Blackfoot Project, the Conservancy has been working hard to address urgent conservation needs and to understand the landscape as a whole. Projects of this scale always have an element of uncertainty but our work with...
As District Ranger for the Seeley Lake Ranger District, I’ve been sharing with you, through the Pathfinder, some of the details of the project work that the Seeley Lake Ranger District (RD) is involved with and what that provides to the community of Seeley Lake and the American public. In this edition, I wanted to share some information about one of the things that makes the Seeley Lake RD unique and successful in its ability to get work done on the ground: its designation as a Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) l...
HELENA - A new grant from Montana’s Forests in Focus program will make homes safer, create well-paying jobs and improve forest health – all at the same time. The $249,534 grant will be used to thin out dense forest to reduce the hazards posed by wildfire. Besides reducing the fuel load for any potential wildfire, the work will open up the forest, allowing more light and moisture in to nurture the trees that are left. The work will create 17 jobs between this December and November of next year and will supply 3,166 tons of materials to local mil...
POTOMAC - The Montana Conservation Corps (MCC), together with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), has been working on a restoration project at Primm Meadows, north of Highway 200 up Gold Creek. The project involved thinning of smaller trees and will be logged after the ground freezes with the goal in mind of promoting rapid tree growth in the remaining trees. Originally the homestead of Charles and Mahala Primm, the parklike meadows are not an official campground, however the public is welcome to camp...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council hosted two candidate forums, Sept. 19 and Sept. 29, at the Seeley Lake Community Hall. They also hosted the Justice of the Peace candidates at their Oct. 10 meeting. Candidates for state and local races answered questions from moderator and Council Chair Klaus von Sutterheim and the audience. All candidates that appear on the ballot were invited. This week the Pathfinder features the candidates for Missoula County Commissioner and Justice of the...
MISSOULA — Oktoberfest may be over, but The Nature Conservancy and Kettlehouse Brewery have extended the season with the launch of the month-long OktoberForest in Montana. The campaign is making beer fans aware of the critical link between the health of America’s forests and beer’s main ingredient—water. More than 90 percent of beer is water and more than 50 percent of America’s water comes from our forests. Montana’s forests help shade streams, lakes and snow from evaporation and keep waters cool for fish; the forest floor helps filter sedi...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council hosted two candidate forums, Sept. 19 and Sept. 26, at the Seeley Lake Community Hall. Candidates for state and local races answered questions from moderator and Council Chair Klaus von Sutterheim and the audience. All candidates that appear on the ballot including Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians, were invited. This week the Pathfinder features the candidates for Montana Senate District 46 and Montana House District 92. Visit...
SEELEY LAKE – When driving the major roads in Montana, travelers can't help but notice the white crosses dotting the side of the roads. The American Legion has used the white crosses to mark the sites of fatal traffic accidents for the past 50 years. Jim Kelly, a member of the American Legion Post 13 out of St. Regis, keeps this tradition alive in District 5, including the Blackfoot, Clearwater and Swan Valleys. He covers more than 2,500 miles and maintaining more than 1,000 crosses, adding m...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council hosted a candidate forum, Sept. 19 at the Seeley Lake Community Hall. Candidates for Governor/Lieutenant Governor, U.S. Congress, Secretary of State, Supreme Court Justice and State Attorney General races answered various questions from moderator and council chair Klaus von Sutterheim and the audience. All candidates that will appear on the ballot including Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians, were invited. Only the Supreme Court Justice race h...
SEELEY LAKE – The topic of the Sept. 8 Pure Montana Tales held at SLE Outside was the Crown of the Continent (CC). The featured speakers were Rick and Susie Graetz. Their credentials include more than 30 books, the most recent entitled "Rocky Mountain Front." In addition, Susie is Managing Editor of The University of Montana (UM) Press and Managing Editor of the university's e-magazine "Crown of the Continent and the Greater Yellowstone." Rick teaches four Crown of the Continent courses each y...
MISSOULA - Senator Jon Tester met with a coalition of timber workers, ranchers, small business owners and conservationists Aug. 30 to discuss potential legislation that could complete the land management reform efforts in the Blackfoot Clearwater watershed. For nearly a decade, Tester and the coalition have been working to finalize the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project (BCSP) — a land management reform effort that consists of timber harvest, forest restoration, conservation and recreation south and west of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. T...
I would like to comment on the letter Supporting Blackfoot-Clearwater Stewardship Project authored by representatives of the Montana Association of Christians (MAC) in the Great Falls Tribune (July 25, 2016). I agree wholeheartedly with collaboration supporting forest restoration and recreation. However, I think there is a widespread misconception that we protect areas as we know them by adding them to the wilderness system. MAC supports adding 83,000 acres to the Wilderness Complex. They allude to the “Rivers running clear and deep” thr...
Garden Club Gathering POTOMAC – The Garden Club will meet Aug. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the Potomac Community Center. Those attending are encouraged to bring a garden treat to share. Missoula BLM Plans Fall Prescribed Burns OVANDO – Smoke may be visible periodically during the next two months in the mountains east of Missoula as the Bureau of Land Management’s Missoula Field Office conducts three controlled burns. Two burns are located in the Blackfoot Valley, about five miles southwest of Clearwater Junction. The other burn is located three miles...
There are a few special places that I’ve encountered in my life that grabbed hold of me and refused to let me go. One of those special places is the Blackfoot-Clearwater region, a place we have the opportunity to protect through the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project (BCSP). I would like to explain why I, as a mountain biker, support the BCSP. Seven years ago, I had the privilege of working as a wilderness ranger for the Seeley Lake Ranger District. Charged with trail maintenance, visitor contacts and backcountry campsite monitoring, I f...
SEELEY LAKE – More than 50 volunteers gathered at Tupper's Lake Sunday, July 24 for the second annual Revive and Thrive event hosted by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Following their work putting in a trail around the lake, installing a beaver deceiver and helping with general clean up, they were treated to a catered lunch and celebration with the rest of the community. The Tupper's Lake restoration project was a small part of the restoration work being done as a part of the C...
When The Nature Conservancy (TNC) invested in its Clearwater Blackfoot Project, we were looking to the future. But not just the future of the forest as a haven for wildlife and important waterways. We were also investing in the future of the communities who work and play on this land. The unique structure of the investment allows us time to study the landscape’s and the community’s needs. We hope that we will be able to find permanent conservation outcomes that help communities that have long lived and worked these lands develop a more cer...
