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Our Wildlife in the West students recently went fishing at Upsata Lake but they didn't want to catch anything, except maybe some plankton, aquatic insects or algae. Motored gently about in a small skiff by volunteer Barry Gordon, and led by Blackfoot Challenge's Caitlin Mitchell, we hand-reeled in a white, three-foot net on a hundred-foot rope. Shaped like a wizard's hat, our net yielded just a little draft of fluid the color of weak green tea, which we promptly conveyed into a 250mL plastic...
In 2004 when the Missoula County Weed District initially mapped the infestation of yellowflag iris that had recently been reported to us on the Clearwater River between Salmon Lake and the Blackfoot River, we faced a daunting challenge: 10 miles of river, both banks heavily infested and nearly 83 acres of dense thickets peppered with yellowflag iris. The yellowflag iris was already beginning to fill-in shallow bays on Elbow Lake, degrade wetlands and river bank habitat on the Clearwater River...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council hosted two candidate forums, April 9 and 11, covering eight races with 31 candidates in attendance. All candidates on the May 8 Special District Mail-in ballot and June 5 primary were invited. Absentee ballots for the June 5 election were mailed May 11. For the next two weeks, the Pathfinder will feature two of the races from the Candidate Forum. This week the Pathfinder features the candidates for U.S. Senate that will appear on the ballot during...
SEELEY LAKE - Happy spring! The Seeley Lake Ranger District is in full swing getting ready for a LOT of good work happening this upcoming field season on your National Forest. Sharing this information is important as it may impact you as you plan your summer activities. The majority of the work that we are proceeding with for the upcoming field season is directly related to the fire season of 2017 and the winter snow accumulation. Spring was slow in coming to the Clearwater and Blackfoot watersheds this year and in combination with the...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council hosted two candidate forums, April 9 and 11, covering eight races with 31 candidates in attendance. All candidates on the May 8 Special District Mail-in ballot and June 5 primary were invited. Ballots for the May 8 election were mailed April 18. For the next two weeks, the Pathfinder will continue to feature races from the Candidate Forum. This week the Pathfinder features the candidates for House District 92 that will appear on the ballot during...
I am running for Missoula County Commissioner because my experience and common sense leadership are needed now more than ever. I have a passion for Missoula County. I was born in Missoula and raised on a farm in the Swan. I graduated from Seeley-Swan High School. When I say I am going ‘up home’ - I am coming to this valley. When I drop down the hill to Salmon Lake, I am home. Seeley Lake is unique as it is unincorporated and yet has a sewer board, water board, fire board, cemetery board, hospital district and a volunteer fire department. I wor...
SEELEY LAKE – The repair efforts on the Liberty Fire are nearly complete with only a few roads still needing work in the Gold Creek area. The Nature Conservancy Resource Advisor for the Liberty Fire Steve Kloetzel said the number one goal for TNC was collaboration with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and other agencies to get the work done to stabilize the area following the suppression actions. He has been happy to see carnivore use in the burn area has not changed since last s...
It has been a longer than usual winter for most of the Blackfoot Watershed and as mud season transitions us from winter to spring we'll take the opportunity to review the past year. Before I dive into the recap of the past season I wanted to take a moment to remind folks that with spring around the corner please remember that bears will soon be returning to the valleys. Now is the time to start bringing the dog food and bird feeders inside, securing your garbage, and generally being mindful of...
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A poll of more than 500 Montanans released by the Montana Wildlife Federation showed continued support for U.S Senator Jon Tester’s Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act and collaborative efforts to protect wildlife habitat, recreational access and timber jobs. Tester as well as other stakeholders discussed the survey results and momentum of the legislation during a press conference March 15. The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project was developed through more than a decade of local discussions among conservation, r...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council discussed unanswered questions on the proposed 60-lot subdivision near the airport at their Feb. 12 meeting and voted to host a candidate forum ahead of this spring’s primary and local special district elections. The council also heard an update on the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA) and received a demonstration of the county’s Property Information System. Developers of the proposed 60-lot subdivision presented and answered questions at the January council meeting. During the meeting,...
SEELEY LAKE - The 60-home subdivision proposed in Powell County next to the Seeley Lake Airport will continue to be a topic of discussion at Monday’s Community Council meeting, Feb. 12. One of several major issues is the fact that the subdivision would be using Missoula County resources like fire, sheriffs and roads, while paying their taxes to Powell County. Deborah Bell of Missoula County Public Works will present the County’s GIS project, a county software solution which will help the public get easier access to land records, such as sep...
SEELEY LAKE - U.S. Senator Jon Tester’s Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act will receive a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Feb. 7. Members of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project (BCSP) reiterated their thanks to Senator Jon Tester for sponsoring the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act. Senator Tester introduced the bill last year. “Almost 12 years ago, we started the painstaking work on a timber, recreation, and conservation proposal for managing public lands in our backyard,” says Jim Stone, a ranch...
With snow coming early this year, the 2017 aquatic invasive species sampling wrapped up at the end of October. Clearwater Resource Council AIS Specialist Joann Wallenburn, field technician Swan Valley Connections' Caitlin Mitchell and Blackfoot Challenge project leader Jennifer Schonnen led the sampling efforts this year with the help of volunteers from the Blackfoot, Clearwater and Swan Valleys. To date, there has been no evidence of zebra mussels, Eurasian milfoil or Curly Leaf Pond Weed in...
WASHINGTON – In the wake of the more than 160,000-acre Rice Ridge Fire, U.S. Senator Jon Tester continues to pursue the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act. While many of the supporters and those opposed remain unchanged in their opinion of the legislation, all voiced concerns about forest management, policy and funding issues need to be addressed in response to the Rice Ridge Fire. Sen. Tester requested the BCSA be included in a legislative hearing from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources...
Swan Valley AARP Meeting, Oct. 2 SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley AARP will meet at noon Monday, Oct. 2 at the Swan Valley Community Hall. A potluck lunch hosted by Russ and Larrine Abolt will begin at 12:30 p.m. At 1:30 p.m., Joe Pecora, a Cowboy Poet and former Condon resident, will read some poetry and tell some stories. The public is invited. New Date for “Be Our Guest” Event SEELEY LAKE - The date for the Sparrow’s Vine “Be Our Guest” Fundraising Banquet has been changed to Oct. 19 to accommodate the guest speaker. The event begins at 6 p.m....
Community Handbell Choir Fall Season Begins SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley-Swan Mountain Bells, a local community handbell choir, will kick-off the fall season Tuesday, Sept. 26. New members are welcome. Anyone who is curious is encouraged to give the group a try and see how you like it. Members are expected to be able to read music. The choir practices Tuesdays in the music room at Seeley Lake Elementary school. Set up begins at 3:15 p.m., practice is from 3:30 – 5 p.m. and then members should allow time to take down. Director Joann Wallenburn d...
Space Available at Clearwater Alliance Church for Evacuees GREENOUGH - Clearwater Alliance Church, just east of Clearwater Junction, has offered space to park RV’s, camper trailers and set up tents for evacuees. Those camping can use the facility including three bathrooms, showers and a kitchen available. There is an RV dump across the road at the Rest Stop. For more information call Pastor Bruce Williams at 499-0345 or 499-0009 or Evelyn Holbrook at 529-3500. Blackfoot Challenge Swan Release Cancelled OVANDO - The Blackfoot Challenge Trumpeter...
In the past decade, we have made significant progress in making the Seeley/Swan more resilient to the effects of wildfire. This has been accomplished by conducting fuel reduction treatments on hundreds of acres of private land, where cost-share funding has helped landowners reduce the risk of wildfire on their forested lands. Adjacent to these treatments and often outside the Wildland Urban Interface at higher elevations, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the US...
Asphalt Millings Pile Continues to Grow – No Current Legal Issues SEELEY LAKE - The millings pile south of Seeley Lake has grown considerably over the course of the Highway 83 construction. There are currently no violations with the site. The contractor is required to find a place for millings. Frank Tabish, project manager for the construction, said that LHC contracted with John Richards Construction to dump the millings on the site. The site is located on private property. The property is located near Morrell Creek which raised some c...
GREENOUGH- A mere mile from the banks of the Blackfoot River, Sunset School sits tucked away on the property of the Paws Up Resort. For a century, the tiny two-room schoolhouse has educated the children of Greenough. From an enrollment high of 26 students in 1967, to a single student-teacher combo from 2010-2012, Sunset has remained a staple in the educational diet of the Blackfoot Valley. This weekend, students, teachers and supporters of the school from decades past will descend upon the...
The Nature Conservancy (TNC), along with our partners at the Blackfoot Challenge and Five Valleys Land Trust, invite members of the community to celebrate restoration and land protection with our third-annual "Revive and Thrive" event on Sunday, July 23. It's a chance for people to lend a hand sprucing up a favorite, or even not so well known, spot on TNC's Clearwater Blackfoot Project land. This year we'll be working on a new loop trail at the headwaters of Fawn Creek, not far from Seeley...
SEELEY LAKE - I love my job! As the Outdoor Education Program Coordinator at Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE), I get to work with kids of all ages and develop programs for them that require reaching out to local folks and outside organizations to help provide engaging, hands-on, academically rich content. I'm still amazed and inspired by the generosity and willingness of people to drop everything and lend a hand for the sake of the kids. Seeley Lake Elementary's Outdoor Program has been fortunate...
SEELEY LAKE - Timber companies and conservationists may seem like unlikely partners—for those who don’t know the Blackfoot, that is. For years, Seeley Lake’s Pyramid Mountain Lumber has partnered with many groups on conservation initiatives around watersheds to protect clean water for fish, wildlife and people. For more than a decade, Pyramid and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), along with other groups including the Blackfoot Challenge, have been working together to find sustainable solutions for the region’s forests. Over the last twenty years,...
by Elaine Caton (Swan Program Coordinator), Karen Laitala (Weed Coordinator), Zoe Leake (Intern), Sara Schmidt (Outreach Coordinator) and Jennifer Schoonen (Water Steward) Staying On Top of Invasives – The New and the Old This coming Monday, the Blackfoot Challenge and Powell County Weed District will host an update on invasive weed control strategies at the Ovando School Gym. Karen Laitala, Weed Coordinator for both groups, says she is pulling the event together in response to landowner i...
Ovando, Mont. rancher Jim Stone said it best when he mentioned “neighbors working together” to craft the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project which has resulted in introduction of the bill to create the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA). And he’s referred to “conservation and community.” To me, that is the essence of the BCSA: a community of diverse interests coming together to negotiate a conservation effort. That truly is “conservation and community.” Is the BCSA perfect? No. But if it were, then negotiation would not have been...
