Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 403
The Seeley Lake Community Council heard new plans for the Clearwater Resource Council, clarification on current Sewer Board actions and added a new council member at its Oct. 9 meeting. Dave Torrell, the new executive director from CRC, said the group has had some leadership changes over the last few years, and his goal is to get the organization more involved in local projects about the environment. “This valley is prime for issue-based programming for several reasons,” Torrell said. He said Seeley Lake’s want to stay rural while respe...
The wastewater system near Holland Lake Lodge might have been leaking since 2005, and photos show large rips in parts of the lagoon's liner from last year, according to letters and photos requested through the Freedom of Information Act by the nonprofit Save Holland Lake. The nonprofit shared several obtained photos and correspondence between Forest Service engineers and technicians working on the two-cell lagoon roughly 1,000 feet from the Holland Lake Lodge. Meanwhile, Missoula County told...
Well testing results shared at the Seeley Sewer District Meeting on Thursday, Sept. 21 indicated one groundwater monitoring well near Spruce Street has nitrate levels over the state standard of 10 mg/l. The 14 groundwater monitoring wells are collected quarterly by Bill Decker, Sewer District manager, for tests. Tests are performed by an independent testing lab. Of the remaining wells there were a total of four wells over 5 mg/l. Sewer district board members voted proactively to have eDNA (environmental DNA) testing done right away on any monit...
Guest speakers at the Seeley Community Council’s latest meeting went over several big projects happening around town, from the Lazy Acres RV Park to the future of the Boy Scout Bridge. Traffic talk Shane Stack, director of public works at Missoula County, said a speed study along Highway 83 from Salmon Lake to Condon will likely take place next summer. The council previously recommended the county do a study of traffic near Double Arrow Ranch. “It’s kinda a long process,” Stack said. “I know (the Montana Department of Transportation) has a bac...
The Seeley Lake Community Council approved sending a letter to survey traffic speed by the Double Arrow Ranch, discussed potentially holding a special meeting on water quality and heard from area experts during its monthly meeting on Aug. 14. The council heard from leaders on the Salmon Lake construction project, who informed the room that there will likely be more construction along Highway 83 next summer, and the manager of the sewer board reported an unhealthy amount of nitrate in the Seeley area. There was also a brief update on the...
The Missoula Consolidated Planning Board approved the application for the Lazy Acres RV Park planned for Seeley Lake at its recent June 25 meeting in Missoula. Several variances to the RV Park code were discussed and agreed upon. The RV park would create 70 short-term spots for RVs and campers, with hookups, a camp store and a dump station. The RV park would sit between the Montana Gas and Stop and The Seeley Swan Medical Center. Variances in road width, RV lot size and interior walkway...
A new 70-space RV park in Seeley Lake could be built after several years of planning and multiple applications. David Stewart, represented by IMEG civil engineering (formally known as Territorial Landworks), requested to subdivide roughly 14 acres into three lots and create 70 parking spots. The project was first submitted in 2018, but by different owners according to Missoula County Planner Tim Worley and previous Pathfinder reporting. Worley said the County rarely sees applications for an RV...
Jennifer Patchen has lived in Seeley Lake most of her life. She was shocked when she opened a letter from the Montana Department of Revenue earlier this month. “I was like ‘oh my god’” Patchen said. “I opened up that (letter) and seen (my taxes) and it was almost 100% more than last year’s.” Patchen lives behind the elementary school and is not the only one getting shocking tax assessments. Across the Seeley-Swan area — and the rest of Montana — residents are receiving new property values from the state, which coincide with their local share...
Twenty years ago… Thursday, May 22, 2003 Forest Resource council get $8,000 grant for local work National Forest Foundation ( NFF) Awards Local Group Community Assistance Program Grants …The Seeley Lake Forest Council was awarded $8,000 in funds from the grant program. “ The NFF commitment to local participation in forest conservation is at the very heart of this program,” said Bill Possiciel, president of the NFF. “We look forward to working with these and other emerging groups as they establish themselves in their communities.” The NFF dev...
Six local organizations received good news this week thanks to the Seeley Lake Community Foundation's Community Grant Program. "We want to be a resource and catalyst for local groups to do good work for our community. It's exciting to have these amazing projects benefit Seeley Lake area," says SLCF Executive Director Claire Muller. Tom Browder, board member for 2023 grantee Seeley Lake Historical Museum and Visitor Center says, "This grant will really help to make the Hayloft Room more usable...
The Seeley Lake Community Council met Monday, Jan. 9 at The Barn. The Missoula County Rural Grant Pilot Program for county residents was announced by Sarah Bell, Missoula County Grants and Community Programs. Micro-grants of $100-500 and Impact Grants of $500-4,000 are available. “We want to see what needs are in each rural community in the county,” said Bell. “We know that each community has it’s own personality and unique needs.” The Micro Grant will be open to new applicants on a monthly basis and is designed for projects that can be comple...
2/35 Year Look Back In celebration of 36 years of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, we will run parts of articles that appeared in the issue 35 years ago and 20 years ago. The entire issue will be uploaded to our website seeleylake.com for you to enjoy. 35 years ago... Voyage of the Rigil Kent by Dick Potter Joseph Conrad, the great 19th century author of seafaring tales, would have been enchanted by Al and Jean Slaight. The Slaights, who moved to Seeley Lake last spring, share many of the attributes...
By Jean Pocha Water quality concerns in the community will be determined following a project approach that Water and Environmental Technologies (WET) will use to collect and analyze information, shared Bill Decker, Sewer Board General Manager at the Seeley Lake Community Council meeting earlier this month. “WET proposed a three-phase approach to resolving Seeley Lake’s wastewater issues. WET committed to working side-by-side with the Sewer District throughout this process to develop a practical situation that is both economical and appropriate,...
In celebration of 36 years of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, we will run parts of articles that appeared in the issue 35 years ago and 20 years ago. The entire issue will be uploaded to our website seeleylake.com for you to enjoy. 35 years ago... Alone in the Bob by Mildred Chaffin The hunting season was drawing to a close. Our helper had found other fields of interest, so I had gotten promoted. I was not chief camp guard! On the last trip that season, we were scheduled to outfit two hunters from M...
Grants available for projects helping Seeley Lake From Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director Non-profit organizations are invited to submit grant proposals to the Seeley Lake Community Foundation for 2023 projects. The SLCF awards grants of up to $2,500 for projects to benefit the area of Seeley Lake, MT. Applications are due January 31st each year, and grant award decisions are made by early March. The Seeley Lake Community Foundation helps local groups fund important community projects in the areas of: art & culture, community & economic...
From Jenny Kauffman Condon Librarion The November Condon Library Book Chat is about “Down from the Mountain, the life and death of a grizzly bear” by Bryce Andrews We meet at the library at 1pm. Nov. 9. This is the description on the back of the book: An “ode to wildness and wilderness” (Outside), Down from the Mountain tells the story of one grizzly in the changing Montana landscape. Millie was cunning and a fiercely protective mother to her cubs. But raising those cubs in the mountains became harder each year as the climate warmed and peo...
Community Firewood Day CONDON – Swan Valley Connections is hosting our annual Community Firewood Day volunteer event! We’ll be splitting, delivering, and stacking wood for a full list of people in need in the Swan Valley community. Volunteers will meet at the Condon Work Center (MM 42.9 MT Hwy 83, Condon, MT 59826) at 9am foramndatory safety meeting. There will be a complimentary volunteer BBQ, sponsored by Mannix Family Grass-finished Beef, following the work day. Please bring your own lunch/snacks, ear and eye protection and gloves. Please we...
SEELEY LAKE – At their Sept. 15 meeting, the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board followed their committee’s recommendation to seek a proposal from Water & Environmental Technologies (WET) and voted to install up to 14 additional monitoring wells. The Board’s committee heard presentations from two engineering companies, WET and Morrison & Maierle and two manufactures, SepticNET and AquaTech Systems, that responded to the District’s Request for Qualifications. District Manager Bill Decker said he reached out to a third engineering company multipl...
SWAN VALLEY – Expansion plans for Holland Lake Lodge (HLL) were met with opposition from locals at the recent scoping open house held at the lodge Sept. 8. Over 100 area residents and users of Holland Lake expressed concern regarding change, increased traffic and potential environmental impacts to the area. Representatives of the Flathead National Forest along with representatives of POWDR and Christian Wohlfiel, Holland Lake Lodge (HLL) owner, meet with public members to present information r...
As the Pathfinder has been documenting over the years, the Sewer District has been testing and testing and testing. The question the sewer board has been discussing heavily is the validity of the results of this testing. The decision is that although there is a lot of test results there really isn't much depth. There is a lot of data for a very few points. This has led to a substantial discussion concerning the true point of the lake contamination. Is it downtown and the business district? Is...
The September meeting of the Seeley Lake Community Council will be held at the Barn (2920 Highway 83) on Monday, Sept. 12. Pizza will be served starting at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Featured speakers/topics are as follows: • Jesse Mullen - new Pathfinder publisher • Update from the USFS • Update from the Seeley Lake Sewer District • Overview of the Mobile Support Program of the Missoula City County Health Department Mental Health department • Update on open Community Council position and how to apply. • A representat...
The Seeley Lake Sewer district has continued testing since 1994 within the district. This does not include the airport area which was part of the original testing as this area is outside of the district. Looking at a summary of the wells from 1994-2004, the results are as follows. Well #1 located at Lindey's Prime Steak House shows very elevated nitrate levels. Well #2 located at the Seeley Lake Baptist Church nitrate levels were generally quite high with huge seasonal swings. As low as 0.08 to...
SEELEY LAKE – At their July 28 hearing and regular meeting, the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board passed the annual assessment method and discussed drilling additional monitoring wells. The Board received just one written protest. The landowner was opposed to the assessment in part because they owned two lots and would have to pay twice even though they only have one residence. They also felt that their land was not necessary to be in the District in the first place as it is not near the lake or the contaminated groundwater monitoring well. M...
In both 1993 and 1995, the Department of Geology at the University of Montana did a study called "Cumulative Effects of Domestic Sewage Disposal on Groundwater of Missoula County: An analysis of Carrying Capacity" for the Missoula County Commissioners. The second site that was tested was within the Seeley Lake Water District, directly to the east of Highway 83. One complication they found was, although it was quite densely populated, there weren't many wells since it is in the water district....
SEELEY LAKE – The first community council in the state was appointed by the Missoula County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in Seeley Lake in 1987. The community council grew out of the Seeley Lake Chamber of Commerce, said Bud Johnson, owner of Timberline Building Materials and first chair of the Seeley Lake Community Council. The first Community Council board appointed by the BCC consisted of Dan Mizner, retired; Johnson, director of the chamber; Jeff Macon, a real estate broker; Bud Berckmoes, a real estate broker; Addrien Marx, director...
