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Dear Editor, We live in a confusing time. A time when we protect unborn whales and pandas, but not unborn human children! Statistics say that in America there are an average of 90 human abortions every hour. In 1984, President Ronald Ragan proclaimed January 22 a Sanctity of Human Life Day. This year celebrates forty years of the Sanctity of Human Life. The dictionary defines sanctity as the state or quality of being holy, sacred, or of ultimate importance and inviolability. At Sparrow’s Vine Pregnancy and Parenting Resource Center we b...
Thirty-five years ago... Thursday Jan 12, 1989 Weatherman watches Jan. snows pile up, It might be a 'regular' Montana winter, says Kux SWAN VALLEY–More than 30 inches of snow fell at Lindbergh Lake during the month of December, but that's still less than the 30-year average (33.3 inches) for the month according to Swan Valley weather observer, Marty Kux. The record high snowfall at Lindbergh Lake during the past 30 years was 84.8 inches in 1977; the record low was 10 inches in 1965. On Dec. 3...
Seeley Lake and the rest of western Montana has continued to see drier and warmer than average conditions, as mountain snow levels continue to stay below 65% of normal, according to the National Water and Climate Center. "We're in a classic El Niño pattern this winter," said Meteorologist Luke Robinson of the Missoula National Weather office. "There are some indications that it might change in mid-January, bringing some snow and cooler temperatures." The El Niño weather pattern is caused by warm...
Well-known author and forester Bud Moore began trapping at the age of fourteen and spent several winters in the 1930s running trap lines in the Lochsa backcountry. After working over 40 years with the US Forest Service, he retired in 1974. Anxious to get back to his roots and the land, he and his wife Janet moved to Swan Valley where they managed their 80-acre Coyote Forest. Later, he wrote the book, The Lochsa Story: Land Ethics in the Bitterroot Mountains. Beginning in 1983 at the age of 66, he spent a couple of winters living out of a tent...
As bears rest in their dens and families gather for the holidays, there is much to celebrate in the world of wildlife conservation-and much more work ahead. For grizzly bears, the slow march toward durable recovery in the lower 48 states continues, with populations making gradual gains in 2023 and bears reclaiming historic range, including the first documented grizzly sighting in the Missouri River Breaks region of North Central Montana in more than a century. As the grizzlies' numbers and...
Thirty-five years ago... Thursday, Dec. 29, 1988 Young inventor inspired by accident Kia Jette is probably the only 12 year-old in Seeley Lake that will be applying for a patent. She was selected as the 1988 state award winner for the "Invent America" competition with a design of an arrowhead protector. Kia's inspiration for her invention came when her brother, Jeff, had a serious accident with an arrow tip as he was assembling a razor-sharp tip into the shaft of an arrow. His accident required...
Students across the Swan Valley got an extra Christmas present this year, as the Swan Valley Library and Swan Valley School worked together to gift a book to each student. Swan Valley Librarian Jenny Kauffman said this is the second year the books were given out, but this year Kauffman and others handpicked each book from stores across western Montana. Each book was matched to a student by the teachers. Volunteers then wrapped each book and delivered the goods just in time for...
A holiday bazaar, whether church or community, is deeply nostalgic for me. Memories of the green-tiled basement of the Methodist Church in Missoula in the 1960s evoke taste memories of butterscotch bars, riots of color in quilted art and remarkable expressions of creativity from souls that otherwise appeared so conventional. When the opportunity to have a stall at the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society "Frostbite Bazaar" presented itself, I saw an opportunity to sell some of my books, and to...
A new communications tower could come to the center of Condon in the future, but little has been shared on what purpose the tower has, when it could be built or what cell services will be carried on it. The Pathfinder originally published the public notice of a new cell tower on Nov. 30. It is unclear why the notice was published. The tower would be owned by Harmoni Towers, one of the largest tower companies in America. Since the land is unzoned, there is no requirement from the state of... Full story
The Swan Valley Community Council approved its members for a planning committee that could solidify some regulations and zoning for the Condon area at its Nov. 21 meeting. The Community Council is working to update the area’s community plan for the first time since 1996, and this time it could include more powerful rules like zoning limits for the first time ever. Council member Grace Siloti asked the board to approve the list of nine people and a three person advisory committee. The planning members will be Luke Lamar, Johnny Simons, C...
More than a dozen residents stood by the confluence of Holland Creek and the Swan River to hear from Forest Service officials and their plan to log and restore roughly 6,000 acres of land from Rumble Creek to Owl Creek. The field trip was part of the plan's public meeting, which featured experts in fire, forest health and wildlife. The Forest Service argued that the area needs alteration after previous managers suppressed fire for one hundred years, leaving thick stands at risk for wildfire and...
The teacher shortage in Montana hits communities like the Seeley-Swan Valley hard, and that is particularly true with music teachers. The most recent music teachers for Seeley-Swan High School, Seeley Elementary and the Swan Valley School left for other teaching jobs after several years in the schools, leaving our schools searching to find replacements. Seeley Elementary was able to persuade former kindergarten teacher Sheila Devins, a 2022 finalist for Montana Teacher of the Year, to stay on...
After I finished high school, I underwent 16 years of additional training—college, medical school, surgical residency, surgical fellowship—before I started a real job. I was 34 years old and deep red broke. Finally, I thought, I am done with the educational waterboarding. Not so fast. The last 32 years have been a continuous, Sisyphean series of courses, seminars, meetings, recertifications, and general shakedowns to make sure I am “up to date.” All these, of course, involve substantial fees. If you do not pay these fees you will be listed...
To kick off the holiday season, Alpine Artisans’ 2 Valleys Stage is presenting Missoula’s outstanding dance troupe, Bare Bait Dance, with their holiday show, The Night Before at Seeley-Swan High School on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. Founded and directed by Joy French, Bare Bait Dance is a professional, contemporary modern dance company. A 501(c)(3) non-profit, Bare Bait operates Westside Theater in Missoula. Now in its 13th year of producing professional dance concerts in Western Montana, Bare Bait Dance is bringing a little joyful creativity to...
Kevin Wetherell of Clearwater Montana Properties, Inc. Thus far in 2023, there has been a total of 34 homes sold, which is behind the pace of the 45 total homes that sold in 2022. The number of homes for sale has continued to rise as sales have slowed not only in our area but throughout Montana. All markets have seen increases in inventory, price reductions and increasing days on the market. SEELEY LAKE RESIDENTIAL SALES FAST FACTS In 2023, the average home price in Seeley Lake has dropped to...
Scott Porter carries a tub of onions into the Seeley Lake Food Pantry on Nov. 16. Enough food to feed 60 families flowed into the Clearwater Valley from the Northwest Montana Veterans Stand Down and Food Pantry. The pantry has worked out of the Evergreen area in the Flathead Valley for the last 25 years. The group recently decided to outreach to the Seeley Lake area after it received an excess of food this fall. "We plan to keep working with the food bank in Seeley Lake and building that...
The Clearwater Resource council is scheduling a community meeting on Jan. 9 at the Barn in Seeley Lake to present the finding of multiple years of aquatic monitoring of streams and lakes in the Clearwater Valley. Ongoing human activities in the Clearwater watershed are resulting in impacts to our lakes, streams, wildlife habitat, forest, and rural lifestyle. It is estimated that over two thousand landowners and thirty thousand plus people come to the valley to recreate and enjoy the rural splendor of the valley annually. Consequently, citizens...
The Missoula County Sheriff's Office has increased its number of deputies working in Seeley Lake and will have someone on patrol in the area at all hours - the first time in recent memory. Sheriff Jeremiah Petersen told the Pathfinder that starting Nov. 1 there will be at least one deputy on duty in the Seeley Lake area. The Pathfinder previously reported the sheriff's office had been short staffed and failed to replace two open resident jobs in Seeley Lake. After another failed search to find a...
Rebecca Ramsey, Swan Valley Connections(SVC) executive director, welcomed 28 participants to their quarterly potluck and speaker series held at the Swan Valley Community Hall. "It's beautiful to see everyone together," Ramsey said. "At SVC we love to bring people together to connect them to each other and to the landscape to inspire conservation." The featured speaker on Nov. 1 was Emiline Kraus, a science and parks intern with Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center (CCRLC) in Glacier...
It happened like this: The guy is going 120 mph in a stolen car, running from the cops. Not surprisingly, being fabulously drunk, he misses a 90 degree turn, launching him and his vehicle (separately) into a low earth orbit, our protagonist being unrestrained. After a flight of around 100 feet, he was then restrained when he landed on a metal fence post, which entered his lower jaw and exited through the middle of his back. First responders cut the fence post off at the ground and found to their surprise that he was alive. Remarkably, they got...
While late fall through early winter brings pleasant temperatures to work outside, it can also contribute to insect issues the following year. If lodgepole or ponderosa pines are cut without time to thoroughly dry before the following June, pine engraver (Ips) beetle populations can build to levels that are hazardous to trees. Pine engraver populations can build up in both limbs of ponderosa pines discarded from logging operations as well as in smaller diameter stems cut for fuels reduction....
Bull trout in Holland Lake are unique yet vulnerable. Holland Lake harbors a “disjunct” core area population of bull trout meaning that bull trout spawn in Holland Creek and mature in Holland Lake rather than migrating to Swan Lake like most bull trout in the Swan watershed. In 2010, the US Fish and Wildlife Service designated the Holland Lake core area as critical habitat because it contains the features essential for bull trout conservation. They have very specific habitat requirements such as clean water with very little fine sediment in...
The Seeley-Swan High School Volleyball Team started the postseason strong with a sweep over Victor, but struggled to respond against later teams, and was eliminated after losing to Lincoln on Oct. 26. The team finished third in conference, giving it a decent route versus the last ranked team. The Blackhawks made easy work of Victor, sweeping the pirates in three sets. The Blackhawks then went on to face Philipsburg, the second ranked team in Class C District 13 volleyball. The Prospectors earned...
Thirty-five years Ago... 4-Wheelers donate to ambulance Officers and several members of the Five Valley 4-Wheelers club in Missoula came to Seeley Lake last Thursday bearing a gift for the Seeley Lake QRU (Quick Response Unit). Mike Whitman, president of the 4- Wheelers, presented Cindy Lewis, RU president, and other QRU members with a check for $1,000. The donation was made during a regular meeting of the QRU. The 4-Wheelers sponsor the 4th of July Mud-0-Rama held each year at the Wilderness...
The Swan Valley Community Council is going ahead with a long-term process to add potential zoning and community plans to the area, which split the crowded room over what would be appropriate to keep landowner rights. The council also heard a plan to get 24 hour coverage from the sheriff's department, got an update from its Montana State legislature representatives and listened to the community club during a two and a half hour meeting on Oct. 17. Missoula County Planner Andrew Hagemeier told...
