Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 128
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,...
LINCOLN – Trails connecting communities to each other, people to the community and dollars to the local economy were the main discussion points at the day-long Southwest Crown Regional Trails Check-in Feb. 28 in Lincoln. The check-in was a continuation of the conversation that was started at the initial Southwest Crown Regional Trails Summit May 2015. It allowed groups to reconnect and share information about what projects are being worked on, learn from one another and to be more efficient i...
SEELEY LAKE - For the past two-and-a-half years Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) has been laying the foundation to allow the Seeley Lake community to plan a comprehensive trails system. To begin building on that foundation, CRC formally kicked off the public input phase of the Seeley Lake Trails Project Feb. 25. CRC Executive Director Cathy Kahnle said during those two-and-a-half years the organization gathered information from Missoula County, other counties, other trails-planning groups, surv...
SEELEY LAKE – Missoula County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Sunderland said antler thefts around Seeley Lake are again on the rise. Another issue is people cutting firewood out of season on state and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) land and are blocking the road. Sunderland said antlers that are outside and visible are being stolen at night. “People need to understand that antlers are worth money, actually good money. If they leave them outside where people can see them, the odds are somebody is going to come along and steal them,” said Sunderland. Anyone...
SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Regional Planning Committee (SVRPC) discussed and edited seven paragraphs in the Regional Draft Plan at their monthly meeting Jan. 11. The paragraphs were part of the Economic Development Element under the section entitled Future Potential of Past and Current Economic Activity. The SVRPC addressed five of the paragraphs: Residential Construction, Guiding/outfitting, Resource-based recreation, Eco-tourism and Accommodations. This portion of the draft plan deals with promoting the recreation possibilities the valley...
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...
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...
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...
POTOMAC - The Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) has installed signs within the Potomac block of land that belongs to the school land trust. The signs, located in Camas and Ashby Creek drainages as well as near the DNRC boundary at Forest Park and Cramer Creek, were installed in early May. According to Missoula DNRC Unit Manager Jonathan Hansen who manages the Potomac area, "The portal signs were put up to better inform the public that the lands within the Potomac Block belong to...
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...
SEELEY LAKE - The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with the help of partners and local contractors, are working on the Clearwater-Blackfoot Project, 117,152 acres of land acquired in the Blackfoot Valley from Plum Creek in October, 2014. This past week they were working with West Slope Excavation at Tupper's Lake, two and a half miles from Seeley Lake and two miles north of Placid Lake, in preparation for their annual Revive and Thrive Event July 24. Ever since the purchase of the Clearwater-Blackfoot...
It all started at a kitchen table in the Blackfoot Valley. Back around 1970. Local folks like us, including our good friend and neighbor Bill Potter. Worried about increasing recreational pressure on the river, our property and the lands surrounding ours. We knew what we wanted to do but we weren't sure how to do it. We knew we wanted to engage the public. They had a stake in the river and the land that surrounded it. So we got together...some landowners, river users, hunters, agency folks...to...
In October 2014, a local group of recreational enthusiasts met for the first time to discuss the potential of a comprehensive, multi-purpose, trail system. Their vision: to create a trail system that would not only link Seeley Lake to the great outdoor recreational opportunities we have around us, but also link our community to our neighboring towns and trails. "CRC saw the need to upgrade the trails in our watershed so that locals and visitors can access our beautiful landscape using trails...
SWAN VALLEY - Dixie and Neil Meyer learned in February they would receive the Montana Neighbor Award, offered by a group of Montana agencies and organizations, and the office of the Governor. The award program recognizes "land-owners who go the extra mile through collaborative efforts to enhance our Montana sense of community." Swan Ecosystem Center, with the support of the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society (USVHS), nominated Neil and Dixie last fall. USVHS President Steve Lamar said, "If...
OVANDO - The Nevada Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is expanding thanks to the transfer of 760 acres of land from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. The transfer protects a habitat corridor that connects elk and mule deer with winter range and protects headwater areas for the sensitive westslope cutthroat trout. In the process, it will double the size of the Nevada Creek WMA and provide a new public access point to Helena National Forest land. The project is...
SEELEY LAKE — The Seeley Lake Community Foundation (SLCF) is proud to announce its small grant awards for the cycle ending Jan. 31. The next funding cycle ends June 30. The SLCF is a locally driven and locally supported foundation that invests in the health and prosperity of the Seeley Lake Community. SLCF grants support art & culture, community & economic development, basic human needs, education and natural resources and conservation. Carla Schade, Board President said, “Recently the Seeley Lake Community Foundation received many wor...
Propelled to fame by Norman MacLean’s “A River Runs Through It,” few Montana landscapes are as beloved as the Blackfoot River watershed. Those who are fortunate enough to live here come to know the forested valleys, hidden streams and elusive fishing holes where native westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout rise to dine. 2016 marks the 40th anniversary of The Nature Conservancy’s first conservation easement in the Blackfoot. In 1976, shortly after the passage of Montana’s conservation easement legislation, landowner Edna Brunner donated a...
While presidential nominee hopefuls take turns slinging mud at one another and an armed militia declares a war on public lands, the Blackfoot Challenge and partners continue to work below the headlines, finding lasting solutions by working together. As this onslaught of “political theater” grabs the attention of the media, I’m reassured by the alternative approach many are taking, and have been for decades, to solving conflicts. I’m reminded of the 80/20 rule, coined by third-generation Helmville rancher David Mannix and Blackfoot Challen...
OVANDO - The Blackfoot Community Conservation Area (BCCA) is located in the mid-reaches of the Blackfoot watershed near Ovando Mountain. It combines community forest ownership and management within the Core 5,609 acres with cooperative ecosystem management for multiple-use across public and private lands for 41,000 acres in the Blackfoot Watershed. Established in 2005, the community vision for the BCCA is to develop a working landscape that balances ecological diversity with local economic...
HELENA - The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Montana was awarded the prestigious 2015 National Land Protection Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). This competitive award is presented annually to one nominee for significant contributions to land protection in partnership with the USFWS. This year's award highlights the Conservancy's work in Montana's Crown of the Continent, including conservation easements, land purchases and restoration, community engagement and stewardship work...
HELENA - Governor Steve Bullock, along with a group of Montana-based organizations, is seeking nominations for the “Montana Neighbor Awards.” The awards give recognition to landowners who work collaboratively with their neighbors to enhance Montana’s sense of community. The group is seeking nominations of landowners from across Montana. Winners will receive specially printed and framed Montana Neighbor Award certificates signed by Gov. Bullock and awards committee members. The Montana Neighbor group includes Artemis Common Ground, The Natur...
SEELEY LAKE - The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in collaboration with The Blackfoot Challenge, held a public meeting Nov. 16 to provide updates on the Clearwater-Blackfoot Project. TNC had purchased 117,000 acres in January 2015 from Plum Creek. TNC discussed what they worked on during the field season, shared their goals for stewardship work in 2016 and opened up the meeting for discussion and questions about the project. TNC Western Montana Land Steward Steve Kloetzel highlighted the accomplishments for 2015 and goals for 2016. He said that 2015...
