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The New Year is a natural time for reflection and looking ahead. We hope you had a great holiday with your family and friends, and that you had time do just that. As I reflect on 2021, I am encouraged by the growing partnerships of people who share a common desire to live, work and play in the forested lands in our part of the world. Given some of the challenges we face, such as the rising numbers of people recreating in the woods, the intensity of wildfires across the West and the complexity of ecologically sound and economically realistic for...
The smell of freshly cut limbs and trees wafts through the air as I walk through the project area. The low hum of the harvester, a large and impressive piece of logging equipment, works right over the hill. This is the first of what I, and Swan Valley Connections (SVC), hope to be many forest stewardship and restoration projects on the Swan Legacy Forest that can be used to engage students and other landowners by demonstrating examples of stewardship and property management. Swan Legacy Forest...
PLACID LAKE – This past week, the Montana Conservation Corps and Seeley Lake ROCKS volunteers connected the Lake View Trail near the west end of Placid Lake to Tuppers Lake. This is another link in the Placid Lake Trails that ROCKS has been working on for the past several years. ROCKS worked in close coordination with The Nature Conservancy and MCC to build the connector trail. While it is less than a tenth of a mile, the entire connector was put in by hand which included digging a ditch. The p...
On a 159-acre working forestland east of Bonner, Dave Atkins' personal and professional interests overlap. There, in a stand of dry conifer forest populated with ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and the occasional western larch, Atkins tinkers with forest management techniques he's learned over the past half-century in an effort to better equip his property for the changing conditions of the next 100 years. Now retired, Atkins had a long career with the U.S. Forest Service that spanned several...
Summer is in full bloom. Across the West, our natural areas are experiencing unprecedented visitation. With things opening up and more people traveling farther from home, this trend is only expected to increase. Montana’s forestlands are no exception. Higher numbers of campers, bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts will have an impact on our lands and the wildlife that depend on them. We remind everyone to treat the landscape respectfully and follow posted regulations. Watch out for those campfires, stay on the trail and please pack out what y...
SEELEY LAKE - After taking a year off due to COVID-19, Alpine Artisans, Inc.'s (AAI) Loon and Fish Art Show and Festival will return for 2021 with a new date. Instead of taking place Memorial Day weekend, the festival will instead take place from 5-9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20 and 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21 in the Seeley Lake Community Foundation Building. AAI Program Manager Jenny Rohrer said they attempted to change the date last year to late July but because it was canceled they set it a...
MISSOULA – The public is invited to comment on a proposal by the Bureau of Land Management to acquire more land in the Blackfoot River Watershed. The BLM's Missoula Field Office seeks public input on a proposed land acquisition from The Nature Conservancy of 11,000 acres in the Ninemile-Woodchuck area of the watershed. The comment period for an environmental assessment evaluating the impacts of acquiring the acreage will close on May 24. The proposed acquisition is in Missoula County about 30 m...
Over the last few weeks, a number of private landowners, organizations and public agencies have conducted prescribed burns in the Blackfoot River watershed with the goal of enhancing both forest health and community safety. While this fills the skies with smoke for a few days, burning this time of year has numerous benefits for both forested landscapes and communities. Cindy Super is the Forestry and Prescribed Fire Coordinator for the Blackfoot Challenge, a community-based organization that fac...
The Nature Conservancy and partners plan to conduct and/or assist with prescribed fires in the Blackfoot Valley this spring. The burns are part of TNC's ongoing forest restoration work which includes timber harvest and thinning. The primary purpose of the burns and our other forest restoration work is to reduce the risk of high severity fires in these forests. This will include reducing the woody debris that has accumulated and could feed a fire that would threaten nearby communities. The burns...
Placid Creek Rd. 349 temporary road closure PLACID LAKE - Placid Creek Road National Forest Service Road 349 from milepost 2.7 to milepost 5.1 will be temporarily closed through the end of February for fuels reduction work. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is conducting the work on private lands. For more information or to check the status of the road call the Seeley Lake Ranger District, 677-2233. Missoula County Commissioners seek applicants for board positions The Missoula County Commissioners are accepting applications for the Seeley Lake...
As we welcome the New Year, The Nature Conservancy was glad to end the last one with some good news. On Christmas Eve, we finalized another sale of more than 12,000 acres of land to the U.S. Forest Service. Together with a previous sale, more than 28,000 acres of former industrial timberland are now secure for wildlife habitat and public use. “I’ve been involved with this project since the beginning,” said Todd Johnson, representative for Pyramid Mountain Lumber and Blackfoot Challenge board member. “I even went to Washington, D.C. to help ma...
Double Arrow Ranch has been a part of the Seeley Lake community for 48 years. It continues to see new construction and undeveloped lots change hands. This past year over 60 property transactions occurred on the Ranch, a clear indication that our part of Western Montana is seen as a haven to folks all over the country! Let's take a closer look at the Ranch and its homeowners' association, the Double Arrow Ranch Land Owners Association (DARLOA). The first phases of the Ranch were approved by...
The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) sale of 12,039 acres of former industrial timber land to the U.S. Forest Service will allow for more public access according to a press release. The sold area was part of a 2014 purchase representing the last industrial timber land in the Blackfoot. The land partially covers the Seeley Lake Ranger District as well as the Missoula Ranger District. The map was previously characterized by a checkerboard-like pattern representing public-private ownership created over...
SEELEY LAKE –While National Forest Service roads generally close to wheeled vehicles Dec. 1, due to the lack of snow this year on the Seeley Lake Ranger District, the roads remain open until grooming begins. There will also be temporary road and snowmobile trail closures in place throughout the winter to provide for public safety during logging and fuel treatment activities. Dec. 1 marks the annual date that Forest Service roads typically transition to over-snow-trails restricting access to motorized, wheeled vehicles. However, District R...
SEELEY LAKE - As part of their Hill 16 trail system project, Seeley Lake Regional Outdoor Center for Kinetic Sports' (ROCKS) recently completed the Lake View Trail and began a yet to be named all-access trail. Both are located near Placid Lake State Park. The Lake View Trail is a "family friendly" trail designed for all types of non-motorized uses including hiking, bike riding and riding horses. The trailhead, for the roughly two mile trail, opens at the intersection of North and South Placid La...
Stewardship: The careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care. What does it mean to be a good steward? This is something we think about a fair bit at the Blackfoot Challenge. Whether we find ourselves stewarding the lands and waters that we rely on or the communities that we are a part of, stewardship in all forms requires a commitment to place and a commitment to the future. We believe it also requires a commitment to one another – and to learn, adapt and share. We h...
SEELEY LAKE - On Friday, July 24th, a ROCKS work party spent 50+ hours on the new “Lakeview” trail just north of Placid Lake State Park. This work-party improved drainage on the trails that ROCKS constructed last August-September and pulled weeds. This is the second time this summer that the “Youth In Restoration” group associated with the Missoula County Weed District has helped ROCKS with the Lakeview trail. In June 25 volunteers from this same group pulled weeds along the trail. Last fall ROCKS scheduled three different weed-sp...
By the calendar, Montana has four seasons. Yet, increasingly, we are experiencing a fifth; fire season. As July draws to a close, a lot of us are starting to think what might be ahead as temperatures soar and our forests become increasingly dry. The Seeley Lake community won't soon forget the smoky summer of 2017 when the fire drove folks from town and shuttered businesses and schools – straining nerves, health and the local economy. The forests make the community beautiful but can also put it a...
If the early history of Seeley Lake is intertwined with the lumber industry, the rise of the United States Forest Service is incontrovertibly intertwined with Seeley Lake and in particular with the Big Blackfoot Timber Sale of 1907-1910. Historian and member of the Camp Paxson Preservation Board Gary Williams has been researching that sale. The Seeley Swan Pathfinder will be bringing some of the interesting bits of information he has discovered about logging in the Seeley Lake area and also abou...
MISSOULA - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) bought 4,480 acres in the Lower Blackfoot River drainage from The Nature Conservatory (TNC) , which secures permanent public access to the land. The purchase was within the Upper Belmont Creek landscape, roughly 25 miles northeast of Missoula, and was part of the TNC’s Clearwater Blackfoot Project. The purchase used $3.4 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The new acquisition helps stitch together what had been a patchwork of interspersed public and private land. This combines w...
So here is the best news of all – you don't even have to be athletic by nature to enjoy some of the work ROCKS is doing to promote fun outdoor activities. While a big part of ROCKS efforts are winter-based, with the ski trails and the skating rinks, springtime turns the local focus to enjoying more of the multi-use (hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding) trails above Placid Lake. Living in the pristine natural area of the Seeley Swan, the ROCKS team is working hard to promote free c...
The Nature Conservancy and its 550 scientists are launching Nature Lab, a new online learning platform designed to help students learn the science behind how nature works for us and how we can help keep it running strong. “As schools around the world shut down in response to COVID-19 and parents work to balance the demands on their time and energy, we know that students will have very different learning experiences over the next few months,” said Kate Ireland, director of Youth Engagement Programs at The Nature Conservancy. “I’m proud that Th...
Imagine trying to hike, bike or ride a snowmobile in your local mountains only to encounter a fence and no trespassing sign every mile or so. That could have been the future for hundreds of thousands of acres in the Blackfoot and Swan Valleys...and beyond. That was also a big reason that The Nature Conservancy took a real leap of faith when it began buying land from Plum Creek Timber more than 20 years ago. Over time, we bought more than half a million acres of this former industrial timber...
SEELEY LAKE - The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Forest Service are excited to announce the finalization of a sale which will move 16,400 acres of former commercial timber lands into the public domain. The land, west of Seeley Lake, was characterized by the checkerboard pattern of public-private ownership that was created more than a century ago. This sale includes land from the 117,000 acres that TNC purchased from Plum Creek Timber Company in 2015. Over the last 30 years, TNC has purchased more t...
Some say that events and people become of historical interest after 50 years have passed. If that is so, the early phases of Double Arrow Ranch will reach this milestone in June of 2022, just over two years from now. Today we know the Ranch as one of the larger residential developments in Western Montana. It's a long-standing part of the Seeley Lake community and a place where some residents go back many years. If we look back at the early days of the Ranch, from 1972 - 1979, we see a lively...
