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Seeley Lake ROCKS' mission "To build healthy children, strong families and vibrant communities through outdoor recreation," has expanded significantly the past two years. Two years ago, ROCKS [Regional Outdoor Center for Kinetic Sports] was known primarily as the group that bought skis for the elementary school and promoted youth XC skiing. Today we have dozens of volunteers also helping with an ice rink at the elementary school and with new multi-use trails above Placid Lake. COMMUNITY ICE...
MISSOULA – On Nov. 21, the Bureau of Land Management's Missoula Field Office preserved public access by acquiring 7,268 acres of land in the Blackfoot River Corridor. Using Sportsman's Access funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the acquisition from The Nature Conservancy is helping stitch together what had been a patchwork of interspersed public and private land. The Belmont Creek acquisition, located 25 miles northeast of Missoula, was part of 117,000 acres purchased by T...
Information sought on moose poached near Clinton CLINTON - Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is seeking information on a bull moose that was poached this week near Clinton in western Montana. The moose was found in the Swartz Creek area southwest of Clinton. FWP Game Wardens say that wildlife crimes like this one are often solved because of leads provided by the public. Anyone with information regarding the poaching is encouraged to contact FWP at 1-800-TIP-MONT (1-800-847-6668). Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a...
TNC Beeskove Fire closure lifted POTOMAC - The Nature Conservancy’s western Montana forest land that had been closed due to the Beeskove fire reopened to the public Thursday, Sept. 26. Users are asked to follow TNC’s Open Lands Policy that can be found at https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/OpenLandsPolicy_022118.pdf Missoula County Sheriff’s Office Call Activity Sept. 22 – Sept. 29 • 9/22, 1:27pm, 31XX Highway 83, Seeley Lake: Accident – No Injury • 9/23, 9:13am, mile marker 1 Highway 83, Clearwater Junction: Acc...
If you've visited Nature Conservancy land in the Seeley-Swan area in the past few months, there's a good chance that you've run into Tayler Templin. An avid camper, hiker, angler and photographer, this 2019 University of Montana graduate is putting her skills to work as TNC's Recreation and Stewardship Intern. Tayler graduated in May with a degree in Parks, Tourism and Recreational Resources Management. Every day, Tayler is out on the ground making sure that everyone can enjoy and protect these...
On Tuesday, Aug. 12, Seeley Lake Regional Outdoor Center for Kinetic Sports (ROCKS) kicked off construction of the Hill 16 Lakeview Trail above the north shore of Placid Lake. The Hill 16 Community Trail System was deemed a priority project in the 2018 Seeley Lake Trails Plan – the result of three years of public input and facilitated discussion. "This is a big day and a major undertaking for ROCKS", said Carol Fulton, ROCKS Board member. "It is the culmination of countless hours of work on t...
North Fork Cottonwood Reroute Project Begins SEELEY LAKE - Big Blackfoot Chapter of Trout Unlimited contractors started the north Fork Cottonwood Reroute project Monday, July 8. This project is on the #477, Cottonwood Lakes Road, 0.25-0.5 miles east of the North Fork Cottonwood Creek. The project intends to move a segment of road off the banks of the North Fork Cottonwood Creek and replace an existing culvert/fish barrier into a location of the stream that is more stable. This will require less maintenance while enhancing aquatic habitat and ac...
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake ROCKS received a $30,000 grant from the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) administered by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks for use on Phase 1 of the Hill 16 Community Trail System (CTS). They look forward to continued work on the Lake View Trail within Phase 1 of the project this summer. The Hill 16 Recreation Area lies between the community of Seeley Lake and Placid Lake including Placid Lake State Park. Hill-16 CTS was deemed a priority project in the Seeley Lake Trails Plan. This plan was the result of three y...
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced the next steps in a collaborative effort with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) aimed at acquiring 13,000 acres of private lands within the Lower Blackfoot River watershed, in the Belmont Creek area. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which has been working with TNC and other public and private partners to maintain and improve public access to the area for a wide variety of outdoor recreationists, released an Environmental Assessment of...
OVANDO - Students in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana have the unique opportunity to step outside the classroom and into the forest to develop actionable land management plans through a variety of courses. One of these classes is Forest Planning, where forestry students work together in teams to prepare a forest plan for a landowner. Course instructor Tim Love is a former district ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, Seeley Lake Ranger District...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) is seeking public input on its proposal to renew a biennial rule that provides recreational access on The Nature Conservancy (TNC) lands in Missoula and Powell Counties. This biennial rule, which provides public recreational access on 163,883 acres of TNC (including former Plum Creek Timber Company) lands, was first established by the Fish and Wildlife Commission in 2015 and renewed in 2017. The rule establishes public use regulations and allows for yearround access. The current proposed renewal of this...
In late February, the U.S. House of Representatives moved to save the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), approving a sweeping package of public lands bills that includes a measure to permanently reauthorize the program for the first time in its 54-year-history. The package, approved by the Senate earlier in February with near-unanimous support, puts an end to the cycle of expiration and renewal LWCF has suffered in recent years. The fund last expired in September, prompting a bipartisan group of lawmakers to push for permanent...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake ROCKS is thrilled to be building non-motorized, multi-use recreation trails near Placid Lake State Park in the Hill-16 recreation area. We cleared more than two miles of old logging roads last fall and will continue our work this spring and summer. Funding will allow us to construct three and a half miles of new connector trails, vastly improve the logging road trails and to construct three trailhead parking areas. [You can help promote our grant application at the end...
HELENA – Montana State Parks is seeking public comment on proposed Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant awards for the current grant cycle which closed Jan. 31. Public comment on the proposed RTP grant awards is open through Saturday, March 9 at 5 p.m. Seeley Lake Driftriders, Seeley Lake ROCKS and Swan Valley Connections were among the 76 organizations that applied this cycle. RTP is a federally funded program administered by Montana State Parks. It provides funding for trail and trail related projects across the state. Eligible projects i...
All of us see logging trucks going through town, know folks working in the woods and see active logging around Seeley Lake. Reactions to active or recent logging are varied, depending on the experiences of the person reacting and the prescription being met on the ground. Like it or not, all property owners have rights and their land management objectives may not match the objective of someone observing the logging activity. Big Larch Campground would be a good example of that. What about those who might not like what they see, how do they know...
SEELEY LAKE - "From the moment we finally met [musher Jessie Royer] through our first two days of sledding with her, it was everything and then some - from the quality of her equipment, to the quality of the instruction, to her professionalism" said Colburn McClelland when speaking about his family's tours with Royer and the J Team. "More importantly than all that, is her character and true love and passion for what she does with this sport." Royer moved to Shining Shirt Road near Placid Lake th...
SWAN VALLEY - The last piece of The Nature Conservancy’s Montana Legacy Project is now conserved for nature and people in the Swan Valley. TNC donated the last quarter section of Section 31, to Swan Valley Connections, who granted a conservation easement on the property to the Montana Land Reliance. SVC Executive Director Rebecca Ramsey said the organization is grateful for the opportunity the land presents for the future growth of the organization and enhanced benefits to the community. The 160-acres was part of more than 310,000 acres of i...
SWAN VALLEY - Swan Valley Connections Board Chair Barb Raible announced to the Swan Valley Community Council that Swan Valley Connections is the recipient of 160 acres within Section 31 in Condon at the Council meeting Dec. 4. SVCC Chair Ken Donovan also gave a report on the plans for the ice skating rink to be located in the arena area next to the Swan Valley Community Hall. Finally, the council is finishing up the final edits to the Swan Valley Regional Plan and preparing to send it to Missoula County for approval. Raible said that The Nature...
Double Arrow Ranch is proud to share a name that has a long history in the Seeley Lake area. Once called the Corbett Ranch, the land that makes up today’s residential community was part of a purchase in the late 1920’s by Jan Boissevain and George Weisel. They founded the Double Arrow Ranch as a guest ranch, with the first paying guests arriving in 1930. In the following decades, the ranch served as a working cattle ranch. In 1958, CB and Helen Rich purchased the property for their outfitting business. The subdivision of the ranch for res...
On May 24, 2018, the Missoula Board of County Commissioners approved an updated version of the 2005 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The update was a collaborative effort of Missoula County Office of Emergency Management, Frenchtown Rural Fire District, Montana DNRC, US Forest Service, BLM, Missoula County Community & Planning Services, Missoula County Fire Protection Association (of which Seeley Lake Rural Fire District is a member), the Nature Conservancy, City of Missoula Development Services, Missoula City Fire Department, Missoul...
Thanks to public meetings, growing partnerships and many conversations with local residents and business, The Nature Conservancy has learned a great deal in the four years since acquiring 117,000 acres of land in the Seeley-Swan area. Time and time again, we are reminded that conservation and community go hand in hand. Sustainable conservation needs a healthy community and healthy communities need conservation. We know that when problems come up and issues need to be addressed on the landscape, the only way they get solved is when people work...
SEELEY LAKE – After more than three years of gathering feedback about priorities and vision for the Clearwater-Blackfoot Project (CBP) area, The Nature Conservancy has identified two main themes for the land as they continue work through the transitions to new ownership. Along with seeking permanent conservation on the ground, recreational development and a community-governed ownership outcome are the two new focus areas that will further TNC's mission to connect people to the land. Ownership t...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Community Council voted to form a committee to study the future of the Council’s trails committee at the Sept. 10 Council meeting. In June the Council voted to disband the trails committee and hand over responsibility to trail maintenance and improvements to Seeley Lake Regional Outdoor Center for Kinetic Sports (ROCKS) but there is still confusion over what that actually looks like in practice. “Right now there are far more questions than answers,” said ROCKS board president Jim McLean. McLean said one of the b...
Montana State Parks presents “LIVE ANIMALS with Animal Wonders,” Aug. 18 PLACID LAKE - You don’t have to go far to find some of the most spectacular animals in the world—Animal Wonders is located right in Missoula and they are coming to Seeley Lake! Join founders Jessi and Augusto Castañeda at Placid Lake State Park’s group use picnic area (behind site 22) at 7 p.m. Aug. 18 for an educational presentation about exotic and native animals, many of which will be at the presentation. The Castañedas founded Animal Wonders in August 2008 to fulfill...
SEELEY LAKE- Last Sunday, community members and Montanans from all over the state gathered to work in Lost Horse Meadow in order to prepare it for a prescribed burn in the fall. The Nature Conservancy, Blackfoot Challenge and Five Valleys Land Trust worked together for the sixth annual Revive and Thrive work party and celebration Sunday, July 15. Volunteers pulled noxious weeds and cut down trees in order to help restore a native plant, blue camas, to the meadow. "This is a really exciting...
