Sorted by date Results 2797 - 2821 of 6337
A follow-up test has confirmed a positive case of chronic wasting disease in a white-tailed deer buck that was euthanized in Gallatin County this month after displaying several classic symptoms of the disease. The deer, which was found in the Springhill area north of Bozeman, represents the first confirmed case of CWD in the county. CWD was first detected in Montana in 2017. Since then, FWP has closely monitored the prevalence and distribution of CWD through targeted surveillance and sampling efforts. The disease is now known to exist across...
SEELEY LAKE – With three newly elected board members seated at the Seeley lake Elementary School Board May 19, two letters of resignation were accepted and all teacher contracts were approved despite two being recommended for nonrenewal by Superintendent Daniel Schrock. Since one of the nonrenewals was for the preschool teacher, the board discussed offering preschool next year. They agreed they all wanted to see it available and requested more information regarding funding options to be presente...
The Seeley-Swan High School Class of 2020 will be having an invite-only graduation at 1 p.m., Sunday, May 31. This will be live streamed online from the school's website (https://www.mcpsmt.org/seeleyswan) and on the "Seeley-Swan High School Activities" Facebook Page. The community is invited to a drive-through celebration in the SSHS parking lot at 1:45 p.m. The graduates will be spaced out. The community is asked to remain in their cars to ensure social distancing. Thank you to the parents,...
SEELEY LAKE - Though his plans for the future were not set in stone, Sam Weisenburger knew he would go into service leadership. Now with high school wrapping up, he decided to become an Army officer. "I learned that you can always have a plan but make sure you are flexible to change," said Weisenburger. "There's a certain point when you realize it's about taking it in and understanding that you'll do better." The Seeley-Swan High School senior was appointed to go to school as a cadet at West...
SEELEY LAKE – “Gratitude and deep appreciation…This sums up the feelings of students that were awarded scholarships and youth grants from Alpine Artisans over the last thirteen years,” read the opening of an article written by Alpine Artisans, Inc. Executive Director Martha Swanson in fall 2007. Even though the impact for the students was evident, with 14 students receiving more than $8,600 in scholarships and the youth grant program starting in 2005, Swanson explained AAI was at a crossroads. Without the financial support of AAI members...
HELENA - Since February, Tylyn Newcomb has been losing sleep over a seemingly herculean task: how to ensure the government counts as many Montana residents as possible for the 2020 census, and, in doing so, generate fair federal funding and electoral representation for the next decade. "I mean, it's vital work," said Newcomb, one of the lead staffers focused on census outreach and grant funding for the Montana Nonprofit Association. "And so we don't have the option to just give up and say it's...
CORRECTION In the caption under the photo of the young grizzly bear, we incorrectly identified Kathy Koors as a bear manager. Her correct title is Bear Ranger. While her title was correct in the article, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear manager for the Swan is Tim Manley and for the Blackfoot/Clearwater area is James Jonkel. Grizzly Claw Scholarship available for graduating seniors SEELEY LAKE - Graduating Seeley-Swan High School seniors are encouraged to apply for the Grizzly Claw Trading Book Fund College Scholarship. Every year the...
SEELEY LAKE – "I looked up and she held up this giant elk shed," said Austin Bernstrauch who was out antler hunting on the Blackfoot Clearwater Wildlife Management Area Game Range for the opener Friday, May 15 with his girlfriend Maggie Duran. "It was a good find. I was very proud of her." While this year's antler hunting opener on the Game Range had over 500 vehicles and more than 1,000 people participate opening day, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Wildlife Biologist Scott Eggeman said everythi...
SEELEY LAKE – According to a memo on the Seeley Lake Sewer District website the Board will not seat two newly elected Directors at their May 21 meeting. Instead they will wait until a special meeting June 15. The decision is sure to cause some waves at the May meeting as it goes against the Board’s own by-laws and relies on how the word “new” is interpreted in a section of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA). In a statement to the Pathfinder, Sewer Board President Pat Goodover wrote that when considering what date to seat newly elected Directors T...
SEELEY LAKE – With all of the local schools in distance learning and social distancing still required by Governor Steve Bullock in the Phase 1 reopening strategy, plans for graduation ceremonies and end of the year celebrations are slowly coming together for area schools. According to the Missoula City-County Health Department's graduation ceremony order issued May 8, organizers must submit a Graduation Ceremony Operation Plan that shows how they will meet the minimum requirements and submit it...
SWAN VALLEY – It was just another day delivering packages to the Swan Valley. UPS driver Matt Hoge was within 10 feet away from the house carrying a package when two black bear cubs came running out from the corner of the house. While they narrowly missed Hoge who was in shock, his attention quickly shifted to the sow that was right behind them. The homeowner, who had opened to the door to greet him, stepped back into the house and closed the door. "I'm trying to get in. I had to yell at him a...
Bags of trash littering driveways and streets in Seeley Lake is an all too common sight lately. Missoula Bears reports black and grizzly bears are active in Seeley Lake and are getting into trouble with bird feeders and uncontained garbage. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reminds everyone that attractants should have been secured by April 1 including garbage cans, livestock feed and pet food stored in bear resistant containers, bird feeders put away and livestock secured by an electric fence....
Residents across Missoula County will receive mailed surveys this week asking them to provide feedback to help county leaders better understand the broader needs of the communities they serve. The county is working with the National Research Center to conduct the survey and analyze the results. The firm will mail invitations to complete the survey to 1,700 randomly selected addresses across Missoula County this week. Responses to the survey are anonymous and the adult 18 or older who most recently had a birthday in each selected household shoul...
SWAN VALLEY - In the last two weeks, Flathead National Forest and other local firefighting agencies have responded to multiple human-caused wildland fires across Flathead Valley. As part of Wildfire Awareness Month which occurs every year in May, the Forest is asking the public to take significant steps to reduce wildfire risks around their property and during recreation activities. Now more than ever, it is essential that everyone do their part to prevent human-caused wildfires and prepare their homes and property for the summer. “Many p...
HELENA - Just how hard do Montana cities, counties and school districts lean on residential property taxes to fund government services? Figures presented to lawmakers last month indicate the answer varies widely across different parts of the state, ranging from as low as $125 annually per capita in McCone County to as high as $15,794 per capita in Madison County. The data was presented Jan. 13 by legislative researcher Megan Moore to a group of lawmakers and tax policy experts conducting an ongo...
Invasive Dreissenid mussels pose one of the biggest threats to Montana’s waterways. Native to the Black and Caspian seas, the introduction of zebra and quagga mussels has given rise to extensive detrimental environmental and economic impacts throughout the United States. These invasive mussels are now found in every major watershed in the contiguous United States, except one. The Columbia River drainage basin, which encompasses most of western Montana, is the last major watershed in the country that has not been invaded by zebra and quagga m...
Wildlife Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that annually kills thousands of wild animals across Montana, will at least temporarily cut back on how and where it kills animals such as bears, wolves and coyotes in the state under a settlement reached Thursday with WildEarth Guardians. The settlement applies to wildlife in protected areas like Wilderness Areas and National Wildlife Refuges, and also halts the use of sodium cyanide bombs on public land and private land in 41...
Two particular flowering plants are the toast of late spring and summer in Montana. In the mountain forests and openings of northwestern Montana, beargrass – the official flower of Glacier National Park – struts its stuff along roads and highways, as well as throughout the wilderness areas in northwest Montana. Meanwhile, the sturdy yucca stands guard over the rolling land and river breaks east of the mountains. Both plants, so similar yet so different, are symbolic of the land they grow on....
SEELEY LAKE – When Seeley Lake Elementary first grade teacher Rachel Bemis first talked with Missoula Aging Services RSVP volunteer Jim Haueter about providing their students with some of his hand-carved wooden animals, it was for a end of the year gift. Now with distance learning in full swing, they both agreed it would be a great addition to the weekly packet and bring joy to the students. Haueter started carving tree stumps on his property in more than 10 years ago when the bark beetle outbre...
SEELEY LAKE – The word quarantine has been much in the news lately. In terms of COVID-19, it means stay in your home away from other people for 14 days. But where did the word come from? Interestingly, it originated during another pandemic, the bubonic plague that spread across Europe in waves. Quarantine derives from the phrase "quaranta giorni" which literally means "space of 40 days." It refers to the policy, first started in Venice, Italy, in 1377, of refusing to allow ships arriving from pl...
SEELEY LAKE – The Missoula Education Foundation and Missoula County Public Schools recognized senior Levi Reinitz and sophomore Crystal Lopez as a Most Inspiring Student at Seeley-Swan High School. SSHS Principal Kellen Palmer presented the awards at their home May 18. The award recognized the students' achievements and commitment to their education. Reinitz was a library aide for the past two years. He worked to ensure the student program would continue and created a job description and b...
SWAN VALLEY – "I want to encourage kids to get outside, explore nature and understand the value of their natural heritage," said Swan Valley teacher turned author and illustrator Sharon Lamar. Since 2010 Lamar has published three children's books. She just released her fourth children's book "Wild at Heart" that celebrates a young girl's unforgettable hike into the wilderness. Lamar first ventured into writing and illustrating as a Christmas present for her husband Steve. "He liked it so much h...
Now is a chance for Seeley Lakers to see a wildflower that is not found elsewhere in Montana. The white, creme or buff colored Glacier Lilies are unique to this small area. It is only found in about a one to two-mile periphery of Seeley Lake. The more common color in other parts of the valley, and in the rest of Montana, is a bright yellow. They very seldom are found mixed together. Other known locations for the white glacier lilies are in southeastern Washington and adjacent Idaho. The white va...
Graduation across the nation is looking quite a bit different this year, and the same is the case for this little girl's Kindergarten Promotion at Sunset School in Greenough. Normally, we would be gathering in our tiny schoolhouse with family and loved ones to celebrate the end of the year. This year, we are anticipating an outdoor movie theater style celebration, with appropriate six foot distancing of course! We will go out with a bang no matter what! Although the last three months of Sophia...
Congratulations Aiden McNally! He graduated from eighth grade at Ovando and will be attending Drummond High School in the fall. Congratulations Silas Hessler! He graduated from Kindergarten this year. He will return as a first grader to Ovando School in the fall....
