Sorted by date Results 901 - 925 of 2897
As a longtime rural small business owner in Seeley Lake, I know firsthand how important it is for our business to accept electronic payments from our customers. We appreciate that our customers are able to have secure and efficient transactions every time they visit our restaurant. By paying with either credit cards or debit cards, customers are able to carry their money around more easily, spend more money in our local community and have round-the-clock protection from fraud and theft. I’m also appreciative of Senator Jon Tester and all the wo...
Everyone in Montana uses our outdoors but not everyone has the same vision for how to manage it. Do we want forest restoration or recreation areas for snowmobiling? Sometimes what’s best for an angler isn’t what’s best for a backcountry skier or the timber industry or for environmental health. Every stakeholder has a unique vision on how to protect our public lands. That’s the beauty of the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project. The BCSA was originally conceived in a 2005 agreement between snowmobilers and wildlife conservationists, two gro...
Why consider dreams important? This is a question that is asked so many times. Most people consider dreams valueless or just a recap of the day's events with some memories. In fact, dreams are remarkably rich in expression and one of the most valuable human resources. Without dreams, people eventually hallucinate and are diagnosed with a psychological disorder. That's frightening! We don't, however, have to worry about that extreme, since we all dream, even if we don't remember our dreams. One...
This past year has given us an even greater appreciation for our federal and state wildlife biologists and their interns as well as all the volunteers that kept looking out for loons and their habitats in the midst of difficult times and conditions. Thank you just doesn't seem enough but THANK YOU! We hope you have a wonderful year of getting outside and appreciating life in all its diverse forms and thank you for all you do for loons and their neighbors. One person we would specifically like to...
The thought of a revival has been heavy on my heart for a long time. I have read a lot about different revivals that have taken place here in the USA, like "The Great Awakening" in the 1730s and 1740s, that swept through the New England and Middle Colonies. Ministers called for "a new birth," a return to the strong faith of earlier days. One such minister was Jonathan Edwards of Massachusetts, who gave powerful sermons for people to return to the Bible. George Whitefield, a minister from...
T.S. Eliot wrote in The Ad-dressing of Cats that "A cat is not a dog." While most of us agree, there are more than just the obvious reasons why cats are unique creatures in their own right. Within lithe, compact bodies full of powerful muscles, cats are incredibly resourceful and famously self-reliant. Their ability to live as solitary creatures underscores just how well they can hide illness or disease. Often times it looks like a cat has suddenly developed a limp when, in actuality, a fight...
Several years back I returned for Mom's funeral. I laid eight roses on her casket, one for each of her children – one stillborn. It was a perfect spring day - made me remember all those Memorial Days she took us to this place. To show respect for loved ones and all the service men and women buried there. I didn't linger as they lowered the casket next to a stillborn daughter, Dad and brother Gilbert, who was killed in Germany. They placed a flag there. And years later Brother Wilson, who s...
May is National Wildfire Awareness Month and the Missoula County Fire Protection Association is encouraging property owners to begin preparing now for this year’s upcoming wildfire season. With some simple steps, you can prepare your home and protect your neighborhood for the 2021 fire season. Here are four takeaways to get you started. 1. Sign-Up For Emergency Alerts. Start by signing up all family members for Smart911 to receive emergency alerts on your cell phone via text, email and/or phone call. Smart911 will be one of the primary ways y...
This past snowmobile season started out a little slowly here in Lincoln. Snow was thin but stoke was high, and as soon as the clouds started dumping, we started riding. Snowmobiling is a way of life here; it's a family-friendly activity, a way to socialize with your friends, it gives us all an opportunity to blow off some steam while benefiting from great outdoor physical activity and is a great way to experience Montana wilderness in the winter. As Lincoln and the surrounding area grows and changes, it's our hope that snowmobile access will...
It’s easy to see why so many are fed up with modern politics and the “us versus them” rhetoric. Thankfully, a trip up the Blackfoot Valley puts this chaotic world into perspective with stunning mountains, clean waters, expansive ranchlands and people who still wave as you pass by. The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act is common-sense policy and represents what Montana politics can get right: collaboration, broad support and a mentality of ‘we.’ The benefits of the BCSA have been touted tirelessly. Local ranchers, hunters, snowmobilers, fishe...
SEELEY LAKE - You hear people talk about Seeley being such a friendly/helpful place. I hope after this virus is done, people are still helpful. Leaving the grocery store last Tuesday, I observed an elderly lady struggling with her (passenger) door parked next to me. I reached out and grabbed the top of the door and commented how heavy these darn doors are and held it for her. She smiled and got out of the Subaru. In the meantime, across the car a woman was bellering “Six feet. Six feet.” The elderly woman passed around me and smiled. The wom...
The Seeley Lake area is renowned for great boating, paddling and fishing opportunities. Every year visitors from across the US come and enjoy the nearly two dozen lakes and rivers here. With the increased visitation from tourists and their boats comes an increased risk of new Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) being introduced into our watersheds. AIS has become increasingly prevalent in the West and Montana has recently seen several outbreaks of non-native species which threaten our aquatic...
The Seeley-Swan area boasts an exceptional number of wetlands and variety of wetland types, from the giant lakes where loons and eagles chase fish to the wet meadows amongst the forests where rare plants grow and great gray owls hunt voles and pocket gophers. Wetlands are biodiversity hotspots, containing the greatest abundance and diversity of organisms of any habitat type in Montana. Wetlands also greatly benefit humans through storing and filtering the water we use, controlling the spread of...
I often reflect on the perfection and precision of God's design; on how the leaves and the animals change their colors with the seasons. This past week, however, as my wife and I vacationed in Mexico, I found those reflections focused on God's design for his church, as outlined in Acts chapter 2. My wife and I have been vacationing in Mexico for over 35 years now. In many ways it has become a second home to us. Some 25 plus years ago we discovered a church down there and have attended every visi...
For over 15 years, we’ve shared this goal: Congress passing the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA). Thanks to the continued support of Senator Tester, we are back on track to reach this goal, with hopes that this is the year when all of our tireless work in Seeley Lake, Ovando, and beyond will pay off. Support from our entire delegation would make our goal easier to attain and it’s our fervent hope that Senator Daines and Representative Rosendale can join Senator Tester and work together to pass this legislation for the benefit of all...
The legislative session came to an end last week. It was truly an honor to serve you and look out for your interests in Helena. Thank you. While on the campaign trail, I tried to make no promises but shared my intent to work hard with my fellow legislators and focus on what we all have in common: a desire to have a good job that pays the bills and puts food on the table...and allows us a bit of time to enjoy with family and friends. This was my first session as a legislator but even experienced...
Missoula Aging Services is offering three excellent classes this spring and two virtual support groups! In the educational courses offered you may participate online using ZOOM. Pre-registration is required online at missoulaagingservices.eventbrite.com or by calling Missoula Aging Services 406-728-7682. 1. Virtual Social Security Workshop: The next class is Wednesday, May 26, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. An additional class is offered July 14, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Cost $10/person with no-cost...
The story of the first homesteaders and the first working ranch in the upper Swan Valley begins in the 1880s with the arrival of Benjamin B. Holland and his son, Charles. According to family accounts, Ben Holland, his wife, and children crossed the Great Plains in a covered wagon. They lived a nomadic life, moving from one place to another, traveling from Missouri to Iowa to Utah to Idaho before settling in Montana. Ben Holland, the patriarch of the family, was born in Missouri in 1841. He...
Could you give me some basic rules about fertilizer? What kind and what brand should I use on the garden? The lawn? Trees? Flowers? Much of the fertilizer that gardeners use is the pelleted kind that we buy in sacks. It offers the basic three nutrients which plants need in the greatest quantities: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. They are the three numbers listed on a fertilizer sack, in that order. Many fertilizers, but not all, also will contain "micronutrients," substances which plants...
In the 1985 movie version of "Anne of Green Gables," as an orphan, young Anne is mistakenly placed with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. Marilla is a kind, but stern lady, but also has a deep faith in the Lord. Young Anne has no Christian upbringing, which is of great concern to Marilla. So the first night Anne is taught to pray. She gives it a try: "I'll do my best. Dear gracious heavenly Father, I thank you for everything. As for the things I especially want, they're so numerous it would take a...
After 20 seasons guiding wilderness treks and river journeys in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, I have witnessed significant changes in wilderness visitors. As a teenager I hiked from Ovando to Essex, scrambled in the Mission Mountains and skied from Benchmark to Holland Lake. Years later, adventures through the Bob were family highlights. I have a 45-year perspective on backcountry and the people who venture there. It was common to share the journey with deeply appreciative guests humbled by the 30-mile trek and the river float. We traveled...
If you are vaccine hesitant, whatever your reasons, here are five points of information that you owe it to yourself to consider. They are from Dr. Tom Frieden, an American infectious disease and public health physician and former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the current Director of the CDC has noted in the Washington Post Feb. 26, 2021, “We may be done with the virus, but clearly the virus is not done with us.” Five things to consider to help you decide whether or not to get vaccinated aga...
Hunting is hunting, fishing is fishing, right? Should not make a difference what it is, my opinion. I've got a pee-down-your-leg, belly laugh story. True, happened last night.... I am a woman who has hunted and fished all her life. I enjoy all types of adventures and especially enjoy hunting. I have hunted many species. Last night. Mouse. I live in a top floor condo. Somehow mice are finding their way in. Me and my Jack Russell girl named Winnie have successfully bagged several. A couple days...
With spring in the air, it's time to dust off our field gear (or maybe thaw out is more appropriate) and get ready for another productive season working with landowners and our restoration partners implementing projects across the Blackfoot River watershed. In 2020, we installed a new fish screen near Placid Lake, restored over 7,000 feet of Nevada Creek upstream of the reservoir near Helmville and teamed up with the US Forest Service on several projects benefiting Morrell Creek and Cottonwood...
I grew up in the 50's and one of my favorite TV programs was the Lone Ranger. One of the benefits of cable TV is that I can watch the Lone Ranger again. As a boy I would straddle my stick horse, six-shooter strapped to my side and cowboy hat slighted tilted. I watched the TV screen intensely as the Masked Man and his faithful companion Tonto righted wrongs and brought justice to the land. At the end of every program, the Lone Ranger and Tonto, having done justice (Micah 6:8), would bid farewell...
