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Twelve years ago, while backpacking in broad daylight, I came around a shady bend in the trail, only to find a full moon beaming against a tree. "Oh, I'm sorry," the woman exclaimed, shuffling up her pants and waddling into the brush. "I'm sorry too," I replied, and not merely for the awkward encounter or the unmistakably human stench. Her business was clearly not done, and her side-eyed grimace urged me on. But as I think back on it now, I'm sorry I never circled back to talk about $#!&ing in t...
The Western United States has experienced some of the most devastating wildfires in the nation's history. In 2017, the wildfire season brought unique challenges for Montana. Not only was it exceptionally hot and dry over a longer period of time, but fires burned across the entire state. A record 2,420 fires burned over 1.4 million acres that year, making it the most destructive fire season to date. As we enter fire season, it's important to understand the prevention methods your Cooperative has...
The recent death of Leah Lokan from a grizzly bear mauling while camping in Ovando on July 6 has reinforced the need to maintain and enhance efforts to protect human safety and to reduce conflicts with grizzly bears in our communities. We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and the Blackfoot Challenge Board of Directors and staff offer our sincerest condolences to Lokan's family, friends and loved ones. We also want to thank the first responders and the community of Ovando for their...
You're probably aware of the sweeping impact the pandemic had on the real estate market across the country. In our area, much of our inventory quickly sold. The lack of homes for sale has put potential sellers in the driver's seat. Agents are competing for just a handful of sellers. Sellers have their pick of real estate professionals and a market hungry for new listings. It's more important than ever to determine which agent is the best fit for you and your listing. Sellers want a professional...
Editor’s Note: Howard Copenhaver of Ovando wrote this in 1994. Copenhaver was 89 when he died in 2004. Howard’s daughter Sue Copenhaver Lapka gave permission to reprint this article in full. Before I can say much about “leaving no trace” in the wilderness, I want to give you an idea of where I am coming from to be able to form any opinion. My idols as a small boy were “old kid young,” Joe Stattler, Smokie Deneau, also Tom Danaher along with the Preaust boys, all of whose names are embedded in the Bob Marshal Wilderness and Scapegoat W...
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...
In comparison to many subdivisions in Western Montana, Double Arrow Ranch is a senior citizen. Opened in phases between 1973 and 1978, it coincided with Montana’s first attempt to regulate such developments, with the Subdivision and Platting Act of July 1, 1973. The earliest parts of the ranch turn 48 years old this year, and soon will reach the age of 50, where people, places and events are considered historic! The residential Ranch of today is a legacy of Seeley Lake’s first dude ranch dating from 1929, the original Double Arrow Ranch. Est...
Over the course of the past several months, especially with COVID-19 hovering and bringing us relentless malaise, it has become clear that living in this gorgeous area has been a blessing beyond words. There are many reasons we choose to live in the fourth largest state with just over a million inhabitants: we love the great outdoors and we love having all the beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, ponds, meadows - and so much more - to roam. With the long, long, long and cold winter finally behind us, and the ice rink at Seeley Lake Elementary...
The Seeley Lake State Parks have two new AmeriCorps members this season! AmeriCorps is a national service program that was formally created in 1993 with the signing of the National and Community Service Trust Act. This bill united multiple service programs under one umbrella, making it easier for Americans to volunteer their time to improve their country. Prospective AmeriCorps members register with the AmeriCorps system, search for open placements within government agencies, non-profits and...
Community-wide giving campaigns are a growing trend in the nonprofit world. ‘Giving days’ wrapped up in most of the bigger cities around Montana in early May. The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is now running our month-long community giving campaign (the Change Your Pace Challenge) for the month of June. Let’s take a deeper look into this popular form of philanthropy. Giving Tuesday (the Tuesday after Thanksgiving) is the most well-known giving day in the US. It was formed in 2012 as a response to commercialization and consumerism in the p...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Have you ever driven a Tesla? It stretches the imagination to understand the technology which allows a car to drive on its own. Advances in technology have come a long way, not only in the automotive industry but in just about every industry you can think of. As times change and technology becomes a large part of everyday life, people, as well as industry, don't have much of a choice but to change with them. This is no different in lumber processing, and for the past year and a half, Pyramid...
As the temperature warms, it is tempting to take advantage of the last days for ice fishing, do a little skating, or ice sailing for this season. Please be cautious and be aware of your surroundings. Soon the ice will begin to move and shift on the lakes making noises. Pay attention to the noises, this means that the ice is melting from below the surface. Should somebody or something fall through the ice and become submerged, be aware that the water below the surface is moving. Whatever fell...
Although anyone who knows me knows that I'm a "certifiable" botany and native plants nerd, I love everything nature. In particular, I share a love of birds with one of my sisters. On a trip together one October, we went to a wild bird rescue facility (Vermont Institute of Natural Science) to attend one program, and ended up staying all day, much to our mutual delight. We often send each other articles, pictures, and messages about birds back and forth from our homes in Montana and...
HOW WE GOT HERE Between the years of 1970 and 2001, the Seeley-Swan Valley real estate market was a consistent market demonstrating slow upward trends in values and sales. Land sales in 2000 were between $2,000 and $4,000 per acre. Beginning in the early 2000’s, real estate in the Seeley-Swan Valley experienced increased awareness from buyers from around the world due to the proximity to two major airports in Missoula and Kalispell, mountain views, scenery, wildlife and wilderness access to the Bob Marshall and Mission Mountain Wilderness a...
To the right is a picture of my garden on March 1! It's not looking very promising right now! But by month's end, we will see the beginnings of this summer's garden. Late March – early April is the month when gardening starts in earnest in the colder northern climates. Keep in mind that last frost dates are everything in early spring planting. To plant at the correct time, you have to know when your last frost date is and then you count backward from there to get your March Planting Dates. T...
The beginning of March has teased us with a little taste of spring. We've been treated to temperatures in the forties, hours of sunshine, and clear skies providing crisp views of the Swan Mountain range. We've been presented with weather basically begging us to come outside and encouraging us to take advantage of the conditions while we can. We've been forced to question whether or not Punxsutawney Phil knew what he was talking about just a few weeks ago when he predicted 6 more weeks of...
Before the pandemic, 2019 saw Glacier National Park host more than three million visitors. In 2020, Montana's housing market boomed, with a recent Housing Heat Index report from Bankrate ranking the state second nationally behind Utah for market growth. Combine these pressures-tourism and new real estate development-and the region's rural character and wildlife can quickly lose out. As valleys fill and recreation hotspots clog, the pace and impact of human activity intensifies and animals are...
This past winter and fall we measured more smoke at the Seeley Lake air quality monitor than we have for several years. Since Oct. 1, there have been 11 days when smoke pollution exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standard. While smoke from wood stoves continues to be the primary driver of smoke pollution in the area, there were four days during the fall outdoor burning season in which smoke from outdoor burns likely contributed to poor air quality. With outdoor burning opening on March 1st, we wanted to take this opportunity to answer s...
In the first snow of October 2018, along Basin Creek outside of Butte, Montana, I volunteered to be a beaver. Or, lacking all the right anatomy, I at least tried to think and act how nature's best woodworkers might. In this restoration project – using simple cutting and digging tools, plus a dose of aquatic ingenuity – I worked with colleagues to mimic the masters and build a series of beaver dam analogues (BDAs). Such low-tech earth-shaping seemed shallow next to the chasm at the nearby Ber...
As we all know, living here in Western Montana comes with the challenge of ever-changing weather and temperatures. We all know the saying, “If you don’t like the weather in Montana, wait five minutes”. With so many variables to consider when choosing how to properly heat your home for the Montana weather, finding ways to educate the public on the positive and safe use of propane is an important mission for Energy Partners. Have you ever been watching a high action film when all of the sudden there is an intense propane explosion in the backg...
If you've been around in the Blackfoot long enough, there's a good chance you've heard the words "Murphy right" or "Milltown right" thrown around. If you're an irrigator in the watershed, you've probably been affected by one or both of these instream water rights. Due to recent changes in water law, any surface water rights with a priority date junior to 1904 could be called in a drought year if flows in the Blackfoot River are low enough to warrant restrictions. Luckily, because of the long...
