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Cheatgrass (downy brome, Bromus tectorum) is known throughout the Western U.S. as one of our most widespread and difficult to control weeds. Grain farmers, ranchers, dog walkers and conservationists all curse its early growth habit and ability to spread and persist into disturbed and undisturbed settings. Currently, few strategies exist which provide adequate control of cheatgrass. But there may be hope yet! Ann Kennedy, a researcher with the Agricultural Research Service at Washington State University, has isolated a strain of naturally...
There is something about songbirds this time of year that can catch the ear, eye and heart of even the most preoccupied person. It doesn't matter where: mountain tops, middle of the prairie, downtown, uptown. It doesn't matter what you call them: tweety birds, little brown jobs, neotropical migrants. Songbirds are nesting, raising young and – at least the males – singing their blessed little hearts out. Sure a dedicated birder with keen hearing can tell the difference between the songs of a sav...
When The Nature Conservancy (TNC) invested in its Clearwater Blackfoot Project, we were looking to the future. But not just the future of the forest as a haven for wildlife and important waterways. We were also investing in the future of the communities who work and play on this land. The unique structure of the investment allows us time to study the landscape’s and the community’s needs. We hope that we will be able to find permanent conservation outcomes that help communities that have long lived and worked these lands develop a more cer...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Ranger District (SLRD) is bustling with activity this summer! With the arrival of summer visitors and residents and more activity on your National Forest (NF) lands that surround the communities of Seeley Lake and extend to the upper Blackfoot, it seemed timely to provide another update on the happenings at the SLRD. It is an exciting time for us because our short field season is when all the planning for logistics and budget finally pays off in work on the ground! We are actively conducting programs and projects,...
For most of us, it is hard to imagine a life without electricity, yet behind your light switch exists one of the greatest infrastructure systems ever built. Our nation's electric grid traces its origins back to the 1880's, shortly after Thomas Edison's development of a commercially viable electric light bulb. However, our grid has evolved far beyond anything Edison could have imagined – growing into the single largest interconnected machine on the planet. The whole of the grid consists of 450,00...
Summer has now officially arrived and that means that field season is in full swing at the Blackfoot Challenge. Read on for updates from our swan restoration, wildlife and drought response programs. Trumpeter swans return to the Blackfoot in record numbers It has been a thrilling spring in the Blackfoot for swan watchers. There are more trumpeters around than ever, with lots of folks reporting swans in both known sites and new places. And even more exciting is the fact that we have 13 pairs of swans on territories and at least eight of those...
There are a lot of agents out there so when you are ready to buy or sell property, how do you know which one to choose? 1. LEARN WHAT TITLES MEAN: Real Estate Agent, Broker, Realtor®. A “Real Estate Agent” has taken classes and passed an exam to get a license. A “Broker” has continued their education, must have two years experience as a licensed salesperson and a minimum number of sales transactions. A Broker can hire agents to work under them. A “Realtor” can be either an agent or broker who is a member of the National Association...
In October 2014, a local group of recreational enthusiasts met for the first time to discuss the potential of a comprehensive, multi-purpose, trail system. Their vision: to create a trail system that would not only link Seeley Lake to the great outdoor recreational opportunities we have around us, but also link our community to our neighboring towns and trails. "CRC saw the need to upgrade the trails in our watershed so that locals and visitors can access our beautiful landscape using trails...
“Montana’s National Forests BURNING AN EMPIRE” is the title of the Spring 2016 edition of “Evergreen” magazine. The title creates a dire picture facing Montana forests. According to Montana State Forester Bob Harrington, “Nearly 50 percent of Montana’s forest lands have been significantly affected by insects, diseases and wildfire.” Many factors come into play creating today’s forestry issues. Early day logging practices took the best quality trees, fire suppression and a cool, wet period that began in the 1930s allowed a growth in shade t...
Along with watching our loons return in spring, nest and raise chicks, getting to know our Montana Loon Rangers is one of the nicest things about the Montana Loon Society Loon Season. Here are a few words from Ashley Huinker, our 2015 Blackfoot-Clearwater Loon Ranger. It is fun to read her loon ranger experience from her perspective. Following this is information from the Clearwater (Seeley), Blackfoot (Ovando) and Swan (Swan Lake) areas. A Loon Ranger Summer - In Her Own Words by Ashley...
The deadline for this article is four hours away and I still can't decide which of many topics to write about. We live in a wonderfully diverse place which is only adding to my decision problems. I started with the intention of writing about the Western Spruce Budworm infestation that is going strong in our area, only to discover that Andi Bourne wrote a terrific article about it just last July. There isn't much more to add to her article except to stress that the best weapon against the wide...
Houndstongue, a plant native to Western Europe to central Asia, is highly invasive in character outside of its native range. Present throughout much of North America and now a common rangeland, pasture, forestland and riparian area weed across Montana, houndstongue was likely first introduced as a contaminant in cereal seed. Houndstongue spreads locally by seed attached to the hide, hooves and paws of wildlife, livestock and other domesticated animals as well as on just about anything...
May is designated as Wildfire Awareness Month here in Montana. For those of us living around Seeley Lake, fire is, and always has been, a routine occurrence. It is something we need to be aware of almost all year long. The core of fire season is a few months away, but now is good opportunity to be thinking about the proactive steps we can all take. Each of us living in this beautiful landscape, from landowners to firefighters, should have a goal of making our community more fire safe. Why...
As spring weather starts to dominate and days grow longer, most of us are itching to get outdoors, shed some layers and shake off the winter blues. And who could blame you? What a spectacular time to be outdoors and no better place than the Blackfoot Valley! The ice has disappeared from our many lakes and with that our migratory waterfowl and shorebirds are returning. If birding is your thing, this is your time of year! While you’re at it, grab the fishing rod and make a day of it. If you have hunting on your mind, spring opportunities exist f...
In the vast Greater Yellowstone region, there's growing recognition of what some call "the grizzly economy." It's not a bearish attitude but rather bullish enthusiasm for recovery of an iconic Montana species, Ursus arctos horribilis, and the fact that grizzlies, as assets, are now worth far more alive than dead. The shift from viewing grizzlies solely as liabilities is actually a radical historical departure, generations in the making, from a past in which bears were thoughtlessly cleared from...
In 1896, Gifford Pinchot, who later became the first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, traveled through the Swan Valley inspecting this region of Montana, while working for the National Forest Commission. Jack Monroe, a trapper and guide, accompanied him. In an account of his trip through the Swan Valley recorded in 1897, Pinchot wrote: In the course of work on the National Forest Commission, I camped last summer, on the shore of Swan Lake, through which passes on the tributaries of the Flat Head River in northwestern Montana. I was anxious to...
If you were hired to find out whether the devastating zebra or quagga mussels had invaded Swan Lake, how might you go about it? What if your job was to discover whether an isolated population of bull trout or pure cutthroat trout was hiding out in some remote headwater? Would you search every cubic meter of water in either system? How? Lucky for you, you’re off the hook, because there are already folks trying to get answers to questions like these and they’re armed with a new surveillance tool: eDNA. You probably already know that forensic sci...
REAL ESTATE TODAY Real estate sales in the Seeley Swan and Blackfoot valleys are on a run with dramatic increases in both land and home sales over the last 12 months. Although the number of both homes and land that has sold has increased dramatically, price appreciation is a steady 3.4 percent. The current market is very healthy and represents a rising market environment that has led to investors and buyers gaining confidence and returning to purchase local real estate. The investors have been...
Genetic diversity of wildlife populations are an important consideration for long term conservation. Having a variety of genetic traits across a population is generally considered highly advantageous, as it allows a species a large toolbox of traits to respond to changes in environment, population size, mutation and other ecological, biological or social factors. Grizzly bears are no such exception and a closer look at bear reproductively and biology can yield some insight into how having genetic variability among individuals is an important...
In 2015, common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) became the first county listed noxious weed in Missoula County. The process involved with listing common buckthorn began early in the year when an application form was sent to local land managers requesting submissions for species not on the state list that they thought had noxious qualities. Common buckthorn was the only species submitted for consideration. The application was submitted by the City of Missoula Open Lands Program (OLP). The OLP had found common buckthorn along the majority of...
One day it’s warm and sunny, the next day cold and snowy. Welcome to that time on the calendar between winter and spring, though spring really doesn’t seem to hit us some years till May. In the animal kingdom, several species ignore the calendar and do their thing now to ensure the future of their kind. The great horned owl is hooting about now, looking for the right mate. That hoot-hoot-hoot you heard last night or just before dawn is the mating ritual of the great horned owl. After mating, the owls will continue to hoot, not so much to procla...
Propelled to fame by Norman MacLean’s “A River Runs Through It,” few Montana landscapes are as beloved as the Blackfoot River watershed. Those who are fortunate enough to live here come to know the forested valleys, hidden streams and elusive fishing holes where native westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout rise to dine. 2016 marks the 40th anniversary of The Nature Conservancy’s first conservation easement in the Blackfoot. In 1976, shortly after the passage of Montana’s conservation easement legislation, landowner Edna Brunner donated a...
It's winter. Nights are long, often cold. Days are short, sometimes with a sun that acts like it doesn't want to come out and play. Depending on our disposition and age, we might smile or growl about the cold and snow. But if we go outside for any length of time we dress for the weather. Birds that stay here, that do not migrate, have evolved some ingenious ways to dress for the weather, to stay alive. Of all the creatures on this planet, only birds have feathers. They can range from about...
SEELEY LAKE - Since I became the Outdoor Education Coordinator for Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) four years ago, I have enjoyed the unique opportunity to develop relevant and meaningful, place-based learning programs for our school. Although the activities and programs have grown and changed with each passing semester, the objectives and mission remain constant: to provide our students with hands-on educational experiences that expand learning opportunities beyond the school's core curriculum...
In November 2015, Missoula Electric Cooperative (MEC) launched its community solar array dubbed MEC Solar for short. Since that time, significant work has taken place at the site adjacent to MEC's substation just south of Lolo. Just before Christmas, installers completed their work and brought the system online. Shortly afterward, the meter was installed which measures all of the electricity produced by the system. To date, the panels have produced nearly 2,600 kilowatt-hours of energy. For...
