Community Briefs

Grants available for projects helping Seeley Lake

From Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director

Non-profit organizations are invited to submit grant proposals to the Seeley Lake Community Foundation for 2023 projects.

The SLCF awards grants of up to $2,500 for projects to benefit the area of Seeley Lake, MT. Applications are due January 31st each year, and grant award decisions are made by early March.

The Seeley Lake Community Foundation helps local groups fund important community projects in the areas of: art & culture, community & economic development, basic human needs, education, and natural resources & conservation. In this capacity, the SLCF strives to be a community resource and catalyst for innovative approaches to improving the quality of life of the Seeley Lake area.

Guidelines and 2023 SLCF Community Grant Program application forms are at https://www.seeleylakecommunityfoundation.org/.

Then navigate to /grantmaking-impact.

Please submit completed applications to info@slcfmt.org by Jan. 31, 2023. For questions, contact the SLCF at 406-677-3506.

The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is a locally driven and locally supported 501c3 nonprofit that invests in the health and prosperity of the Seeley Lake community.

For highlights and photos of what the SLCF Community Grant program has helped make happen over our first two decades, visit our Grantmaking Impact page at https://www.seeleylakecommunityfoundation.org/grantmaking-impact

P.O. Box 25, 3150 MT Hwy 83 N, Seeley Lake, MT 59868. 406-677-3506

seeleylakecommunityfoundation.org

Council to host guest speakers

The November meeting of the Seeley Lake Community Council will be held at the Barn (2920 Highway 83) on Monday, Nov. 14.

Pizza will be served starting at 5:30, and the meeting will begin at 6 p.m.

Featured speakers are as follows:

1. Special presentation: The Bournes

2. Announcement: Missoula County Parks and Trails Matching grants

3. Bear Working Committee Update: Sharon Teague

4. Save Holland Lake presentation: Bill Lombardi & David Roberts

5. USFS update: Quinn Carver

6. Seeley Lake Sewer District: Bill Decker, engineering presentation

7. Clearwater RV update

Everybody is invited to participate in the Council’s discussions on agenda items during the meeting. As always, towards the end of the meeting there will be an opportunity for public comments on non-agenda items.

If you wish to attend virtually via Zoom, you can join with the following link:

ZOOM LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89270518495?pwd=K1RjbWdkcUdGRUcyMFFOeTNZcTJKQT09

Meeting ID: 892 7051 8495 Passcode: 3046

One tap mobile

+12532158782,,89270518495#,,,,*3046# US (Tacoma)

+13462487799,,89270518495#,,,,*3046# US (Houston)

For those who cannot join the live session, the recording will be available on the SLCC Facebook page following the meeting.

For further information please contact Tom Browder at browder.tom@gmail.com or Sharon Teague at teaguemt@gmail.com

Artisans present Montana author

Alpine Artisans’ Open Book Club presents author Jamie Harrison with her new book set in Livingston, MT ,: The Center of Everything at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Seeley Lake Community Foundation, 3150 Highway 83 N., Seeley Lake, MT 59868 Free. Everyone welcome.

Vets group hosts service at park

The Veterans and Famiies of Seeley Lake will host a Veteran’s service at 11 a.m., Nov. 11 at the Veteran;s Memorial Park, on Hwy 83 N near Morrell Creek Rd.

Lunch will be served free to veterans after the service at the Seeley Lake Senior Center.

Program launched to help defendants navigate court system

Missoula Municipal Court, the Missoula County Community Justice Department and the Sheriff’s Office recently launched a new program to help misdemeanor defendants in Missoula’s Municipal Court more effectively navigate the legal system, with the goal of reducing the number of people who do not show up to their court hearings.

Failures to appear for misdemeanor court hearings consistently rank among the top five charges by volume for people being held at the Missoula County Detention Facility. The Pretrial Assistance to Support Success program (PASS) uses best practices, such as text reminders and referrals to supportive services like case management, to help defendants successfully attend and move through court proceedings and reduce the number of people being incarcerated on this charge.

The program uses a tier-based system to balance the rights of defendants with public safety. Defendants are placed into the tier system based on their history of charges, history of appearing for court and factors that can create barriers to success, such as housing instability.

Implementing PASS to address and reduce failures to appear will help further the goals of the City-County Jail Diversion Master Plan.

The plan, adopted in 2016, aims to safely decrease the jail population and reduce costs associated with incarceration, which hover around $120 per day per person.

PASS will also help efficiently allocate staff needs and resources within the courts.

Kim White, who manages the Sheriff’s Office Community Supported Reentry Program, worked closely with Municipal Court Judges Jacob Coolidge, Eli Parker and Jennifer Streano to design the program.

White will also manage PASS, and the City of Missoula will provide funding for the program.

Region 2 hunting in full swing

From Sydney Young, Game Warden Montana FWP, Region 2

After the first two weekends of big game season, region-wide hunter check stations are reporting elk and deer harvest totals that are up from last season and the five-year average.

The number of hunter trips through the Darby, Bonner, Anaconda and Fish Creek check stations totaled 3,728 for the first two weekends of the season, right on track with last season at this point, but those hunters checked 149 elk collectively, compared to 92 at this point in 2021.

Hunters checked 40 mule deer during the first two weekends of the season, compared to 30 last year, and 148 white-tailed deer, compared to 90 in 2021.

Elk harvest totals are up at all four hunter check stations in the region, but the Darby station has seen the biggest bump. FWP wildlife biologist, Rebecca Mowry, said that the Darby station is seeing strong numbers of harvested elk out of the Big Hole Valley.

HD 321 also covers more area this year, as a result of recent hunting district boundary adjustments, giving hunters more places to harvest elk.

Forest fires over the past few years have also improved elk forage and habitat in new places.

More liberal hunting regulations for white-tailed deer have also helped to boost harvest in some parts of the region. Hunters in some districts were able to harvest either-sex white-tailed deer with their general license for the first week of the rifle season.

Bonner hunter check station is reporting a harvest of 101 white-tailed deer, many from Blackfoot hunting districts, compared to 67 at this point in 2021.

The Fish Creek hunter check station doesn’t have as long of a history as the other stations but has become a good tool for tracking trends in the western reaches of the region. Wildlife biologist Ryan Klimstra recorded 364 hunters through the station in the first two weekends.

Two checked bull elk during the season’s second weekend, while one had a mule deer buck.

“Those that were able to get out enjoyed some nice hunting weather this weekend, and as we get a bit later into the season, animals are starting to move around,” Klimstra said.

Hunters are reminded that they must stop at all check stations that they pass, even if they have not harvested any animals. Sunrise & sunset tables are available in the back of printed FWP regulations and should be used exclusively to determine legal hunting hours for big game and other species. The general big game season runs through Sunday, Nov. 27. Contact the Region 2 office in Missoula with questions at (406)542-5500. Good luck to all hunters, and remember to call 1-800-TIP-MONT to report violations!