Twenty years ago...
Thursday, July 17, 2003
U.S House Panel Holds Field Hearing in Seeley Lake
By Donna Love
On Wednesday, July 2 the Seeley Lake Elementary School gymnasium transformed into a Committee Hearing Room for three hours when members of the U.S. House Resources Committee met there for a field hearing titled “Management Challenges on Montana’s National Forests.”
Called at the request of U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Montana, Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-California, presided over the three-panel hearing with participation by Rehberg and Rep. Madeleine Bordallo, D-Guam.
Sam Bolton, Chairman of the Seeley Lake Community Council welcomed the Committee. Local resident Loren Rose gave the opening convocation. Seeley Lake Boy Scout Troop #1919 presented the color guard and led the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by “The Star Spangled Banner” sung by sisters Amaliese and Ashley Pena.
During opening comments, Rep. Pombo said, “We [the U.S. Government] have a responsibility to protect our people, property, environment, and lands,” and stressed the need to change the “analysis paralysis” plaguing national forest management. Rep. Bordallo said that even though her forests were different from Montana’s they were an integral part of her people’s lives so the concerns were similar. Reb. Rehberg said, “We are loving our forests to death,” stating that forest fires weren’t the problem, but a symptom of unhealthy forests.
Chief of the Forest Service Dale Bosworth, accompanied by Seeley Lake District Ranger, Tim Love, answered the Committee’s first round of questions. Bosworth said that the challenges faced by the Forest Service today include fuel build up, evasive species (noxious weeds and insect infestations), unmanaged recreation, and habitat fragmentation, not the “old issue” of the 80’s, logging. Bosworth called for creative projects, such as the Clearwater Stewardship Project in Seeley Lake, under an umbrella of broad national policies, to solve the problems on a local level. He explained that each ecosystem was different, and expressed that what was left on the land was more important than what was removed.
Thirty-five years ago...
July 21, 1988
Kia Jette and Jeremy Aumaugher take honors in Invent America! Contest
Two Seeley Lake Elementary School students have won state awards for science projects in the national Invent America! Program.
Jeremy Aumaugher, eighth grade son of Bob and Kaye Aumaugher, was named a state winner for his invention - a “Pet Seat Belt”.
Kia Jette, daughter of Frank and Carolyn Jette, was named a state winner for her invention an “Arrowhead Protector”.
Sometime this fall, the Pepsi Cola Company, an Invent America! Sponsor, will award a $200 bond to each student, two $250 grants to Seeley Lake Elementary science teacher, Debbie Fassnacht, and two $500 grants to the school.
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