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Thirty five years ago...

Thursday Nov. 23, 1989

Snowmobile routes under study

The Seeley Lake Community Council Monday evening looked at ways to offer snowmobilers safe access routes from town to the mountains while at the same time considering ways to hold down potential accidents and nuisance problems.

Representatives from the Driftrider Snowmobile Club and local law enforcement agencies were on hand for a discussion of problems.

Law enforcement personnel urged citizens to "communicate" with them when there were problems and Driftrider representatives stressed that there was no major problem while admitting that a few "renegades" do violate safe practices practiced by the majority.

Bud Johnson and Tom Morris were appointed by the council to work with the Driftriders and county officials in an effort to improve access routes around town.

Read this and more at: https://www.seeleylake.com/home/customer_files/article_documents/1989-11-23.pdf

Thirty eight years ago...

Thursday Nov. 25, 1986

Seeley-Swan High School students visit Boles-Meadow Fire

On Wednesday, Oct. 20, Seeley-Swan High School sophomore biology students toured the 2003 Boles-Meadow Fire on forest service land west of Placid Lake.

The trip, funded by a Liz Claiborne/Art Ortenberg Foundation grant and administered by Western Montana Audubon in Stevensville is a part of the new Montana Natural Heritage Project that encourages students to explore their environment.

At the site of the fire, the class spent the day learning how wildfire affects forest structure and wildlife. Pyramid Mountain Lumber Forester, Larry Westcott, discussed forestry and fire regimes, while U.S. Forest Service Forester Tim Love, provided background on the fire's history and fire management.

Western Montana Audubon Education Director Paul Belanger led the students through the forest looking for signs of wildlife and birds. A black-backed woodpecker was spotted. The woodpecker feeds predominantly on beetles that are found after a fire.

At the end of the day students reflected on what they learned, wrote in their field journals and discovered that charcoal from the fire could be used for drawing.

This trip follows their first excursion in September to the Forest Service Fire Science Laboratory, a research center dedicated to the study of wildfire. Located near the Missoula International Airport, the lab is one of only three such facilities in the nation.

At the lab students learned how fire regimes shape the landscape and provide habitat for many animals, particularly birds. In addition, the students examined how many plants, including weeds and trees, survive fire.

The highlight of the tour included a visit to the "burn chamber," a specially constructed five story tall, climate-controlled building where fire researchers investigate fire behavior.

"These trips are to wet the students' interest," Mary Johnson, high school biology teacher, said. As the year unfolds students will develop research projects that go along with all they are learning and seeing. Projects will then be archived and become a part of the natural history of the Seeley-Swan Valley.

Read this and more at: https://www.seeleylake.com/home/customer_files/article_documents/1986-11-25.pdf