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Twenty-six days. That’s how long it took legislators to resuscitate legislation that supports transferring public land to the state, an idea Montanans have rejected time and time again. The newest effort, Representative Steve Gunderson’s house bill 320, is a misleading and cynical attempt to set the stage for yet another transfer push. This wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing bill is a carbon copy of a bill introduced six years ago by then-senator Jennifer Fielder, an extreme transfer advocate, as part of a package of bills aimed at laying the groun...
The “Hungry Horse News” reported that, “Two horsemen on a recent trip into the Bob Marshall Wilderness said they found something they never expected: A couple fishing on a sandbar of the South Fork of the Flathead after allegedly landing a helicopter there.” https://hungryhorsenews.com/news/2020/may/28/forest-service-investigating-helicopter-10/ It was May 16, the opening day of fishing season. The owner of the helicopter Sara Schwerin is a former NYC banking executive now living in Montana. When questioned by the horsemen “what makes you...
SEELEY LAKE - Please join us to listen to John Fraley, historian and storyteller of infamous characters who shaped the history of wild country in the forks of the Flathead River. He will be sharing some of these colorful and true tales at Alpine Artisan's Open Book Club Saturday, March 2, at 7 p.m. at The Grizzly Claw Trading Company. Seeley-Swan High School sophomore Cory Wilkey will be reading her poetry before the speaker. The event is free and everyone is welcome. Fraley has done exhaustive...
SWAN VALLEY - I live in the far northeastern corner of Lake County where we are often forgotten about except when we receive our property tax bill to mainly pay for services benefiting Lake County residents in the Mission Valley. Oh that’s right, we have a dumpsite at Porcupine Creek on Highway 83 in the Swan Valley. I don’t know about you but I’m tired of all the fighting that takes place among Lake County residents. It’s bad enough the national political scene is so contentious, but locally there have been years of acrimony with the water c...
SWAN VALLEY - In updating the Lake County Growth Plan, the density-zoning map should be maintained and enhanced, not repealed. Continued rural sprawl in the Mission and Swan Valleys is a threat to critical habitat and the rural lifestyle enjoyed by those who live and recreate there. Constructing and maintaining public access roads, utility infrastructure, providing wildland and structural fire protection and emergency services for increased commercial and residential construction, is all cost prohibitive and will put more stress on the public a...
SWAN VALLEY - As a resident of the beautiful Swan Valley, I am deeply disturbed by the Lake County Conservation District’s proposal to transfer the management of 60,000 acres of the Flathead National Forest. The proposal calls for the establishment of a “Conservation Forest” to produce timber revenue for LCCD. This proposal is a direct attack on our public lands and we cannot stand for it in our own backyard. Despite many legal and logistical holes, the lands earmarked for the potential Conservation Forest are disjointed and scattered throu...
We are long-time residents of the Seeley/Swan Valley who attended the Sept. 20 Swan Valley Community Council-sponsored presentation by Montana Senator Jennifer Fielder and Representative Kerry White of the American Lands Council (ALC). The ALC presentation was filled with misinformation, inaccurate graphics and emotionally charged rhetoric designed to create fear. In their proposal to transfer federal lands to state control, the ALC speakers oversimplified and misrepresented complex forest management issues, while ignoring us hikers, hunters,...
SWAN VALLEY - I would like to offer a response to the Pathfinder’s Sept. 1, 2016 article “Swan Valley Emergency Services Expresses Concerns with Forest Plan Draft.” In 1989 I lost my home to fire and am grateful for the response by the Swan Valley Volunteer Fire Department. Since then I have made monetary donations (when I can) and in-kind donations. I appreciate and value the efforts of local volunteers who donate time to help homeowners like me. However, I feel compelled to address some of the misinformation and half-truths that are being...
