Sorted by date Results 1 - 23 of 23
SEELEY LAKE – Following a request for an injunction filed by several environmental groups challenging the North Fork Blackfoot River Indigenous Fish Restoration Project, the Lolo and Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forests withdrew their decision on Aug. 5. The decision, signed June 2, approved a permit authorizing Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to remove the non-native hybrid population of fish and replace it with westslope cutthroat trout to hopefully establish a viable population of native trout. “The legal challenge has caused us to wan...
OVANDO - Ovando residents and local agencies hope to spread the word on bear safety in order to avoid incidents similar to the fatal grizzly bear attack that occurred in downtown Ovando in early July. Representatives from Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) held an open house in Ovando Thursday, Aug. 5. There the representatives and residents had a public discussion on what communal and individual methods could be taken towards mitigating...
SEELEY LAKE - For 23 years Alpine Artisans, Inc. has used their Loon and Fish Festival to offer around 25 Seeley Lake, Ovando and Lincoln artists a space to showcase their work in an organized format. This year AAI Program Manager Jenny Rohrer said she thinks that this year's iteration was "the best festival we've ever had." "The purpose of the Loon and Fish Festival is to show ... the diversity of artwork of our artists and the variety of work that is being created in our community," she said....
GREAT FALLS - Longtime Swan Valley resident the late Leonard Moore was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame on Aug. 14 at a ceremony in Great Falls....
The 80,000 acres that you crave is already under the protection of the US Forest Service. That is right, no subdivision will be put there! The ONLY thing the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act would do is to keep those nasty, raggedy people out of there that are elderly or handicapped. Wilderness - no assistance from mechanized devices - precludes our access and that is really what you want. These 80,000 acres HAD logging roads in it many years ago and therefore should NOT be eligible for wilderness designation. It should be open to ALL the...
Many moons ago, while be'n a glutton for punishment, I made a trip to the wild horse corrals near Sparks, Nevada to get a couple of broomtails. While wait'n on things to happen, I noticed a black man showed up to guard the gate. Seemed a little bored there all by himself. He had to check on everyone's invite 'cause some radicals were lurk'n about to disrupt proceedings. Anyway, I moseyed over to chat with him, introduced myself, he likewise sez his name was Jim. I shook his hand, looked him in...
I remember a man who stopped me once after a church service to tell me some of his troubles. He was not happy with some of the developments in his life and seemed to believe that telling at least one more person how he felt would give him some satisfaction. I listened for some time as he described some decisions he had made that resulted in pain and difficulty. Eventually I got a word in and asked if he felt anyone had pressured him to make those decisions. "No," he replied. "It was actually...
SEELEY LAKE – In addition to the citations issued by Montana Highway Patrol Billy Munoz, the driver of the white Ford Taurus, who was reported driving recklessly and later rolled the vehicle on Cedar Lane Aug. 13, received four citations from Missoula County Sheriff's Office Deputy Heath Hanson. Hanson shared more of the story to the "High speed chase ends with no injuries" run in the Aug. 19 issue https://www.seeleylake.com/story/2021/08/19/news/high-speed-chase-ends-with-no...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Ranger District is open to the public after experiencing a small outbreak of COVID. Seeley Lake District Ranger Quinn Carver said it was quickly contained through testing and following the 14-day quarantine protocol to reduce the risk of spread. The office was closed from July 23 - Aug. 6 to avoid contact with the public. Carver said while there were several cases, the entire District staff did not contract COVID. He credited this to the District staff being divided into modules to limit exposure to the entire c...
Interagency fire managers across northwest Montana are rescinding Stage 2 Fire Restrictions. Recent rain and cooler temperatures have brought needed moisture to forest vegetation and lowered the fire danger across northwest Montana. Fire managers remind the public that debris burning remains closed and does not open until October 1st, 2021. As the weather continues to cool and we move into the fall, camping and outdoor recreation are popular activities. Be prepared and have the proper tools to extinguish a campfire before you light it. Bring a...
A field of green greets both residents and visitors to many of the lakes in the Clearwater Valley. However, this is not the field of green you may be thinking of – This particular landscape lacks barbecue pits, lawn furniture and a kayak propped up against an old ponderosa pine. The field of green to which I'm referring is the blanket of waterlilies that now cover many acres of shorefront. While native waterlilies still exist in the Clearwater, the native species are being pushed out as i...
SEELEY LAKE – Standing on the football field, Seeley-Swan High School's new principal Shawn Holmes watches the football team practicing Friday morning. "Whether I'm the principal, athletic director or teacher, that is my make up," Holmes said. "Those things are fun." A 1983 SSHS graduate and staff member since fall of 1995, Holmes brings years of experience, an appreciation and knowledge of the local community and an excitement to offer the best educational experience to students. He looks f...
SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Elementary School Board unanimously approved the 2022 school budget during their monthly meeting Tuesday, Aug. 17. They also unanimously approved the appointing of Sara Lamar as a new trustee as well as curriculums for music and U.S. history courses. This year’s main fund will be $391,940.32. District Clerk Heather Mincey said this year their total mills are 76.89 which is lower than last year’s figure of 88.35. Mincey said this is because the district tax base has increased resulting in a tax bill reduction and...
SEELEY LAKE – After a year of epidemic-inflicted hiatus, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks (MSIP) greeted a large audience of eager playgoers on the grounds of the Double Arrow Lodge Aug. 16. The traveling troupe performed "Cymbeline," one of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays. It is also considered one of the playwright's most ambitious and complicated plays, with multiple plots and subplots. Sometimes classified as a romance, the play portrays the trials of two lovers, King Cymbeline's d...
SEELEY LAKE - The Blackhawk Disc Golf Course near Seeley-Swan High School received a string of renovations this past year. SSHS teacher Trace Stone said while he has done some work on the course in the past, this year is the most they have done at one time. Stone said former teacher Brian Bennion was enthusiastic about the project and helped him organize with the student council to work on redoing the course, installing posts and putting in dirt tee pads. Much of the work dealt with reviving...
The Missoula City-County Health Department is asking residents to reduce the number of people in their social circles as COVID-19 case counts rise rapidly in the community. Not only is the Delta variant more infectious than the original strain of COVID-19, the Health Department’s case investigation team has noticed most positive cases are reporting between 10 - 25 close contacts on average. During our last winter surge of COVID-19, most positive cases only reported six close contacts on average. The contact tracing team is racing to notify c... Full story
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board approved their Action Plan and jumped into action with reports on improving the District’s communication and researching sewer alternatives at its Aug. 19 meeting. The Action Plan, which had been discussed at length the last couple months, received very little updates from last month’s meeting with the exception of a spreadsheet to track work. Director Cheri Thompson said she added the spreadsheet so the Board could track work being done and better communicate that information to the publi...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Elementary School Board unanimously approved revisions to their School Reopening Plan revision during their monthly meeting Monday, Aug. 16. In addition they also unanimously approved the student handbook and reviewed the 2022 fiscal year budget. Superintendent Josh Gibbs said many of the changes in the reopening plan resulted from how they adapted at the end of the last school year. Since it was passed in May, masks will be optional unless the Board votes to mandate them or they develop some sort of metric. Face...
SEELEY LAKE - Mountain Berry Bowls food truck offers a selection of organic fruit bowls on the go this summer in Seeley Lake. Co-owners and sisters-in-law Leigh Zell and Shannan Bogner have been franchisees of the truck since July 9. The overarching company is based out of Whitefish, Montana with other trucks located around Montana, Idaho and Colorado. They said they were drawn to the company for its locality and health-focused approach. "We wanted to do something together and something healthy,...
SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake Farmers Market merchant Owen Tyler of Potomac has had a passion for knifemaking for around three decades. He began making them as a hobby after a man had given him a Centennial knife for fixing his car in the mid-1970s. "I got to looking at it and it's not even straight," he said. "It was a $100 knife. I thought, 'Well, I can make a knife better than that.'" He uses 440C stainless steel for the blades and antlers or desert ironwood for the handles. Some of them are...
In celebration of 35 years of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, each week we will run parts of articles that appeared in the issue 35 years ago and 20 years ago. The entire issue will be uploaded to our website seeleylake.com for you to enjoy. We hope you will enjoy the journey with us as we follow our community through the past 35 years as documented by the Pathfinder. 35 years ago: Aug. 28, 1986 issue Ad Hoc Group addresses more business problems The Ad Hoc Businessperson's Group met last Thursday... Full story
The third in the series covering the Roads and Trails program presented Aug. 7 by the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society (USVHS). CONDON – Upper Swan Valley Historical Society President Steve Lamar introduced speaker Leita Anderson by first explaining that in 1894 Charley Young, along with five other men, forged a route into the Upper Swan Valley extending from Ovando to Lion Creek. In 1917 a rough road was built between Lion Creek and Swan Lake. Eighty-nine-year-old Leita Anderson provided s...
Additional 4-H Awards MISSOULA - Potomac Valley 4-H sheep members received ribbons in showmanship that were not available last week before press. Brayden Cooney and his brother Layne Cooney each received blue ribbons for sheep showmanship. Back to School Bash this Friday, Aug. 27 SEELEY LAKE – Kids entering kindergarten through sixth grade are invited to join Pastor Craig Wilson and his wife Erika for a fun afternoon of water games, crafts, lunch and epic ice cream sundaes. The Back to School Bash will be held from 12 – 3 p.m. at Mission Bible...
