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SEELEY LAKE - The area closure for the Dry Cabin fire will be lifted at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 23. Information will be posted to the Dry Cabin Fire InciWeb https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7660/ and the Lolo National Forest Facebook Page as needed or if conditions change. The Dry Cabin fire was reported July 11. It burned nearly 3,500 acres in the Scapegoat and Bob Marshall Wilderness, Flathead and Lewis & Clark Counties in the Flathead National Forest and Lolo National Forest 20 miles north of Ovando. Fire activity has been minimal,...
Editor’s note: Wetzel was a writer and died in 2018 at the age of 102. Her husband was Winston Wetzel, the superintendent of the Missoula County High School system who accompanied the development and realization of the Seeley-Swan High School. This tale is printed with permission from her daughter Gretchen von Rittberg. How would you feel if your children had to ride a bus for five hours a day to attend high school? Shooked? How would you feel if your neighbors’ kids rode a bus for five hours a day? Indifferent? In Montana a community that car...
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...
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...
The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA) is a bill introduced to Congress by Senator Jon Tester that will further protect the Blackfoot River by expanding protections to its headwaters as part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. The BCSA will also create more space for outdoor recreation near the Blackfoot and Clearwater Rivers and improve timber production and forest restoration in and around Seeley Lake. We need public policy that works to help one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in Montana - tourism and outdoor recreation....
This is the second in the series covering the Roads and Trails Program presented Aug. 7 by the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society (USVHS). CONDON – Salish Kootenai College Professor and Specialist in Culture and Language Tim Ryan discussed the trails which Native American tribes used when traveling through the region that later became known as the Upper Swan Valley. For the Native people, travel on those trails was intricately woven into the circle of their lives. Before he began teaching at t...
OVANDO – Due to increased fire activity, the Flathead National Forest and Lolo National Forest jointly issued area and trail closures in response to the Dry Cabin fire burning about 20 miles north of Ovando in the Upper Dry Fork and Cabin Creek areas of the Scapegoat and Bob Marshall Wilderness areas. Closures are in place for public safety. For the most up-to-date information visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7660/ The Dry Cabin Fire is approximately 3,000 acres in size. It is burning a...
KALISPELL - Interagency fire managers agreed to implement Stage II Fire Restrictions effective Monday, July 26 across the Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks sites, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Kalispell, Stillwater and Swan Units and Flathead County. The intent of Fire Restrictions is to reduce fire risk and prevent wildfires during periods of high to extreme danger by decreasing potential sources of ignition. Each year,...
SEELEY LAKE - A group of Seeley-Swan High School students traveled around 70 miles in 10 days by foot through the Bob Marshall Wilderness as part of their own independent expedition. The group included recent graduate Eric Lorentz and incoming seniors Crystal Lopez, Oskar Murphy, Will Batchelder and his cousin Asa from Sandpoint, Idaho. The group left Sunday, July 4 from Holland Lake and returned Tuesday, July 13 via the Benchmark Creek Trail ending in Augusta. Murphy estimated that they travele...
Due to worsening fire danger, campfires are banned and other fire restrictions went into affect Saturday, July 17 throughout most of the Missoula area. As of 12 p.m. Monday, July 19 there were 20 large fire incidents in Montana. Since Jan. 1, there have been over 1,400 fire starts in Montana burning over 150,000 acres, with over 500 starts this month. Of the fire starts in the last month, over 75% were human caused. "With current fire activity and predicted weather, we all need to do everything...
SEELEY LAKE - Former Bob Marshall Wilderness outfitter Smoke Elser broke down the history and methods of packing during a special outdoor presentation at the Big Larch Campground amphitheater Thursday, July 15. Elser spent over 50 years as a wilderness outfitter in the Bob Marshall and as an instructor in packing, horsemanship and minimal impact camping. He currently lives in Missoula and teaches a packing class at Ninemile Ranger Station in association with the University of Montana. He started...
HOLLAND LAKE – Finding a Billy Goat in distress near Upper Holland Lake was not something Jennifer Fife of Great Falls and her friend Ryan Seyler expected to find on their first day hiking into Big Salmon Lake in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. However after answering the goat's calls of distress and coming to its aid, they hiked out with "Penelope" to find its owner. With the assistance of Missoula County Sheriff's Sergeant Robert Parcell, the goat now has a new home in Seeley Lake. On June 25 F...
I am lucky enough to live outside of Ovando, between the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex and the mighty Blackfoot River. My entire community is deeply shocked and saddened by the recent bear attack. I offer my sincere condolences for the victim, her friends and family, and for the community of bicyclists that frequent the wild and beautiful spaces we inhabit. As I write, helicopters and planes are flying grids over town and the outskirts, searching for the responsible bear, and flushing animals out of hiding into the open in the process....
Due to worsening fire danger, campfires are banned and other fire restrictions are taking effect at 12:01 a.m. July 17 throughout most of the Missoula area. Stage II restrictions will go into effect Saturday morning at 12:01 a.m. for areas including the Lolo and Bitterroot National Forests, Bureau of Land Management land, US Fish & Wildlife lands, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Montana State Trust Lands and private property within Missoula County. Factors influencing this decision include...
Editor’s Note: Howard Copenhaver of Ovando wrote this in 1994. Copenhaver was 89 when he died in 2004. Howard’s daughter Sue Copenhaver Lapka gave permission to reprint this article in full. Before I can say much about “leaving no trace” in the wilderness, I want to give you an idea of where I am coming from to be able to form any opinion. My idols as a small boy were “old kid young,” Joe Stattler, Smokie Deneau, also Tom Danaher along with the Preaust boys, all of whose names are embedded in the Bob Marshal Wilderness and Scapegoat W...
SEELEY LAKE - On Thursday, July 15 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. the US Forest Service, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will host guest speaker Smoke Elser at the Big Larch Campground amphitheater in Seeley Lake. Elser spent over 50 years as a wilderness outfitter in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and as an instructor in packing, horsemanship and minimum impact camping. US Forest Service employees will join him as they discuss the history of p...
In the Clearwater River Watershed alone there are over two-dozen lakes that provide opportunities for anglers and recreationalists. While some are more well known and exceedingly popular during the summer months, you may not have remembered some of these lakes that could provide the quiet escape you've been looking for! Just miles north of the Seeley Lake community lies lakes Alva and Inez. Lake Alva has 'no wake' boating restrictions, making it a popular destination for non-motorized...
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: June 19, 1986 issue Fishin' At The Pothole "Fishin' at the Pothole," a children's fun day held Saturday in Seeley Lake...
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: June 12, 1986 issue C.B. Rich - An Introduction (Editor's note: Diane Herron, graduating senior, delivered the followin...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Thursday, April 29 U.S. Senator Jon Tester reintroduced his landmark Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA) in the Senate. With no change to the bill since it was reintroduced in 2019, many still support it while other recreationists are getting more vocal about the lack of collaboration that developed the current proposal. History of the BCSA The Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project started more than 15 years ago from a collaborative effort of ranchers, logger, timber companies, outfitters, local citizens, b...
For over 15 years, we’ve shared this goal: Congress passing the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act (BCSA). Thanks to the continued support of Senator Tester, we are back on track to reach this goal, with hopes that this is the year when all of our tireless work in Seeley Lake, Ovando, and beyond will pay off. Support from our entire delegation would make our goal easier to attain and it’s our fervent hope that Senator Daines and Representative Rosendale can join Senator Tester and work together to pass this legislation for the benefit of all...
The story of the first homesteaders and the first working ranch in the upper Swan Valley begins in the 1880s with the arrival of Benjamin B. Holland and his son, Charles. According to family accounts, Ben Holland, his wife, and children crossed the Great Plains in a covered wagon. They lived a nomadic life, moving from one place to another, traveling from Missouri to Iowa to Utah to Idaho before settling in Montana. Ben Holland, the patriarch of the family, was born in Missouri in 1841. He...
SWAN VALLEY - With winter activities converting into summer ones, recreationists and national forest staff reflect on an illegal activity that has seemingly gained more prominence in recent years, snowmobile trespassing. The Flathead National Forest offers approximately 800,000 acres of recreational land including groomed and ungroomed trail opportunities. According to their website, some areas are closed to snowmobiles including the Bob Marshall, Great Bear and Mission Mountains Wildernesses. The Flathead National Forest offers free over-snow...
After 20 seasons guiding wilderness treks and river journeys in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, I have witnessed significant changes in wilderness visitors. As a teenager I hiked from Ovando to Essex, scrambled in the Mission Mountains and skied from Benchmark to Holland Lake. Years later, adventures through the Bob were family highlights. I have a 45-year perspective on backcountry and the people who venture there. It was common to share the journey with deeply appreciative guests humbled by the 30-mile trek and the river float. We traveled...
