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Grants available for projects helping Seeley Lake From Claire Muller, SLCF Executive Director Non-profit organizations are invited to submit grant proposals to the Seeley Lake Community Foundation for 2023 projects. The SLCF awards grants of up to $2,500 for projects to benefit the area of Seeley Lake, MT. Applications are due January 31st each year, and grant award decisions are made by early March. The Seeley Lake Community Foundation helps local groups fund important community projects in the areas of: art & culture, community & economic...
From Jenny Kauffman Condon Librarion The November Condon Library Book Chat is about “Down from the Mountain, the life and death of a grizzly bear” by Bryce Andrews We meet at the library at 1pm. Nov. 9. This is the description on the back of the book: An “ode to wildness and wilderness” (Outside), Down from the Mountain tells the story of one grizzly in the changing Montana landscape. Millie was cunning and a fiercely protective mother to her cubs. But raising those cubs in the mountains became harder each year as the climate warmed and peo...
Community Firewood Day CONDON – Swan Valley Connections is hosting our annual Community Firewood Day volunteer event! We’ll be splitting, delivering, and stacking wood for a full list of people in need in the Swan Valley community. Volunteers will meet at the Condon Work Center (MM 42.9 MT Hwy 83, Condon, MT 59826) at 9am foramndatory safety meeting. There will be a complimentary volunteer BBQ, sponsored by Mannix Family Grass-finished Beef, following the work day. Please bring your own lunch/snacks, ear and eye protection and gloves. Please we...
SEELEY LAKE – At their Sept. 15 meeting, the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board followed their committee’s recommendation to seek a proposal from Water & Environmental Technologies (WET) and voted to install up to 14 additional monitoring wells. The Board’s committee heard presentations from two engineering companies, WET and Morrison & Maierle and two manufactures, SepticNET and AquaTech Systems, that responded to the District’s Request for Qualifications. District Manager Bill Decker said he reached out to a third engineering company multipl...
SWAN VALLEY – Expansion plans for Holland Lake Lodge (HLL) were met with opposition from locals at the recent scoping open house held at the lodge Sept. 8. Over 100 area residents and users of Holland Lake expressed concern regarding change, increased traffic and potential environmental impacts to the area. Representatives of the Flathead National Forest along with representatives of POWDR and Christian Wohlfiel, Holland Lake Lodge (HLL) owner, meet with public members to present information r...
As the Pathfinder has been documenting over the years, the Sewer District has been testing and testing and testing. The question the sewer board has been discussing heavily is the validity of the results of this testing. The decision is that although there is a lot of test results there really isn't much depth. There is a lot of data for a very few points. This has led to a substantial discussion concerning the true point of the lake contamination. Is it downtown and the business district? Is...
The September meeting of the Seeley Lake Community Council will be held at the Barn (2920 Highway 83) on Monday, Sept. 12. Pizza will be served starting at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Featured speakers/topics are as follows: • Jesse Mullen - new Pathfinder publisher • Update from the USFS • Update from the Seeley Lake Sewer District • Overview of the Mobile Support Program of the Missoula City County Health Department Mental Health department • Update on open Community Council position and how to apply. • A representat...
The Seeley Lake Sewer district has continued testing since 1994 within the district. This does not include the airport area which was part of the original testing as this area is outside of the district. Looking at a summary of the wells from 1994-2004, the results are as follows. Well #1 located at Lindey's Prime Steak House shows very elevated nitrate levels. Well #2 located at the Seeley Lake Baptist Church nitrate levels were generally quite high with huge seasonal swings. As low as 0.08 to...
SEELEY LAKE – At their July 28 hearing and regular meeting, the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board passed the annual assessment method and discussed drilling additional monitoring wells. The Board received just one written protest. The landowner was opposed to the assessment in part because they owned two lots and would have to pay twice even though they only have one residence. They also felt that their land was not necessary to be in the District in the first place as it is not near the lake or the contaminated groundwater monitoring well. M...
In both 1993 and 1995, the Department of Geology at the University of Montana did a study called "Cumulative Effects of Domestic Sewage Disposal on Groundwater of Missoula County: An analysis of Carrying Capacity" for the Missoula County Commissioners. The second site that was tested was within the Seeley Lake Water District, directly to the east of Highway 83. One complication they found was, although it was quite densely populated, there weren't many wells since it is in the water district....
SEELEY LAKE – The first community council in the state was appointed by the Missoula County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in Seeley Lake in 1987. The community council grew out of the Seeley Lake Chamber of Commerce, said Bud Johnson, owner of Timberline Building Materials and first chair of the Seeley Lake Community Council. The first Community Council board appointed by the BCC consisted of Dan Mizner, retired; Johnson, director of the chamber; Jeff Macon, a real estate broker; Bud Berckmoes, a real estate broker; Addrien Marx, director...
As we watch the loons and trumpeter swans rear their young, it is easy to believe that the waters in the Clearwater Valley remains relatively pristine. And yes, compared to many other areas of the country we continue to enjoy relatively clean waters. However, multiple indicators demonstrate our waters are at risk. Reports of septic contamination in groundwater testing wells are routine in Seeley Lake. Blue-green algae blooms are becoming an increasing common occurrence in the early fall....
In March 2022 the Seeley Lake Missoula County Sewer District advertised a “Request For Qualifications” to address the groundwater degradation occurring in the District. The District received four responses to its request. The responses were from Morrison/Maierle, IMEG (formerly Territorial Land works), AquaTech and SepticNet/WET. The “Qualifications” were reviewed and scored by the Board of Directors of the District. A District Selection Committee will interview all the respondents. The Selection Committee is composed of two board members, thre...
SEELEY LAKE – At their June 16 meeting, the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board adopted next year’s budget and selected the equal assessment method to spread the assessment among landowners in the District. The Board adopted their fiscal year 2023 budget of $116,805. Of that, the District will use $84,397.98 from their reserves, money collected last year but not spent, and only assess landowners for $32,407. This will result in a significant break on landowner’s tax bill. The Board also voted to use the equal assessment method of spreading the tax...
SEELEY LAKE – Missoula County Building Official Dave Larkin presented the Seeley Lake Community Council information regarding the need for increased building permit fees and ways the building division is funded. There were several other updates provided the Council regarding the Seeley Lake Ranger District, Bob Marshall Music Festival, Change Your Pace Challenge and the new Seeley Lake resource specialist with Missoula Aging Services. Unlike other county departments which are funded through the county general fund, the building division, which...
SEELEY LAKE – At their April 21 meeting, the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board plans to put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) but delayed when they would be due. They also voted to expend money from the District’s reserves for much of next year’s budget to reduce the burden on taxpayers for a year. District Manager Bill Decker reported that there were two replies to the District’s Request for Qualifications (RFQ) that came in on time with the required number of copies, one that came in on time but was missing the number of copies and another...
In both 1993 and 1995, the Department of Geology at the University of Montana did a study called "Cumulative Effects of Domestic Sewage Disposal on Groundwater of Missoula County: An analysis of Carrying Capacity" for the Missoula County Commissioners. There were testing sites throughout the county, but the ones we are interested in are those in Seeley Lake. They monitored the area by the airport, downtown and Camp Paxson. AIRPORT: The earth materials are glacially derived unsorted sand and...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Community Council April meeting will be held virtually via Zoom at 6 p.m. Monday, April 11. Everyone is encouraged to attend this informative meeting with the following speakers: 1. Randy Arnold, Supervisor, Missoula District, Montana FWP 2. Carolyn Upton, Supervisor, Lolo National Forest 3. Seeley Lake Fire District candidates: Jon Kimble and Alyssa McLean 4. Bill Decker, Manager, Seeley Lake Sewer District 5. Quinn Carver, Seeley Lake District Ranger Attendees hear updates on projects important to the area i...
MISSOULA COUNTY - Following election by acclamation of numerous candidates, the Missoula Board of County Commissioners canceled several May 3 special district elections. Potomac School, Seeley Lake Elementary, Sunset School and Swan Valley School also canceled their Trustee elections after applicants filled the open positions. There are still several board positions that remain unfilled, as indicated in the list below. Commissioners are seeking applicants to fill these board positions, which will become vacant May 31. Applicants must be...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board continued to hone a water testing regiment for the lake and began discussing next year’s budget at their March 17 meeting. Over the last several months the Board has been discussing with Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) how to do water testing to assess the human impact on Seeley Lake. The Board amended their budget in November to allocate $5,515 for environmental DNA (eDNA) testing but learned last month that it would not be enough for a year. This month CRC came back with another tes...
The Importance of Proper Liquid Waste Disposal Why do we care about correct liquid wastewater effluent disposal? Here are a few reasons: • Environmental protection: Improper wastewater effluent disposal can hurt the surrounding environment. It can affect the balance of aquatic ecosystems and kill marine organisms. Or it can seep into the soil, kill plants, destroy natural habitats and cause biodiversity loss. • Human health protection: Inadequate wastewater effluent disposal can also make peo...
SEELEY LAKE - The Board of Supervisors for the Missoula Conservation District approved three grants from their winter grant cycle to support local conservation. Among the recipients was Seeley-Swan High School. SSHS received a $500 Operation Mini Grant for students in high school science classes to continue water quality monitoring of Morrell Creek near the high school. SSHS Science Teacher Gretchen Watkins applied for the grant after they lost the funding from the Seeley Lake Sewer District this past fall. The Sewer District originally signed...
Seeley Lake Community Council to meet virtually SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Community Council will meet via Zoom at 6 p.m. for their March 14 meeting. The agenda includes: updating the Council’s bylaws with Laurie Hire from Missoula County Community and Planning Services; Seeley Lake Sewer District updates from Cheri Thompson; and updates from Seeley Lake District Ranger Quinn Carver. The official agenda will be posted on the Seeley Lake Community Council’s Facebook page. To join the Zoom meeting visit https://us02web.zoom...
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Sewer District Board moved forward with advertising a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and discussed water testing and an increase in eDNA testing at its Feb. 17 meeting. At last month’s meeting the Board discussed whether to send out a RFQ or Request for Proposals (RFP). District Manager Bill Decker wrote up a proposed RFQ for the Board to consider at this meeting. Director Cheri Thompson said the proposed RFQ was not specific enough and wanted specific details about the District in it instead of the entire com...
With several special district governing board positions up for election within Missoula County in Potomac, Seeley Lake and the Swan Valley, the Seeley Lake Rural Fire District Board is the only election currently on the ballot for the May 3 election. However, write-in candidates can still file until Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. A write-in candidate could trigger an election if there are more candidates than vacancies. The School District candidate filing closes March 24 at 5 p.m. There are several positions up for election at Seeley Lake Elementary, Swan...
