Opinion / A Place For All
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Animals of Seeley Lake – Lions, foxes, bears ... Oh my!
One of the wonderful things about living in Seeley Lake and the Double Arrow Ranch is the abundance of wildlife in our area. We get to see many critters on a regular basis that most residents of the...
BBCTU looks forward to summer projects, restoration
Springtime in Montana has arrived and even though it’s been a cold start, the building snowpack is a positive outcome. Hoping our rivers and streams hold up well this summer! Big Blackfoot Chapter of Trout Unlimited is gearing up for another busy...
Pesticides and pollinators
Though we live dramatically different lifestyles, my oldest sister who resides in a subdivision in a north Texas city and I, the Montana “country living” member of our family, share a love of bees and an appreciation for pollinators. I think...
A treasure to behold in the Swan
Those of us lucky enough to live, work and play in the Swan Valley know what a special place it is. Pointing a finger at exactly what makes this place special, however, can sometimes be difficult. If...
Fast Charging Station, residential charging pilot coming to Seeley
With gas prices on the rise, the motivation for consumers to consider an electric vehicle (EV) is steadily growing. Some of the top automotive manufacturers have already announced an end to...
Spring updates from the Blackfoot Challenge
As spring creeps through the door, the Blackfoot Challenge continues fostering community collaboration for the benefit of all within the Blackfoot River watershed. The beauty of collaboration is the...
If the real estate market is hot, why are so many frozen out?
What is a "Hot" Real Estate Market? For the past two years, all that real estate professionals, economists and analysts seemed to talk about is the hot real estate market. But what does a "hot market"...
Cultural, sociological and ethnic diversity
Acceptance of diversity, and isolationism: two concepts that have been at the forefront of my mind, given the current situation in our state, our country and the world. I’ll not discuss world history or politics, but rather look at those concepts...
The path of a potential volunteer
A woman recently moved to Seeley Lake. She LOVES it here. She’s so excited to get involved. Where does she go for information? Where does she go to get involved? How does she meet people? • Perhaps by talking to people around town and getting on...
Northern Pacific Railroad's influence on the Upper Swan Valley
Many people are not aware that the Northern Pacific Railway Company (NP) had a significant influence on the settlement, economy and timber industry of the upper Swan Valley. Looking at a current map...
What Federal funding could mean for wildlife crossings
A grizzly bear dubbed "Lingenpolter" by local biologists caught the attention of many in Montana and elsewhere last year. Using a GPS tracker, biologists watched as the young male bear repeatedly...
What do you to know about Carbon Monoxide alarms?
Carbon Monoxide alarms are not smoke detectors! Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. It is the biproduct of incomplete combustion and it may be found in smoke. CO is in the air that we breath, this means that our bodies...
Old forests, new investments
As the brisk January morning air settles in on the log yards in the north, the world finds yet another year has come and gone. Standing at the threshold of 2022, more than a few folks are relieved to...
Battle winter blues with healthy foods
Home food preservationists feel especially grateful in January, for having spent countless autumn hours canning, pickling, fermenting, drying and vacuum packaging their garden or local farmer's...
Seeley-Swan valley real estate is white hot
2021 - THE REAL ESTATE BREAKOUT The past year has seen intense buyer pressure in the local real estate markets. Montana buyers primarily from Missoula, Helena, Bozeman and Great Falls continued...
Fuels reduction amidst climate change
Wildfire seasons are becoming longer and more destructive. The 2021 fire season in Oregon began in May, a month early, due to drought conditions resulting in low fuel moistures and a light snow pack....
Bare naked legs
Just the other day while working at Placid Lake State Park, I observed a group of ducks gathered around a large space of open, ice-free water. Some were swimming and foraging in the shallow bottom...
Fostering partnerships in 2022
The New Year is a natural time for reflection and looking ahead. We hope you had a great holiday with your family and friends, and that you had time do just that. As I reflect on 2021, I am encouraged by the growing partnerships of people who share a...
Gearing up for a winter of outdoor recreation
As winter dawns over the Seeley Swan Valley, the ROCKS team springs into a frenzy of action. It is during this ever-changing and unpredictable weather season that we realize the somewhat limited contr...
FWP proposing changes in Hunting District 285
I can't believe I've lived to see this. It seems like it was yesterday. Maybe it was 30 years ago when I pulled my Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) pickup off the north side of Highway 200, snuck...
New protections for wetland habitat near Condon
Grizzly bears in the Mission and Swan mountains have likely entered their dens for the winter, but an important habitat linkage for the species will remain conserved as open space next spring-and for...
Management of the Swan Legacy Forest
The smell of freshly cut limbs and trees wafts through the air as I walk through the project area. The low hum of the harvester, a large and impressive piece of logging equipment, works right over...
Delivering place-based education in the Blackfoot
At the Blackfoot Challenge, we believe that the best place to learn about the watershed is in the watershed and that our best teachers are those who have experience here. That's why our education...
Being in nature is far more than simply immersing…
An October day several years ago next to a lake where I was working for the government on a grizzly project… The first lavender light of day is a time when the softness of shapes can barely be seen through the mist rising from the lake… The...
Protecting yourself and your rights
Whether you are currently renting or you have rented in the past, when moving out we all eagerly anticipate the return of our security deposit from our landlord. Then, when it arrives been...