Opinion / A Place For All
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Big changes happening in local real estate
By Kevin Wetherell Clearwater Montana Properties, Inc. The effect of rising interest rates Mortgage rates have more than doubled this year, as 30-year mortgage rates have risen from below 3% last...
Machine being tested could replace slash fires
By Bebe Crouse The Nature Convervancy You may have seen a strange piece of machinery being towed through the area recently. It looks like a rail car-size dumpster mounted on tank treads. It's called a...
ROCKS rocks winter season
Snow and cold weather brought an early start to the winter outdoor activities season here in Seeley Lake. The ROCKS team is in high gear helping the Nordic ski group ready the yurt for the cross...
Bear awareness during hunting season
Grizzly and black bears are found throughout our region and this is the time of year that bears are in hyperphagia. This is a time when bears increase their feeding activity driven by the need to fatten up before going into the den for the winter....
Biological controls increase weed management options
When I started my job as the weed management projects coordinator for the Powell County Weed Board several years ago, I inherited a project that began with my predecessor in cooperation with the (now...
Creating a working landscape for all
As passersby take in the Blackfoot watershed's forests, waterways and wildlife, many have no idea that a unique concept to benefit all community members came to life in the heart of the watershed ...
Maintaining healthy waters
Here in the Clearwater Valley, so much of our lives revolve around the presence of healthy lakes and streams. This valley contains the waters where our kids catch their first fish and where our...
Managing workplace conflict
I want to share with you a tool that I love. The Waterline Model is a process for resolving team breakdowns. This tool can help you distinguish between the common issues that bog teams down and be...
Ten years of preserving history
A dream became reality when the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society (USVHS) celebrated the grand opening of the Swan Valley Museum on July 4, 2013. Longtime residents Neil and Dixie Meyer cut the...
Grizzly DNA monitoring in the Sapphire Mountain Range
The one-track roads leading from Stevensville, Montana, into the Sapphire Mountains are lined with wildflowers like beargrass and lupines by early July. As the truck climbed, the view of the...
Motor vehicle accident tips to help maintain safety
Summer has arrived and the seasonal population influx around Seeley Lake has also arrived. The campgrounds and outdoor activities are much more active as the community grows. The increased movement increases our highway traffic. Visitors unfamiliar...
The ebb and flood of lumber
The last several years have certainly seen no lack of breaking news topics. Thankfully, the Seeley-Swan Valley of Montana continues to offer a mostly quiet refuge from much of the excitement faced in other areas of the country. Topics of discussion...
Achieve better health, one step at a time
With so many trends and diets out there it can be hard to figure out what to honestly believe. The external pressure to look and feel specific ways, the households we grew up in as children, our geological location and the cultures we immerse...
Tips to clean indoor air, stay healthy this wildfire season
It's Wildfire Smoke Ready Week in Missoula County! I know - after such a cool start to the season, it's challenging to shift gears and start thinking about wildfires. But this week of warm, sunny...
Seeley-Swan Valley real estate stabilizing
THE SUMMER SLOWDOWN Following four years of a dramatic real estate market that saw rapid price appreciation, very limited inventory and multiple offers on many properties, the market has begun to stabilize. This year has seen the Federal Reserve...
Clean water: We can't take it for granted
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...
Ramping up for summer work on TNC lands
Summer is upon us and that means Nature Conservancy crews are deep into their season of fieldwork but we haven't been idle over the winter and spring. We were excited to complete the first leg of a tw...
Prepare, Prevent and Protect what you love
We never know what the upcoming wildfire season will hold for us but we do know one thing: It will come and fires will burn. It is inevitable, especially in this beautiful, historically fire prone are...
Changing with the seasons
As dependable as the changing seasons, our Seeley Lake ROCKS Board members have unraveled the winter programs, and we have turned our focus to supporting our current season of community outdoor activities. Each May/June, we concentrate on sprucing...
Montana common loon pair hatch three goslings
On June 10, 2021 on a private lake in the Crystal Lakes area near Eureka, Montana, a resident nesting loon pair successfully hatched three chicks. Three chicks! Loons only lay two eggs each clutch.... Full story
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...
