Opinion / A Place For All
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 268
By 
Blackfoot Challenge responds to fatal grizzly bear incident with community members
The recent death of Leah Lokan from a grizzly bear mauling while camping in Ovando on July 6 has reinforced the need to maintain and enhance efforts to protect human safety and to reduce conflicts...
Important questions to ask a potential real estate agent before listing your home
You're probably aware of the sweeping impact the pandemic had on the real estate market across the country. In our area, much of our inventory quickly sold. The lack of homes for sale has put...
Leaving no trace
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...
Enjoying the present and looking ahead
Summer is in full bloom. Across the West, our natural areas are experiencing unprecedented visitation. With things opening up and more people traveling farther from home, this trend is only expected to increase. Montana’s forestlands are no...
Double Arrow Ranch - Before the beginning: Our homesteaders
In comparison to many subdivisions in Western Montana, Double Arrow Ranch is a senior citizen. Opened in phases between 1973 and 1978, it coincided with Montana’s first attempt to regulate such developments, with the Subdivision and Platting Act...
Why we live here...it's for the recreation
Over the course of the past several months, especially with COVID-19 hovering and bringing us relentless malaise, it has become clear that living in this gorgeous area has been a blessing beyond words. There are many reasons we choose to live in...
AmeriCorps members commit to serving Seeley Lake's State Parks
The Seeley Lake State Parks have two new AmeriCorps members this season! AmeriCorps is a national service program that was formally created in 1993 with the signing of the National and Community...
Giving days and philanthropy
Community-wide giving campaigns are a growing trend in the nonprofit world. ‘Giving days’ wrapped up in most of the bigger cities around Montana in early May. The Seeley Lake Community Foundation is now running our month-long community giving...
Montana Loon Society 2021 Loon Watch
This past year has given us an even greater appreciation for our federal and state wildlife biologists and their interns as well as all the volunteers that kept looking out for loons and their...
Prepare now for wildfire season
May is National Wildfire Awareness Month and the Missoula County Fire Protection Association is encouraging property owners to begin preparing now for this year’s upcoming wildfire season. With some simple steps, you can prepare your home and...
The little known invasive threats to area wetlands
The Seeley-Swan area boasts an exceptional number of wetlands and variety of wetland types, from the giant lakes where loons and eagles chase fish to the wet meadows amongst the forests where rare...
Restoring the Blackfoot watershed one stream at a time
With spring in the air, it's time to dust off our field gear (or maybe thaw out is more appropriate) and get ready for another productive season working with landowners and our restoration partners...
Technology in the lumber industry
Have you ever driven a Tesla? It stretches the imagination to understand the technology which allows a car to drive on its own. Advances in technology have come a long way, not only in the automotive...
From the Fire Chief's desk
As the temperature warms, it is tempting to take advantage of the last days for ice fishing, do a little skating, or ice sailing for this season. Please be cautious and be aware of your surroundings....
Noxious weeds and the environment: A bigger picture
Although anyone who knows me knows that I'm a "certifiable" botany and native plants nerd, I love everything nature. In particular, I share a love of birds with one of my sisters. On a trip together...
The Seeley-Swan valley real estate markets are red hot
HOW WE GOT HERE Between the years of 1970 and 2001, the Seeley-Swan Valley real estate market was a consistent market demonstrating slow upward trends in values and sales. Land sales in 2000 were between $2,000 and $4,000 per acre. Beginning in the...
Getting started in the garden
To the right is a picture of my garden on March 1! It's not looking very promising right now! But by month's end, we will see the beginnings of this summer's garden. Late March – early April is the...
CRC establishes a "Place for All" despite Covid-19
The beginning of March has teased us with a little taste of spring. We've been treated to temperatures in the forties, hours of sunshine, and clear skies providing crisp views of the Swan Mountain...
Public access and wildlife connectivity maintained
Before the pandemic, 2019 saw Glacier National Park host more than three million visitors. In 2020, Montana's housing market boomed, with a recent Housing Heat Index report from Bankrate ranking the...
Answering frequently asked questions about outdoor burning
This past winter and fall we measured more smoke at the Seeley Lake air quality monitor than we have for several years. Since Oct. 1, there have been 11 days when smoke pollution exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standard. While smoke from wo...
Thinking like a beaver: A BDA primer
In the first snow of October 2018, along Basin Creek outside of Butte, Montana, I volunteered to be a beaver. Or, lacking all the right anatomy, I at least tried to think and act how nature's best...
Living and heating with propane
As we all know, living here in Western Montana comes with the challenge of ever-changing weather and temperatures. We all know the saying, “If you don’t like the weather in Montana, wait five minutes”. With so many variables to consider when...
Conversations around water
If you've been around in the Blackfoot long enough, there's a good chance you've heard the words "Murphy right" or "Milltown right" thrown around. If you're an irrigator in the watershed, you've...
Considering purchasing a vacation rental?
Last year's fast-paced real estate market changed our local vacation rental environment drastically. Many of our area's long-standing vacation rentals were sold and are no longer available to area...
Closing a chapter and welcoming the next
As we welcome the New Year, The Nature Conservancy was glad to end the last one with some good news. On Christmas Eve, we finalized another sale of more than 12,000 acres of land to the U.S. Forest Service. Together with a previous sale, more than...
