Seeley Swan Pathfinder -

Dear Editor, Flathead National Forest (FNF) rejected POWDR’s Master Development Plan (MDP) for Holland Lake Lodge, creating a temporary calm after residents of Condon overwhelmingly rejected POWDR’s MDP proposal. The FNF did not consult the...

Dear Editor, The summer of 2022 in Western Montana was one for the record books! You might even call it the perfect storm. Here in Seeley we had record numbers of visitors coming to our area to recreate, our campgrounds were full, we saw an influx...

Dear Editor, Regarding the pending preliminary decree of the Flathead Compact, Mr. Chris Tweeten, lawyer and 1985 Montana governor appointee to the Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission (RWRCC) was caught on tape in 2012 at a public meeting...

Dear Editor,   Something’s amok at Holland Lake Lodge (HLL).  HLL, Inc. and POWDR Corporation claim the resort’s cabins are “generally dilapidated” and POWDR further described the infrastructure as “failing.”  The Flathead NF justified...

Dear Editor, Elbow Lake leaseholders were surprised this week to receive from the DNRC a proposal for gravel pit testing in the vicinity. Surprised because (a) the proposal does not state the ultimate reason to conduct the test; (b) the comment...

SWAN VALLEY - The rollout of a proposal by one of North America’s biggest ski developers to triple the size of Holland Lake Lodge and bring industrial tourism and commercial recreation to the rural, wildlife-rich Swan Valley in western Montana was...

Support for Bill Burt If you feel everything is going along just fine in the Justice of the Peace field in Missoula County, then you should vote for the status quo in the upcoming election. But, if you feel common-sense, compassion, integrity, and...

Housing project falls short The Trinity Housing project on Mullan next to the Missoula County Detention Center has not lived up to its promises and expectations. This was supposed to be a collaboration between the city, the county and HomeWord....

Open letter from Save Holland Lake to Kurt Steele, Supervisor Flathead National Forest Dear Mr. Steele, Save Holland Lake, an ad-hoc coalition of concerned citizens advocating for the pristine lake, surrounding ecosystem and our public land,...

As best I remember it, over 40 years ago, me and my cutt’n partner Butch was coming down from Alaska. Turned off in Albany, Oregon headed for the sleepy little cowboy logg’n town called Sisters. Butch had friends there. Took note of the scenery...

Montanans’ constitutional right to privacy and a clean and healthful environment will be threatened this legislative session. Many of us living in House District 92 fiercely value our privacy and depend on the integrity of our environment. The...

An out-of-state commercial recreation corporation, POWDR Inc., has proposed to expand the Holland Lake Lodge on public land and convert it into a destination resort. The current lodge is a locally run seasonal operation from May 15 to Oct. 15 that...

In autumn, that mournful season that stifles the lighthearted sounds of summer, larch turn golden and, against the Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine, light up the Seeley-Swan Valley like a votive-filled cathedral in Rome. It’s something to behold as...

All elections are important, right? This one seems particularly so - ballots will be mailed Oct. 14. Election Day is Nov. 8. Sometimes we ignore midterm elections - everyone is busy. However, if we don’t pay attention, our Montana State...

In the Sept. 8, 2022 issue of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder there was an ad run by Senator Blasdel and Representative Galt of the Montana State Legislature. It was asking for the opposition to national Senate Bill 2992. I went looking for the bill and...

During my law enforcement career, I served in many capacities. The last seven years were spent as an administrator serving as Patrol and Administrative Captain. It was during these years that the Jail Diversion Master Plan (JDMP) was developed,...

Right now, as I am writing this piece, Aug. 3 at 10 a.m., the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office is engaged in a standoff just north of the Wye with at least two people that were discovered committing a residential burglary. These two men are well...

Thank you to some community members, Kind hearts are the gardeners Kind thoughts are the roots Kind words are the blossoms Kind deeds are the fruits Kirpal Singh A belated Thank You to all who gave me support through your words and unexpected gift...

I must respond to the letter from Don Larson re: two recent Supreme Court decisions printed in the July 7 issue of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder. Both decisions were exactly the same, they merely defined what was in the Constitution, therefore in the...

The primarily male U.S. Supreme Court has recently determined American women cannot decide for themselves what to do with their bodies. It trashed their reproductive rights while fiercely defending (primarily male) rights to carry an AR 15. Let’s...

Dear Seeley Lake,  I know you all like to celebrate the freedom you have with fireworks. Have you gone around your neighborhood and asked if anyone is a combat veteran and checked to see if fireworks negatively affect them?  If you truly do value...

I am writing in response to the Mountain Lakes Presbyterian Church Leaderships’ letter to the editor from the June 23 issue of the Pathfinder which purports to be a theological response to Pastor Jim Johnson’s “Biblical perspective.” The...

A number of people -- private citizens, elected legislators and state staff -- achieved a quiet accomplishment recently. During the 2021 Legislative Session, two bills (SB 262 and SB 263) were passed to revise the duties of the Forest Lands Taxation...

When discussing the topic of the sins of others we need to take a very humble stance. None of us are without sin and we all require the mercy of the sacrifice for sin that Jesus became.  Fortunately, God inspired many scriptures to describe what...