The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks invites anglers and other interested parties to participate in a survey regarding changes to the 2020 fishing regulations. The survey is available at http://fwp.mt.gov/fish/publicComments/regsScoping.html. The survey is part of a public scoping process to review fishing regulations and identify potential issues with fisheries. This review happens every four years. "Public input is vital to crafting fishing regulations," said Eric Roberts, FWP...
MISSOULA - The governors of Montana and ten other Western states have proclaimed May as Wildfire Awareness Month. Fire prevention agencies and organizations across the state invite all Montanans to participate. Spring is an ideal time to raise awareness about how we can all help improve our communities wildfire preparedness and learn what risk reduction steps we can take to prepare our families and properties for wildfire. Proactive actions from a single individual, or entire...
MISSOULA – Last year, 12.4 million out-of-state visitors contributed over $3.7 billion in travel spending to Montana's economy, according to a recent report from the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana. The latest report finalizes preliminary estimates from January with new fourth-quarter tourism data. The new data showed that Montana tourism in the summer months generated more than half of the year's tourism dollars. Forty-six p...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks euthanized a sub-adult male grizzly bear in the Blackfoot Valley on Sunday, May 12 immediately following repeated break-ins to a barn to access grain. FWP bear management specialist, James Jonkel, said the bear was exhibiting food-conditioned behavior. Once bears become conditioned to attractants like grain it is hard to break those behavior patterns, and they often remain in the area, near homes and agricultural and livestock operations,...
tMost of Montana’s 76 Wildlife Management Areas open on May 15 at noon, and with the long winter and heavy snowpack wildlife still have limited areas, in some places, left to forage. People who are looking to get out to the WMAs this time of year should remember to keep vigilant to avoid conflicts with wildlife, particularly bears. Bears, elk and shed-antler hunters will be sharing the same space once the WMAs open. Shed hunting on WMAs remains a popular activity. Most animals see, hear and smell humans long before humans d...
Helena – The beginning of the summer travel season is upon us with Memorial Day right around the corner. The Helena Police Department and the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office are partnering with the Montana Highway Patrol and increasing patrols from May 20th to June 2nd as part of the national Click It or Ticket campaign to educate the public on proper seat belt use and crack down on motorists who fail to buckle up. In Montana, the summer months mark the deadliest t...
HELENA, MONT.-As weather conditions fluctuate, so do road and trail conditions across the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Some roads across the Forest may be fine, while others in higher elevations could still be snowpacked and impassible. That's why forest managers want to remind people to be careful while driving out and hiking in the forest. "We want people to get out and enjoy their national forest, but we want them to be careful while out there," Forest Public Aff...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks euthanized a sub-adult male grizzly bear in the Helmville Valley Tuesday, April 23, in response to its involvement with livestock depredations. USDA Wildlife Services captured the grizzly after it killed a calf April 20. The bear killed two calves prior to its capture on April 23 and was suspected to be involved in three depredations last year near that same site. Due to the bear's history of livestock depredations, FWP made the decision to...
Milodragovich, Dale & Steinbrenner, P.C. is pleased to announce that Alyssa L. Probst has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Probst worked as an intern for Milodragovich, Dale & Steinbrenner, P.C. during her last two years of law school, and the firm is excited to welcome her into her new role. Probst grew up in Lincoln, Mont. and went on to obtain a bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana in 2015. She then earned her Juris Doctor from...
LINCOLN-The Lincoln Ranger District of the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest (HLC) is preparing to conduct prescribed burning projects in the Ogden Mountain and Poorman Creek areas this spring, when weather conditions become favorable. Burning will begin as weather and fuel conditions allow and will continue into late spring and early summer. The Helmville Face Wildlife Enhancement Project is located in the Ogden Mountain area. Multiple units are planned to be treated...
The Natural Resource Conservation Service is changing how they allocate funding in the State of Montana. As a result of this, the Lewis & Clark Conservation District would like to invite any stakeholders, including but not limited to, agricultural landowners, watershed group members, irrigation districts, city/county agencies, federal and state agencies and any others who have an interest in natural resource concerns in Lewis & Clark County . Landowners, especially...
LINCOLN, MONT.—Members of the public will have one additional week to provide substantive comments on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Stonewall Vegetation Project, located on the Lincoln Ranger District. If people have already submitted comments, there is no need to re-submit those comments. Due to an unexpected website malfunction that occurred sometime during March 22-24, 2019, the Forest’s project webpage was down. It appears anyone trying to...
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is encouraging Montanans with Shopko gift cards to use them as soon as possible. According to the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection, Shopko will be accepting those gift cards up until April 20, 2019. Wisconsin-headquartered Shopko recently announced it will be closing all of its Montana stores, and more than 100 stores nationwide, after filing for bankruptcy protection in January. Shopko has 11 locations in Montana: Billings, Dillon, Glasgow, Helena, Kalispell, Libby, L...
Lincoln's Blackfoot River Chapter of Ducks Unlimited 20th Annual Banquet Blackfoot Chapter of Ducks Unlimited invites you to join us for an evening of fun to support wetlands conservation. The 20th Annual Banquet will be at Lincoln's Historic Community Hall on Saturday April 27. The event features a great dinner, silent and live auctions, raffles, and numerous games. Items available to bid on or win include shotguns and rifles, decoys, wildlife art, variety baskets, home...
MISSOULA – The U.S. Department of Education has awarded nearly $10 million to establish a National Center for Rural School Mental Health. Dr. Ryan Tolleson Knee, a University of Montana social work professor, will co-direct the new center. Researchers and staff at the new center will create an online data and training system to support the mental health needs of students in rural schools throughout Montana, Missouri and Virginia. "This national center will develop and p...
A trapper education class is planned for Missoula on Saturday, April 6 from 8:30am to 5pm at the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 2 Office (3201 Spurgin Road). The class is free and open to anyone. Students must register by calling FWP at 406-542-5500 or Montana Trappers Association (MTA) member, Bob Sheppard, at 406-793-5885. An adult must accompany students under 10 years of age. Topics will include trapping equipment, trap setting, ethics, regulations, furbearer...
Late winter can be a stressful time for deer and elk with deep snow, limited food options and depleted fat reserves. That’s why Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is asking shed hunters and other recreationists to give deer and elk their space until the snow melts and the animals are less stressed. Shed hunting – looking for antlers shed each year in the winter by male elk and deer so they can regrow a new pair – has become increasingly popular in recent years and more competitive. While it is illegal to trespass on FWP’s...
Butte, Mont. –– NorthWestern Energy released the draft 2019 Montana Electricity Supply Resource Procurement Plan for a 60-day public comment period. The plan will be filed with the Montana Public Service Commission after the public comment period ends. Montana's energy landscape is evolving, changing from a state that produces more electricity than our citizens can use 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, to a state where there is a growing risk there won't be e...
The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest are encouraging incoming 9th - 12th grade students who love the outdoors—or are curious about the outdoor-based jobs—to apply to the 2019 Youth Forest Monitoring Program student crew! YFMP runs from June 17 – Aug.1, 2019, Mondays-Thursdays, only. Students will receive one week of training alongside Forest Service scientists, learning forest ecology concepts and field protocol for monitoring streams, soils, vegetation, recreation areas, and black-backed woodpecker populations at th...
Beginning Friday, March 1, 2019 members of the public will have an additional 24 days to submit substantive comments on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Stonewall Vegetation Project, located on the Lincoln Ranger District. If people have already submitted comments, there is no need to re-submit those comments. This extension is to offset the impacts that the partial government shutdown (December 2018-January 2019) had on the project's original...
The 2019 Deer/Elk/Antelope Regulations are available on the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov/hunting/regulations/. Hunters will notice some changes to this year's Deer/Elk/Antelope Regulations. The regulations booklet has been reorganized and reformatted for better flow and clarity. In addition, the legal descriptions will be published in a separate booklet. Hard copies of the hunting regulations will be on the shelf at FWP offices and local license providers in A...
Mental health experts to provide information on current suicide prevention efforts in Montana HELENA – The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is hosting a panel of suicide prevention experts to provide information on current evidence-based suicide prevention programs currently being implemented in Montana. The presentations are scheduled for Thursday, February 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Old Supreme Court Chambers at the Capitol in Helena. The panel will consist of officials from DPHHS; Billings Cl...
First approved by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission for the 2016 season, shoulder seasons are an opportunity for hunters in hunting districts where elk populations are over objective. For the 2018 season, the commission approved shoulder seasons in more than 50 hunting districts, in six of FWP's seven regions. Shoulder seasons have specific fundamental objectives and as such, the commission and department are monitoring the success of shoulder seasons in each hunting...
Local health officials are preparing for the likely chance that measles will make its way to Lewis and Clark County in the near future. They're also urging residents to take steps now to protect themselves, their children, and their community. Employees of Lewis and Clark Public Health gathered with about a dozen school and medical providers Thursday to talk about how they'll work together to identify and respond to even a single suspected case of measles. Montana hasn't seen...
Helena – With the start of a new year, Lewis and Clark County is urging residents to sign up to receive location specific emergency alerts at www.smart911.com Public safety officials use Smart911 to communicate with residents for a variety of events, including natural disasters such as wildfires and flooding, public safety emergencies such as manhunts, and missing person alerts. It is free to sign up and allows people to receive alerts via text message, email and voice m...
