The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 154
Long on scenery and short on population the middle Blackfoot River Valley is the epitome of rural Montana. Mountains of the fabled Bob Marshall Country form its northern horizon and forested uplifts of the Garnet Range guard the southern perimeter. And a river runs through it. Since Montana earliest years when homesteaders made their way here, the valley has remained a ranching domain. And like many old Montana towns, Ovando, its human enclave has weathered countless storms...
The Lincoln Community River Park along the south shore of the Blackfoot River just east of the Stemple Pass Road bridge got a bit of a facelift following a fall open house hosted by Five Valley's Land Trust Saturday Sept. 24. The open house involved about an hours worth of volunteer work to put up a couple new signs and to give visitors a chance to enjoy sandwiches and refreshments. The event was part of National Public Lands Day. The sign identifying the park, and another...
OVANDO – Wildlife officials euthanized two grizzly bears this week that were responsible for at least 10 conflicts in the upper Blackfoot Valley over the past two months. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wildlife specialists reported that the conflicts began in mid-July in the Ovando and Woodworth areas where the bears broke into three grain sheds. FWP worked with the property owners to install an electric fence at all sites to prevent more issues. The bears moved on from that i...
For the past ten-and-a-half years I've seen Lincoln move from a town stuck in an economic rut to one that began to take control of its own destiny. The successful development of Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild showed Lincoln can do something new and unexpected and be more than just "stinkin' drinkin' Lincoln." People began look at ways to grow the economy beyond that, without making too many drastic changes to the community. Discussions that had been going on...
There is a special event happening in Lincoln Montana Sept. 16 and 17. At Hooper Park there will be joyous celebration of the 50th anniversary of the federal legislation designating the Scapegoat Wilderness. Wilderness is the highest form of public lands protection, this being established by The Wilderness Act of 1964. When that law was signed by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson, Montana immediately gained five Wilderness areas: The Cabinet Mountains, Bob Marshall,...
What does a cowboy think? How does he describe his world? I have always wondered about the who, what, where and why of cowboys, and now I've found an answer. My muse is (was) Richard Geary. His world could be explained by some of his definitions: "Calf: 80 pounds of hope when born; 500 pounds of disappointment when sold." Or, "ATV: a small four-wheeled vehicle used to rush from one hopeless situation to another hopeless situation." (What Ranchers Mean). His authentic rendering...
Missoula – Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is asking for help from the public in reporting snapping turtle sightings in west-central Montana. In Montana, snapping turtles are a native species east of the continental divide, but they are non-native west of the divide and can cause significant harm to native populations of pond- dwelling species like frogs, turtles, snakes, ducks, and fish. Snapping turtles likely end up in waterways in western Montana through illegal r...
A young grizzly bear spotted in Lincoln Sunday afternoon caused some alarm on social media, but it apparently headed back to the Blackfoot River without incident. A Facebook post by Brandi Langlois indicated the bear had crossed her yard on Meadow Street on the west side of Lincoln and was headed toward town. Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse attempted to locate the bear, but it had apparently gotten spooked and headed back south to the Blackfoot River without making its way into...
Seeley Lake - The Lolo and Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forests announced Aug. 12 the withdrawal of the North Fork Blackfoot River Indigenous Fish Restoration project decision, which was signed June 2, 2021, to approve a permit authorizing Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to implement the project. Therefore, project implementation will not occur this summer. Instead, the Forest Service will take additional time to further consider public concerns regarding this project. The...
A dead deer near the bridge had drew severalTurkey vultures to the area just north of the Blackfoot River near the Stemple Pass Road Bridge. A quick count revealed at least 15 vultures in a pair of cottonwoods, across the road from the deer carcass, with more perched in the trees to the south of the river. Turkey Vultures are a common sight in the skies around Lincoln and are easily identifiable by their two toned brown and gray wings while soaring. In a nod to their...
Bear activity in Lincoln has been picking up recently as bears looking for as much food as they can find ahead of hibernation ahead of hibernation are finding unsecured garbage and other attractants in town Last week saw some significant bear activity ln Lincoln's west side, with several bear sightings and encounters on the south and west edges of town, areas that are close to the Blackfoot River and the wetlands southwest of town. According to Facebook posts last Wednesday,...
HELMVILLE - "Sitting around crackling campfires and hunting camp dinner tables listening to Jack Hooker tell stories of adventures was a great privilege I had during the years I worked at the Whitetail Ranch," said Rebecca Ondov. "His philosophy on life empowered him to train horses and mules not merely in an arena, where the fence draws a line as to how big the wreck can be, he trained them to be sound work animals in the high country of the wilderness, where the unexpected...
Randy Newberg of Bozeman is known for two things: his love of hunting and his love of public lands, and that has made him one of the country's leading advocates for access to public lands by hunters. Newberg, who fans of hunting shows may know from 'On Your Own Adventures' or 'Leupold's Fresh Tacks' TV show, visited Lincoln High School Thursday morning, April 7 to talk to Nancy Schwalm's wildlife class - and a few members of the community who took time to stop in - about the...
Between Bonner and Potomac, MT - The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and Knife River Corporation has begun work to preserve the roadway on Montana Highway 200 (MT 200) east of the Bonner Interchange. Work on about 3.5 miles along the Blackfoot River between Potomac and Bonner will continue next week. Weather permitting, milling and paving will take place from May 16 through May 19. This work is a more cost-effective approach to extend the life of the roadway. Work...
More than 130 people from throughout the state of Montana, Washington, and Oregon attended the annual Blackfoot River Ducks Unlimited banquet and fundraiser Saturday, April 23. There were several raffles and games throughout the evening, giving attendees the opportunity to win various items, including several firearms. There was also a silent auction with more than 35 items ranging from wall art to jewelry, and everything in between. Of particular interest, the chapter had a...
Planning is underway for the Blackfoot River Ducks Unlimited Chapter's annual banquet. The committee began meeting in January to organize the event, which is scheduled be held Saturday, April 23 at the historic Lincoln Community Hall. Tammy Jordan assumed the role of Banquet Chair when long-time organizers of the event, Ernie & Renee Lundberg stepped down after last year's banquet. They had been the chairs for the committee and organizers of the event for more than 23 years...
How can Lincoln develop without losing its identity and changing into something the community itself won't recognize? That has been, in one way or another, the core conundrum in various efforts to make plans for Lincoln's future over the last 50-plus years. It remains at the heart of the upcoming effort to develop a comprehensive community master plan for the town. The recently formed Master Plan Steering Committee began the process of tackling that issue during a Zoom...
The design for a new Dalton Mountain Road Bridge seemed to be popular with locals who use the bridge on a regular basis, but residents of the area still harbor doubts about when the old bridge, which is down to just one lane and now an eight-ton weight limit, will actually be replaced. The Dalton Mountain Road Bridge open house hosted by the Montana Department of Transportation Nov. 18 provided some insight into the state's plans for the bridge replacement, The processes and...
Anglers took advantage of the warm Indian summer weather and clear water during the last week to hit the Blackfoot in search of fish while enjoying the glow of the sun through the gold and red fall foliage along the river....
Lawrence D. (Duff) Feeback passed away on August 31, 2021, at the age of 96 years. He was born in Blairstown, Missouri, on Dec. 21, 1924, to Forest and Violet (Vi) Feeback. Forest and Vi Feeback were life-long residents of west central Missouri eventually settling near La Tour where Forest and Vi farmed and raised beef cattle as well as their family: Duff was the eldest, followed by brother Don and sister Bonnie Hon. Duff graduated from La Tour High School in 1942 and enlisted in the Navy during WW II where he was stationed...
Although it was the last major point of discussion at Lincoln Government Day, an update on the progress of the Dalton Mountain Road Bridge replacement was a key subject during the Aug. 2 meeting. Montana Department of Transportation District 3 Administrator Jim Wingerter and Jimmy Combs, the District 3 pre-construction engineer were on hand for the meeting, to hear concerns about local MDT efforts, as well as to provide their perspective. The Dalton Mountain Bridge has been a...
Work on a new bridge over Poorman creek, just below McClellan Gulch is well underway, with the project projected to be complete by about the second week of August. The new bridge replaces a culvert that proved to be undersized during high water and that hampered the migration of native bull trout and cutthroat trout that make their way up Poorman Creek from the Blackfoot River. The new bridge should also help the county with maintenance issues related to the culvert during...
The Lincoln Telephone Company – now known as LincTel - welcomed community members to a public barbecue at Hooper Park Thursday Afternoon, July 22 to celebrate 100 years of telephone service to Lincoln. The laid-back celebration featured plenty of food and activities for the kids, and drew in guests throughout the afternoon. One hundred years ago, when many of the telephones in the state still used barbed wire fences to make calls, the Helena Commercial Club saw the value in r...
Believe it or not, there are occasionally times that I sit down to write this column, and I have no idea what I’m going to write about. It’s usually after a very long and crazy week, which was the exact definition of last week. There was a lot to do before my first in-person show of the year, where - in more than a year - I would be able to teach in person again. There also seemed to be something going on every night last week. Usually, I keep my schedule to a meeting or fun...
Lighting that moved through the area on the evening of June 3 caused two small fires near Lincoln that required a response by firefighters. Bill Cyr with the Montana DNRC reported at the June 4 Lincoln Government Day that one fire was on the McInnis property along the Blackfoot River, near Highway 279. The second was near Moon Drive in the Lone Point area. Cyr said they also had reports of two other fires, but had no information on them. One was reportedly in the Stemple Pass...
