The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
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Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office announced today that the state is petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, citing robust population counts and touting the state’s ability to independently manage Montana’s grizzly bears, which have been federally protected since 1975. “We worked on grizzly bear recovery for decades. We were successful and switched to a focus on conflict management years ago,” FWP Director Hank Wors... 
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MISSOULA – Hunting regulation proposals for the 2022/2023 seasons were approved for public comment by the Fish and Wildlife Commission last week and are now out for review and comment online through January 14, 2022. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will hold public meetings throughout the state to provide information and answer questions. Montana hunting season regulations are adopted biennially for most game species. Review the proposals and comment online at f...
HELENA – Wolf trapping is now open in all Montana Wolf Management Units. After monitoring grizzly bear activity across much of the state, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists have determined the potential risk for trapping conflicts in grizzly bear areas is low. FWP biologists have been monitoring grizzly bear activity with a variety of methods since early November. This includes monitoring collared grizzly bears, sightings of bears in the field, weather assessments a...
The recent effort to simplify hunting regulations in Montana has sparked debate around the state and could bring significant changes to boundaries of the deer and elk hunting districts in the Lincoln area. Hunters in Lincoln had the chance to discuss the proposals at a season setting meeting at Lambkins Wednesday, Jan. 5. Led by Randy Arnold, the regional supervisor for Region 2, the meeting drew only a few participants. Although the meeting also touched on the elimination of...
Road ecologists say wildlife crossings are one of the best ways to reduce wildlife-vehicles collisions and mitigate one of the most significant human impacts on ecosystems. This three-part series examines Montana's approach to crossing initiatives as the federal government prepares to implement a $350 million pilot project - the largest investment of its kind in U.S. history. During a Nov. 17 hearing, Martha Williams answered dozens of questions you'd expect an incoming...
Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest Supervisor Bill Avey retired Dec. 31 after four decades with then U.S. Forest Service. Deputy Forest Supervisor Sara Mayben, who served as acting forest supervisor last summer, will step back into the acting supervisor role, with Catherine Pinegar, who led the recreation, engineering and timber programs, stepping in as acting deputy forest supervisor. "I am grateful that I've been able to spend almost all of my long career in Montana and...
Emergency services in Lincoln now have more reliable communications thanks to two Emergency Medical Services grants from the Montana Department of Transportation awarded to the Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance and Lincoln Volunteer Fire Rescue. The Lincoln Volunteer Ambulance successfully applied for a $45,000 grant in 2020 to replace their aging and dilapidated radios. Faced with the same radio problem, Lincoln Volunteer Fire Rescue also applied for and received a grant of about...
Road ecologists say wildlife crossings are one of the best ways to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and mitigate one of the most significant human impacts on ecosystems. This three-part series examines regional crossing initiatives as the federal government prepares to implement a $350 million pilot project - the largest investment of its kind in U.S. history. This is Part 2 of the series. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department isn't a an organization you'd necessarily expect...
The buzz of snowmobiles punctuated the clear morning air around the Ponderosa Snow Warriors clubhouse Saturday, Jan. 22 as trucks and trailers pulled into the parking lot on Sucker Creek Road for the club's annual pancake breakfast and fun run. "We're getting a pretty dang good turnout," said Snow Warriors President Forest Mercill. Even as the breakfast crowd wound down sleds continued to arrive for the ride. "Roughy about 150 hands sold today. A lot of out of state sleds, a...
LINCOLN, Mont. (February 25, 2022) -The Lincoln Ranger District is preparing to conduct spring prescribed burning as early as next week, Feb 28. Residents of Lincoln live in a fire-adapted landscape and at the right time and place, prescribed fire can provide numerous benefits to land, wildlife and people including opening understory, reducing the risk of crisis wildfires, and returning nutrients to the soil. Prescribed burning is planned around Ogden Mountain, Poorman Creek,...
HELENA, Mont. – March 7, 2022 - The Montana Discovery Foundation and the Helena- Lewis and Clark National Forest are looking for 1 (one) field instructor and 9 (nine) high school students (grades 10-12) who love the outdoors-or are curious about the outdoor-based jobs-to apply to the 2022 Youth Forest Monitoring Program (YFMP). "This will be our 24th summer in the field with students and we cannot wait to get started," said YFMP Program Leader Liz Burke. "Students who have p...
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, Mont., March 8, 2022– The Belt Creek-White Sulphur Springs Ranger District on the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest is accepting applications for the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) summer employment program for local youth ages 15-18 who are interested in conservation and stewardship. Participants will be hired to work the duration of the summer, June - August 2022. "The YCC program provides entry level jobs for youth in our local community while a...
Recent warm weather took a toll on the snow around Lincoln, forcing the snowmobile club to scrap plans for a fun run ride and slalom trials over the weekend. Nevertheless, a number of vintage and unique sleds were on display for the show and the participants were able to enjoy a "walking" fun run, drawing hands at local bars in town....
Being an owner of forested property can bring many upkeep duties. Thinning, burning, road work, and monitoring for tree health can keep a property owner busy. Many large, old Douglas-fir trees on city lots in Lincoln are showing signs of beetle attacks in the last year, including some trees over 400 years in age. Last year's beetle-infested trees can affect your healthy trees if not dealt with in a timely fashion. Most forest insect pests occur naturally throughout Montana,...
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...
HELENA – As winter gives way to spring, recreationists are taking advantage of the warmer weather to get outside. However, this is also the time of year bears are emerging from their dens and conflicts with people tend to increase. Bears can be found throughout Montana. In recent years, grizzly bear populations have expanded. As bears begin foraging for food, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is asking residents to remove or secure food attractants such as garbage, bird f...
BUTTE – The Bureau of Land Management's Butte Field Office is in the beginning stages of analyzing motorized access for BLM-managed public lands in north Lewis & Clark County. The field office has posted an inventory of existing travel routes in the area. Public comment at this stage is referred to as scoping and will help guide a Travel Management Plan and Environmental Assessment analyzing motorized access of public lands in the North Lewis and Clark County Travel M...
MISSOULA - Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is taking a new approach to the fishing regulations review and development process by moving to a two-year review cycle. One of the first steps in the process is to consider what changes people would like to see. These ideas will help inform specific fishing regulation proposals that will be out for public comment in late August. Meetings to hear more about the process and to help inform ideas that could be considered for the 2023-24...
Between 180 and 250 off highway vehicles, including side-by-sides, three- and four- wheelers, motorbikes, and the odd jeep, swarmed the hills around Lincoln over the weekend for Saturday's annual Memorial Day Fun Run and the Blackfoot Valley Optimists Club OHV Scavenger Hunt Sunday. While the Memorial Day Fun Run has been a fixture in Lincoln for many years, Chad Sutej introduced the Optimist Club's Scavenger Hunt last year, inspired by a similar ATV jamboree in Conconully,...
HELENA, Mont., June 28, 2022 - With over 2.8 million acres to explore and more than 30 developed campgrounds to choose from, the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest is a great place to celebrate Fourth of July. Before you head out, here are a few reminders: Campgrounds and Cabins: The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest offers dozens of developed campgrounds for visitors to enjoy. Visit: https://go.usa.gov/xJFYA for a list of campgrounds and cabins. Our developed...
Mountain Bikers travelling the Great Divide Mountain Bike route for the 2022 Tour Divide have been a common sight in Lincoln since the race started June 10, but they're not the only folks on the trail. On June 3, Karen Selle and her son Doug Gnida of Edmonton, Alberta, set off from Columbia Falls to travel the route on horseback to travel as far south as they can, with an eye toward at least reaching Pie Town, N.M. Although the GDMBR is thought of as a bike trail, much of it...
In late May, the community of Ovando unveiled stickers listing the top six commandments for tent camping in bear country. The stickers are the latest effort by the town to ensure the safety of visitors after a young male grizzly bear killed cyclist Leah Lokan of Chico, Calif. last year. Lokan was camping in a tent near the Brand Bar Museum near the center of the town in the early morning hours of July 5 when the bear attacked her. Kathy Schoendoerfer, owner of the Blackfoot...
Just like the 4th of July celebration this past weekend, the start of summer is finally here with a bang, giving us hot weather days. The hot days seem to be consistently moderated with a cycle of thunderstorms, with cooler temperatures and rainfall. This cycle of storms will influence what kind of fire season we have as it did last summer. I'd like to report out a few key updates and speak to what the Lincoln Ranger District has in store over the summer. First, I'd like to...
HELENA-Don't let an encounter with a harmful algal bloom ruin an outing on a beautiful Montana summer day. Blooms can impact human health and the health of freshwater ecosystems. Harmful algal blooms most often occur in Montana's reservoirs and lakes, although water users should also be cautious about water flowing immediately downstream of a HAB. Common characteristics of HABs include green, blue, or gold coloration and the appearance of grass clippings or paint spilled on...
This has turned out to be a banner year for trumpeter swans in the Blackfoot watershed. The first swan sightings were reported in March, when swans began returning from their wintering grounds in Southwest Montana and Idaho. Spring and fall are challenging times of year to positively identify trumpeters because there are also tundra swans migrating through our area in those seasons. But by late April the tundra swans are headed to the arctic where they breed, and our resident...
