Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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FOR THE COURIER Grizzly bears have the potential to be found anywhere in the western two-thirds of Montana (west of Billings), and their distribution is denser and more widespread than in previous years. Some areas with dense concentrations of grizzly bears are very accessible to hunters, especially during the archery season. Keep these precautions in mind when hunting in grizzly country: Carry and know how to use bear spray. Keep it within easy reach and be prepared to use it immediately. Stay alert, especially when hearing or visibility is...
FOR THE COURIER HELENA – Hunters are now able to obtain the 2021 Block Management Area (BMA) program information. Hunters are encouraged to request their 2021 BMA Access Guide online and download or print individual BMA maps at fwp.mt.gov/BMA. By utilizing the FWP website fwp.mt.gov/BMA, hunters will have instant access to the Access Guide and up-to-date BMA maps and rules for every individual BMA enrolled in the program. “Obtaining these individual BMA maps and rules via our website are key to successfully utilizing the BMA program as not all...
The Three Valley Commissioners have approved a resolution opposing the federal government’s “30x30” land preservation goal. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Jan. 27 he said would help restore balance on public lands and waters, create jobs and provide a path to align the management of America’s public lands and waters with the nation’s climate, conservation and clean energy goals. “We are concerned because we have this sudden goal with huge changes,” Chairman John Fahlgren said during the regular commission meeting May 1...
A citizen committee is in the process of being formed to address complaints about youths on dirt bikes disturbing the tranquility of homeowners north of Glasgow. Dirt bikers are a common sight in the undeveloped area between Airport and Skylark roads, and have been for decades, residents say. Now, a large portion of the city owned parcel of land there has been closed to public use due to liability issues and allegedly poor behavior by some riders. That leaves only the 40-acre recreation area one mile north of the city, owned by the Bureau of...
The Valley County Conservation District has been trying to alert their constituents, and others, about how the federal government is succeeding in taking the vested water rights away from the Federal Grazing District allotment holders without any just compensation. The feds were aided by our Montana Water Court and the Montana Supreme Court which both ruled in favor of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Beaver Creek (south Phillips and Valley counties) adjudication. These courts may... Full story
Dear Editor, It's not about values. I believe Senator Daines when he says he joins the majority of Montanans who value public land, protecting it for this and future generations. There are few values as "Montana" as public lands and very few things that we all agree on more. In the latest (2020) Colorado College Poll of the West, 84 percent of Montanans agree that public lands are important when deciding whether to support an elected official. You can't get to 84 percent of anything without a...
Lightning set off a wildfire on Bureau of Land Management land west of the Pines Recreation area on Fort Peck Lake the night of Aug 20 or early morning on Aug. 21, according to Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Fire Manager Don Pyrah. Pyrah said the blaze was sparked during a lightning storm that rolled through the area last Thursday evening and early Friday morning and had grown throughout the day Friday. Glasgow's Long Run Fire Department and the Pines Fire Department...
Dear Editor, The Water Use Act (Act), passed by the Montana Legislature in 1973, mainly dealt with free flowing streams, irrigation and ground water. It did not address livestock water use. So why is this an issue? Irrigation from free flowing streams requires a specific point of diversion and a specific place of use. Priority dates and the amount of water allocated to a user become important when drought conditions reduce the amount of water in the stream. Similarly, ground water can become an...
Dear Editor, You may recall that I wrote an article a few weeks ago that exposed the attempt by the Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) to illegally give our ranchers' vested stockwater rights to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Well, we are not alone! I just read an article in the June 20, 2020, Tri-State Livestock News by the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) that detailed what was happening with stockwater rights in Idaho. First, a bit of history. In 1987 the Idaho Water...
As the Keystone XL Pipeline project continues to encounter legal battles and delays, the Trump administration has requested the U.S. Supreme Court to revive the permit program that would allow the pipeline and other new oil and gas pipelines to cross waterways with little review. The permit program, also known as Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12, allows pipelines to be built across streams and wetlands with minimal review if they meet certain criteria. The permit isn’t specific to the Keystone XL project as the permit is also utilized by other pipeli...
Dear Editor, In a recent U.S. District Court ruling by Judge Brian Morris, the American public heard loud and clear that the federal administration broke the law when it offered leases on public lands in critical sage grouse habitat. This court decision speaks volumes about how public lands should be managed, with certainty, and in a manner that considers true multiple use – including maintaining wildlife populations. The Department of Interior was found to have violated the law by issuing an i...
Dear Editor, Water rights in Montana have been the topic of much discussion and rulings, both legislatively and judicially, over the past 40 plus years. To say this has resulted in a totally confused mess would be an understatement. When the dust finally settled it became apparent that vested water rights on allotments managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Montana were being taken away from the private citizens. How did this happen? After many hours of poring through historic and...
Army veteran and Assiniboine-Sioux Tribe member Lance Fourstar's voice was being carried out over the prairie by a stiff westerly wind as he chanted a traditional Native American song accompanied by a drum and flute. The sounds traveled out overtop of the Keystone XL pipeline's border crossing from Canada as diesel engines revved and back up signals beeped in the distance on April 14. As Fourstar sang, an elder woman danced and played the flute, and a youth played the drums while the other...
Dear Editor, For decades Montana has been the envy of hunters who pursue elk. Our state has healthy elk herds because of our incredible habitat on public and private lands. We enjoy the longest season in the West – with a six-week archery season and a five-week rifle season. No other state comes even close. With our strong elk herds comes challenges in their management. Landowners at times struggle with the damage that large groups of elk can cause to crops, haystacks and fences. Montana F...
Dear Editor, There has recently been a lot of press about bison being designated a free roaming animal in Montana. As a retired cattle rancher, I would like to raise a few thoughts that have not been brought out in various opinion pieces. The public needs to understand that the concept for re-wilding lands in Montana with indigenous bison is not limited to just Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park's (MTFWP) recently announced bison restoration planning. In fact, there are multiple interest groups...
Dear Editor, Many wilderness advocates, scientists, and public land managers have long recognized the threat that excessive recreational use poses for Wilderness. Howard Zahniser, the Wilderness Act's author, warned over 50 years ago that Wilderness can be threatened "from development for recreation." He emphasized the need for humility and restraint in our dealing with Wilderness. The 1978 edition of Wilderness Management, the definitive professional tome on Wilderness management, summed it...
TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) is putting the past year’s legal battles behind them and is moving ahead with plans to construct the Keystone XL pipeline. On Jan. 21, Terry Cunha, a spokesman for TC Energy, told the Williston Herald that the project reached several key milestones and filed a status report with the U.S. District Court of Montana the week before. The status report stated TC Energy will move heavy equipment to storage yards in Montana and South Dakota in February and would also transport and install worker camp modules in both s...
The Bureau of Land Management filed a Notice of Intent (NOI) on Jan. 21 to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) with the intent of overhauling grazing regulations on public lands. The NOI filed with the federal registry established the beginning of a scoping process intended to solicit public opinion and identify issues. Four public meetings have been planned for stakeholder comment on the proposed revisions, including one in Miles City, scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6. BLM will host the input-gathering session from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m....
A convocation (also called a jubilee or a tower) of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) has settled in at Fort Peck Dam over the past few weeks. The birds, which number in the tens to hundreds, are likely migrating through for the winter or, possibly, wintering for the season near the perennially open waters below the powerhouses. According to Bureau of Land Management Biologist and Fort Peck native John Carlson, the birds tend to congregate near food sources for the winter and likely travele...
Dear Editor, Ranchers running livestock on federally managed lands are facing a major taking of which few appear to be aware. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has filed thousands of water rights with the Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC). The problem is these filings conflict with the vested water rights of the allotment holders. Montana is a prior appropriation doctrine state which means, 'first in time, first in right' (miners' law). Most of the ranches using federal lands...
As court cases continue to be heard and moved through the judicial system regarding the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a public meeting, hosted by the U.S. Department of State, was held at the Billings Convention Center on Oct. 29. The meeting’s purpose was to gather comments on the federal government’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the pipeline project. The meeting itself did not include a public hearing however did provide for individuals to give comments directly to computers for submission or spe...
The Montana Wilderness Association Island Range Chapter is excited to announce the 2019 season of Wilderness Walks. This year, participants will be able to choose from 123 walks spanning the state from the Cabinet Mountains to the Big Snowy Mountains to the grasslands of the Bitter Creek Wilderness Study Area. Walks range from alpine backpacking adventures to trail runs to creekside strolls, ensuring that any and everyone can find a suitable and enjoyable outing. Glasgow will host two walks in... Full story
The Wheatgrass Arts & Gallery (WAG) is expanding its horizons, its artist horizons, that is. A longtime friend of WAG owner Mary Fahlgren, Ann Patterson Bishop has agreed to show her extensively known art work during the month of May. Please join us on Friday, May 3, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Wheatgrass Arts and Gallery, 523 2nd St. So. for an artist's reception. Unfortunately, Patterson Bishop will not be able to be present at her reception but you can "Visit the Artist" and even check out her...
This week marked the first full week of committee hearings after the transmittal break. For the remainder of the legislative session the brunt of our work will focus on making sure bills we support continue to make it through the process. The exception to this rule is any bill which is considered a revenue bill. Any legislation with money attached to it has a later transmittal deadline of approximately April 1. While the volume of new bills certainly decreases after the initial transmittal deadline, we are keeping our eyes peeled for anything n...
Saturday, March 2, marked the official transmittal deadline and halfway point of the 66th Montana Legislature. While most farmers and ranchers across the state are busy digging out of the recent snow accumulation, legislators in Helena have been busy digging out of the pile of bills that were racing against the clock to meet transmittal. Committee hearings concluded Feb. 27 and both the Senate and the House focused on completing their floor work. The Senate completed their work and adjourned for the transmittal break Feb. 27, but the House...
