Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Clarence Tieszen passed away Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the age of 96, in the home of his nephew, Eldon Toews, where he had lived since 2010 after moving from his orchard farm in eastern Washington near Kettle Falls. He was born in 1922 in Lustre, Mont., and left the Lustre community for Alternate Service during WWII and then lived in Great Falls, Mont., before moving to Alaska in 1949. During the time he lived in Alaska, he made full use of the state's abundant opportunities for skiing, hiking,... Full story
After 35 days of being furloughed workers, members of the community who serve the public in government-funded agencies such as the National Weather Service, FBI, Bureau of Land Management, USDA Farm Service Agency and Fish, Wildlife Services are all back to work as of Jan. 28 and the agencies are fully operational. During a press conference on Jan. 25, President Trump announced he has approved legislation to open the government until Feb. 15, allowing all federal government employees the...
The partial government shutdown is now officially the longest government shutdown in history, currently on day 24 as of press time, breaking the previous shutdown record of 21 days, which occurred at the end of 1995 through the beginning of 1996 under President Clinton. Certain agencies within the federal government, including the Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, Departmentn of Interior, Department of Homeland Security, among others, ran out of funding when the budget for these agencies expired on Dec. 22. Employees of the...
The Valley County Pioneer Museum will be open Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m to 4 p.m. They will be closed for the month of January. For further information or special arrangements call 406-263-7344. THURSDAY – DEC. 6 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. - Hinsdale First Community Bank Christmas Open House. 4 – 6 p.m. - Open House at the recently remodeled Bureau of Land Management Malta Field Office, 501 South Street East, Malta. 5 p.m. - Bell Mortuary Christmas Tree of Remembrance Service and Open House. Coffee and cookies will be served at 5 p.m., followed by a se... Full story
Dear Editor, Matt Rosendale has lived in eastern Montana for nearly two decades but over that time he still remains out of touch with eastern Montanans. During Rosendale’s 2014 campaign for the House of Representatives, he called for the transfer of federally managed public lands to the state. Even going so far as to claim Bureau of Land Management lands were unconstitutional. That same year, in an interview during the race, he called PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes) a welfare check to local counties. Here in Valley County, we received $1.15 m...
In an exclusive meeting with local farmers, ranchers and community leaders Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke talked about issues ranging from the restructuring of the Department of the Interior, the St. Mary River Diversion upgrade, the Bureau of Land Management, the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge and the government's role in infrastructure development on public lands. The meeting occurred Sunday at 10 a.m. after being facilitated and planned by local Republican Sarah Swanson. The...
Dear Editor, I was a range management specialist for the Malta Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field office for over thirty years. After retiring in 2007, I was hired by the American Prairie Reserve (APR). As such, I’ve had considerable professional experience managing range land health and closely observing the impacts of bison on range health in Montana. APR has been and will continue to be held to the same required BLM standards and guidelines as other permittees regardless of their type of livestock, season of use, or grazing system. All o...
Local law enforcement officials, fire department crews and emergency medical technicians, along with area Special Olympic athletes, proudly carried the State Special Olympics Torch through Glasgow May 10. The torch has been making its way across the state to raise awareness and funding for the Special Olympics to be hosted in Great Falls this week, May 15 to 18. The local area games and the Law Enforcement Torch Run were organized and coordinated by Glasgow Police Officer Tim Fisher and Valley... Full story
On the morning of April 27, a farmer surveying cattle from the air discovered an oil spill approximately five miles west of the Frazer/Richland Road and East Grains Road Junction. The farmer reported the spill to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who notified Valley County Dispatch and the Fort Peck Tribes Office of Environmental Protection. Both entities sent personnel to the scene to investigate. The contract operator of the well, Adaranko Minerals Inc, had started the cleanup by the... Full story
Dear Editor, The Bureau of Land Management is currently looking to analyze a proposal from the American Prairie Reserve (APR). The agency has asked for a list of substantive issues to consider as part of their analysis of impacts of the Reserve’s proposal to shift some public lands grazing allotments, where they have grazing privileges, over to bison. It’s important the public not just offer unsubstantiated opinions and hearsay but provide relevant facts and issues to analyze. For example, APR proposes to permanently remove 250 miles of old...
I was very disturbed by the interview editor Etherington had with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) District Manager Mark Albers as reported in the April 25, 2018 Glasgow Courier. Mr. Albers, “clarified that nothing in the scoping period would determine if the agency would conduct an environmental impact statement (EIS)...” He then went on to clarify, “that the EA would have one of two outcomes: Either the agency would certify a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) and move ahead with allowing American Prairie’s request or they would i...
A "substantial" oil spill occurred approximately 5 miles west of the Frazer/Richland Road, Lustre Grain East Road Junction. According to tribal sources, the spill was reported to the Tribes' Office of Environmental Protection (OEP) on Friday, April 27, 2018. The spill was spotted by a cattle farmer doing a flyover in the area. The exact date the leak occurred is unknown. The well had been shut-in in late December 2017. Wilfred Lambert of the Fort Peck Tribes OEP, along with officials from the... Full story
The Bureau of Land Management North Central Montana District Manager Mark Albers, spoke to the Courier about American Prairie’s grazing. As has been reported in previous editions, the American Prairie Foundation Inc. is attempting to remove interior fencing on their BLM leased lands, fortify the external fencing with an electric wire, and they are applying to graze bison year-round. The BLM’s role in that request began with a scoping period in which the agency is seeking input from the public on what issues, if any, should be considered in the... Full story
The Bureau of Land Management held a “scoping” meeting in Glasgow April 12 to ask for public comment on an environmental assessment being conducted by BLM. The assessment is on a permit request by the American Prairie Foundation Inc. (commonly called the American Prairie Reserve or APR) to remove interior fencing on BLM grazing leases and to permit bison grazing year round. The meeting was well attended by farmers, ranchers, and local government representatives who mostly attempted to express their concerns of the proposal. According to BLM... Full story
Dear Editor, The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is asking for the public’s help in determining what it should analyze as it considers proposed changes to several grazing leases. American Prairie Reserve (APR) controls private properties tied to 18 BLM grazing allotments in Fergus, Petroleum, Phillips and Valley counties. They have submitted a proposal asking the BLM to modify their grazing permits. Note that Page 2 of their proposal lists “other terms and conditions of APR proposed action.” Item 2 of this says, “Split BLM East Dry Fork al...
I want to inform all of our readers that it is the intent of the Glasgow Courier to take the Bureau of Land Management to task over their decision making process for the American Prairie Reserve’s request to remove interior fencing and graze bison year-round. The story you see this week will not be the end of our questioning of how the BLM is making its decision. The public comment in this paper and other forums around the Hi-Line speak for themselves that this issue has been charged with fear, polarization and muddied by bureaucratic p... Full story
Millions of Americans need bentonite every day, but many don’t even know it. To supply that demand, bentonite mining started in Valley County on Nov. 13, on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management Glasgow Field Office. According to BLM Geologist Craig Towery, mobilizing of equipment for the mining has started. Throughout the next couple of weeks, there will be an increase in traffic in the area as the equipment comes and goes during mining operations. BLM officials would like the public to be extra cautious when driving in and around t... Full story
Remember to attend the soil health workshop Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. at the Pioneer Museum. Mark Henning and Terry Heck of NRCS—Miles City will be talking about how to manage soil and cropland/rangeland productivity during drought, with an eye towards future outlook if drought continues. The following are the main topics: Historical perspective of drought, current conditions as it relates to forage production, mitigation: manage carbon to manage drought, grazing management with soil health, and a drought contingency plan. This free workshop is s... Full story
Charles Morgan Carlson, 81, passed away in Billings on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, from heart disease. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, May 26, 2018, in Fort Peck, Mont. He was born at his parent’s house on May 4, 1936, in Mountain Iron, Minn., to Dorothy (Morgan) Carlson (Johnson) and Waldemar Carlson. He grew up in Mountain Iron and graduated from Mountain Iron High in 1954. He was elected to the National Honor Society and was an outstanding football player. He also spent a lot of time trapping, fishing and deer hunting. He work... Full story
Editor's Note: The following letter arrived in my inbox on June 28. The delay was unintentional. I was struck by a paragraph in the Wednesday, May 10, 2017 Glasgow Courier (Pg. 2A A Regular Guy’s Money Problems). “With the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument suddenly in danger of being privatized, we need a representative in Congress who values our public lands. He has spoken out against land grabs and trusts Montana farmers and ranchers to know what’s best for our land.” I find this paragraph striking, because sentence one is in diametrica...
The Lodgepole Complex fire continues to devour range land, homes, and farms in Garfield and Petroleum Counties, approximately 52 miles northeast of Jordan. At press time, the fires had consumed more than 250,000 acres and 16 homes across four different close burning fires, dubbed the Bridge Coulee, Barker, South Breaks and Square Butte fires, which make up the Lodgepole Complex fires. The fire had started just some six days prior on July 19. A release on the fire said that, "Firefighters were... Full story
With the continued dry conditions and lack of rain, the Fort Peck Pines Recreational Area is seeing an increase in local, state and federal firefighters being dispatched to remove the overabundance of vegetation. For the second year in a row, volunteers are using chainsaws, mowers and wood chippers to reduce the risk of wildfires in the area. Crews and engines are also being pre-positioned in areas of high concern to assist if a wildfire does ignite. While crews are in the area, they are taking full advantage, helping their community reduce... Full story
On June 26, Senator Jon Tester announced 55 Montana counties, including Valley County, will receive $31.8 million in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) for 2017. PILT payments help local governments carry out vital services such as firefighting and police protection, construction of public schools and roads, and search-and-rescue operations. The payments are made annually for tax exempt Federal lands administered by various organizations, such as the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Valley... Full story
Greg Gianforte came to town for a campaign event at Farm Equipment Sales on Hwy. 2 in Glasgow on May 8. Gianforte is the Republican candidate to fill Montana's at-large congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat was vacated earlier this year by Ryan Zinke, following his confirmation as Secretary of the Interior. The aspiring congressman arrived with Senator Mike Lang and House Speaker Austin Knudsen (HD36). The latter provided a brief wrap-up of the legislative... Full story
As the 65th MT Legislative Session opened for business last week, the usual calls for budget cuts were exceedingly shrill. What made matters worse this year was the loss of revenue due to the demise of the coal and oil and gas industries in Montana. We knew this day of reckoning was coming, so now the budget knives are being sharpened and the fun has begun. I have a suggestion. In the last legislative session the Governor proposed (and the legislature dutifully passed) $10 million to assist sage grouse populations. This was in addition to the...
