Missoula News | New West Network

Why the Rich Can be Annoying

In the "did she really say that?" department today, we have this from Jennifer Siebel, daughter of long-time Bitterroot Valley landowner Ken Siebel and bride-to-be of dashing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. They'll be tying the knot at the ranch near Victor later this summer, and, as quoted in the Missoulian, the 33-year-old actress had this to say about Dad's place: “It was pure heaven - an old cattle ranch that since then we have nurtured back to health and which serves as a home for not only teems of wild flora and fauna but several farm animals,” she said. “It's probably my favorite place on this planet aside from eastern Africa's open plains and Botswana's Okavango Delta.”

Oddly, the Missoulian attributes this quote to an interview in the fashion magazine Lucire; I found the interview, but didn't seem to find that quote. But she's definitely cute, and the interview is, um, interesting.  [more]

Bob Wire Has a Point (It's Under His Cowboy Hat)

Our tour of the Big Rock Things in the Black Hills continued as we left Sturgis and headed for Mount Rushmore. We’d stopped at a coffee stand so I could snag a double Americano for the road, and Rusty perked up from the back seat when he saw a tip jar on the lip of the drive-through window. We explained how a lot of service-oriented jobs use tips to supplement their base pay. This, to him, was fascinating. At the tender age of 11, he’s already a capitalist at heart.

We drove through Rapid City and onto Highway 16, approaching the Rushmore complex. This particular stretch of blacktop contains the highest concentration of tourist traps on the face of the earth. We kept up a steady stream of “no” as the kids, predictably, begged us to stop at water slides, souvenir stores, putt-putts, rock & fossil shops, you name it. Some of the come-ons were clever, like the Reptile Gardens: a billboard with a cartoon of a boy with his arm in a sling, and the slogan, “This Ain’t No Petting Zoo!”  [more]

Sen. Barack Obama chose to celebrate the Fourth of July in Butte with his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia and Sasha. The Obama family attended the Independence Day Parade and hosted a "family picnic" at Montana Tech where Obama gave a brief speech, cooked hamburgers and chatted casually to fans. Photos by Alexia Beckerling  [more]

Montana in Play

Sen. Barack Obama celebrated July 4 in Butte, MT, honoring a spirited working-class town rich in history and signaling his seriousness about contesting the state in the general election. Jonathan Weisman of the Washington Post has a thorough analysis of the political dynamics of the Butte visit and the Democrat's New West strategy. Gov. Brian Schweitzer had nice things to say, which has not always been the case in the past. It was also a family occasion for the presumptive Democratic nominee. The Montana Standard has full local coverage and New West's Alexia Beckerling photographed the event.


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An Odd Tradition

On Fourth of July some years back my dad caught six rattlesnakes, played with them, tossed one at my feet and let them go. It was his way of celebrating independence. He said, “Happy Fourth of July.” I said, “What the hell?” Like other holidays in my family, Independence Day wasn’t traditional. Sure, there were cookouts and fireworks, but those outings were far from normal as well.

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New West Book Review & Interview

Canadian David Thompson is considered by some to be one of the shrewdest explorer-mapmakers to ever chart or trek a course. Following quickly on the heels of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Thompson is widely credited as being the first person to set up a commercial trading post in Montana, a northwestern business venture called Saleesh House. Several opinions have always existed relating to the post’s precise location.

Shunning foregone historical conclusions, Carl Haywood, author of Sometimes Only Horses to Eat ($24.95, Stoneydale Press), has not only raised serious questions about Thompson’s travels in northwestern Montana, but he has offered new interpretations of his own that certainly command confutation.

Carl Haywood will discuss his book at David Thompson Days in Thompson Falls, Mont. on July 4-5, at the Libby Public Library in Libby, Mont. on July 14 (7 p.m.), at The Corner Bookstore in Sandpoint, Idaho on July 19 (1 p.m.), and information on his other regional appearances is available on his website. [more]

lynx habitat cited

The U.S. Forest Service turned down the Bitterroot Resort’s third request for a special-use permit to use national forest lands for Nordic and alpine skiing and mountain biking, Perry Backus of the Ravalli Republic reports.

Resort officials said Wednesday they are reworking their request and will likely resubmit it within a few weeks.

The new federal conservation regulations for Canadian Lynx put into place this spring made Lolo Forest’s lynx habitat the number one concern for the Forest Service during the reviewing process. Also, ski trail maintenance could disturb elk wintering habitat, and clearing trees for alpine skiing in the Bitterroot Forest could ruin the view from the Maple Creek area, Bitterroot National Forest Supervisor Dave Bull told Backus. [more]

A lot to swallow

Allan, one of our favorite guys at Worden's Market in Missoula, was fishing this week on Monture Creek near the Blackfoot River when he spotted this snake having a (big) bite to eat and snapped the photo.

Allan says when he arrived a the scene, the snake must have just caught the sculpin and the fish was still alive (but looking very sad). The snake swallowed the fish a "short while later."

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WHERE IS THE HOUSE BILL?

On June 18, finally, Congress started seriously looking into the runaway recreational fee charging policy of federal agencies, primarily the U.S. Forest Service (FS), but it's still just talk. We've had enough of that, so let's just spike this pay-for-play policy, which is at best an extreme stretch of the legal authority given agencies by Congress--"given," sort of, I should say, since our elected leaders never even debated it or voted on it.

Even though it's moving at glacier speed, we at least have the Baucus-Crapo Bill, S. 2438, introduced in the Senate to spike the Recreation Access Tax. This is clearly a bipartisan issue, ripe for election-year politics. Now, we need a sponsor for a similar bill in the House. [more]