My Page: Kathleen Stachowski

Unfiltered Commentary

You’d have to live under a rock to miss the hoopla surrounding the build-up to hunting season in Montana. This yearly autumn ritual, as visible as the blazing larches, is a seasonal marker for hunters and nonhunters alike. You just can’t miss its bold entrance.

Another season opened in Montana on November 1st, but this one flies under the public radar stealthily, secretly. Furbearer trapping commences on public lands and waterways without fanfare, attracting virtually no notice. How many wildlife-enthusiasts realize that, beginning this day, beaver, otter, muskrat, and mink fall prey to choking snares, crippling foothold traps, and body-crushing Conibear traps? That for some, like beaver, the brutality of the trap ends in subsequent, panicked drowning? [more]

Guest Column

Anyone who has lost a canine companion knows a special brand of heartbreak. Our best friends, even when they exit our lives gently, leave us with monumental grief in the wake of their passing.

But not all exits are timely or gentle. The recent death of a border collie-cross in a trap intended for beaver hammers home this point: a casual stroll on public land can have horrific and deadly consequences; traps are nearly anywhere and everywhere on Montana’s citizen-owned land. Cupcake’s brief life ended along Rock Creek near Valley of the Moon, a popular Forest Service recreation site southeast of Missoula where trails, interpretive signs, and fishing access attract people and their dogs.

There is no consolation in the idea that Cupcake was a “non-target” victim of an illegally-set trap and a fate meant for another sentient, albeit wild, creature. The dog was killed by a Conibear trap (named for its developer), a body-gripping device designed to crush and/or suffocate. When used for beaver, the trap is typically set under water and the animal drowns. The jaws, which spring shut with enormous pressure (90 lbs. per square inch for a beaver trap), are virtually impossible to open with one’s hands alone. [more]

Folks who have watched any wild mother nuzzle and nurture her newborn know that maternal love crosses species lines. Don’t the wild mothers with whom we share this earth deserve the same dignity and respect we wish for our own? [more]

Do bison grieve? Decide for yourself. The remaining three bulls slowly gathered around their fallen brother, the carriage of their tails registering distress. One, in particular, seemed especially anguished; he pawed the motionless shoulder as if to rouse him. [more]

Welcome to Bison Hunt 101, the class you lucky tag-winners are required to take prior to Montana's new and improved bison "hunt." Please take notes. I'm presenting a number of bullet points -- ha, pun intended -- on "Bison Hunting DOs and DON'Ts." Here goes. [more]

Welcome to Bison Hunt 101, the class you lucky tag-winners are required to take prior to Montana's new and improved bison "hunt." Please take notes. I'm presenting a number of bullet points -- ha, pun intended -- on "Bison Hunting DOs and DON'Ts." Here goes. [more]

Welcome to Bison Hunt 101, the class you lucky tag-winners are required to take prior to Montana's new and improved bison "hunt." Please take notes. I'm presenting a number of bullet points -- ha, pun intended -- on Bison Hunting Do's and Don'ts. Here goes. [more]

A Park’s Pull

By K. Stachowski

We are Yellowstoners -- emphasis on stoners. We are addicted to the place. Isn't admitting it an essential first step? [more]

Lolo Peak

I groused to my husband as we drove to the Forest Service public meeting in Missoula last week; from our home in a rural gulch west of Lolo, this adds up to considerable grousing. My complaints revolved around the format for the meeting, where we would sit around tables to "collaborate" with six to 10 fellow citizens who might or might not be like-minded when it came to revising forest management plans for the Lolo and Bitterroot National Forests. A proposed ski resort loomed large on all horizons. [more]