Land & Water
Popular trailhead transferring from private to public property
Bozeman Creek Trailhead Permanently ProtectedIt may only be about four acres, but the land that encompasses and surrounds the west side of the Bozeman Creek Trailhead is the base of one of the most popular recreational destination points in the valley, and now, that land is guaranteed to be protected in perpetuity.
Landowners, Michael Delaney and Ileana Indreland, decided to give a parcel of their land to the Gallatin Valley Land Trust instead of pursuing potential development. This donation will ensure public access to one of Bozeman’s most used, and loved, trails for both winter and summer recreation. This donation also marks the first time the Land Trust has taken outright ownership of property.
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Conservation and Ranching
Sun Ranch Slates 11,000 Acres for Conservation Easement
Sun Ranch owner and Sun Ranch Institute Board Chairman Roger Lang is currently working with the Forest Service and the Trust for Public Land to add about 11,000 acres to an existing 6,800 acres of conservation easements on his Madison Valley property. Lang, a former Silicon Valley CEO, purchased the ranch ten years ago. Using an experimental “Sun Ranch Model,” Lang has strived to balance conservation and ranching on his wildlife-rich property, most famously amidst reintroduced gray wolves.
The publicly funded $4.5 million easement will include 10 three-acre building envelopes in the Papoose Creek area, but it will also erase over 200 platted subdivision lots from previous property owners over vast stretches of the property.
Wild bison advocates are embracing the easement cautiously; initial negotiations include talk of studying genetically pure bison on land within the easement. Bison advocates worry domestic bison would preclude chances for the traditional bison range to again carry wild bison populations, but Lang says the hope is to one day open the property to wild bison should the politically sensitive issue of brucellosis become resolved.
“If and when society says ‘let’s let bison roam again,’ then I want to be in a position to help,” Lang says. “I don’t want this easement to preclude Sun Ranch from participating in those kinds of issues.”
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The Big Hole Valley Saga Continues...
Wisdom River Ranch and Grayling Habitat Under Easement
A critical 2,600-acres in the Big Hole Valley that contain two crucial tributaries for the imperiled river-dwelling Artic grayling, is now covered under a Nature Conservancy conservation easement.
The Wisdom River Ranch, a working cattle ranch, is one of 30 other ranches in the Big Hole Valley who are a part of a major effort to improve the fisheries in the remaining 4 percent of grayling habitat. But with continued water shortages, landowners, guide businesses, management, municipalities and ranchers have strained to make collective efforts to maintain the lifeblood of the valley.
In a two-part film series titled, Fish and Cow, (Part 1 and Part 2), the Wisdom River Ranch and owner Guy Peterson, as well as other valley ranchers, discuss the previously hostile debate over the valley’s decreasing water, their livelihood raising cattle and hay, and the biological efforts to restore and maintain habitat for the artic grayling and other fish species.
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Interagency Bison Management Plan
State and Federal Agencies Predict Busy Winter for Bison Management
Bison are powerful American icons and stir deep emotions in many different people. The Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) meeting in Bozeman last Tuesday night was testament to this; dreadlocks and cowboy hats commingled as officials from federal and state agencies presented an update on the IBMP and answered an array of questions on what they predicted the coming winter would hold for Yellowstone’s bison.
In panel discussions and public discussion sessions with the IBMP’s five signatory agencies, officials had one overarching message: all agencies would be fully implementing the IBMP this winter, including – if necessary – the costly and controversial practices of hazing and slaughtering bison who wander out of the park.
Bison, elk and many other mammals carry the disease brucellosis, which showed up in a Montana cattle herd this summer. Though the Department of Livestock (DOL) says the transmission likely came from elk, if another cattle herd tests positive before May 2009 Montana will lose its brucellosis free status, and the DOL will not be taking any chances with bison.
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How Values of Property Differ
Urban and Rural: Lifestyles Clash Over Differing Views of Open SpaceThe urban and rural definitions of property and open space are colliding in the West. These differing definitions and lifestyles of rural and urban are fragmenting each other. Susan Duncan discusses if the current understanding between the urban and rural will allow both to maintain and to survive on the landscape of the West. -Editor's note
Open space and planning issues have brought forth the differences between our rural land-based culture and our mobile urban opportunity-based culture. (As I describe these lifestyles, remember these are both extreme stereotypes. Many people are hybrids of the two, including me.)
In a land-based lifestyle, the land is the only asset. This asset requires enormous commitment and deep family and community bonds to hold it together. The farm/ranch is not only home, but a livelihood, the family’s 401K and the keeper of the family heritage. The family business requires its members be on call 24 hours and 7 days a week.
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Is the Pint Glass Half Empty or Half Full?
Worldwide Hop and Barley Shortages Put the Pinch on Brewers
Since humans began making beer nearly 6,000 years ago, few things have stood between them and the beloved beverage. Here in the U.S., Virginia Colonists first brewed ale from corn in 1587, and any given beer commercial today is proof beer still hasn't gone out of style. Even though taps went dry by decree during Prohibition, it did not last long (easy for us to say).
Today Americans are just as in love with suds as ever, and their pallets are becoming more and more discerning too. Craft brewers are cranking out many different flavorful beers, and Americans are thirsty for them. According to the Brewer’s Association, the craft beer industry’s sales have grown 31.5 percent over the last three years.
The bad news is, craft beers take a lot of hops to make, and a worldwide shortage of the ingredient is killing the buzz of craft beer brewers and drinkers everywhere.
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Guest Opinion: George Wuerthner's On the Range
NREPA: Local Interests and Conservation HistoryWhat do the Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument all have in common? Besides their common designation as national parks and monuments, all these conservation areas were initially opposed by local people.
After the creation of Yellowstone NP in 1872, the Helena Gazette opined “We regard the passage of the act as a great blow to the prosperity of the towns of Bozeman and Virginia City….” Montana’s Congressional representatives were so opposed to the park that they introduced bills into Congress every session for twenty years to undesignate the park.
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INTERNAL REVIEW FINDS STRONG SUPPORT FOR CURRENT POLICY
Trout Unlimited to Keep Fighting for Stream AccessTrout fanciers remember that earlier this year Trout Unlimited (TU) had a little "dust up," as described by Montana Trout Unlimited Executive Director Bruce Farling. Inside the organization, a few people questioned TU's involvement in stream access issues and wondered if the group should stay out of them in favor of devoting resources to preserve coldwater fisheries.
The thought of avoiding stream access issues managed to get a lot of members major league excited. They wanted TU involved in conservation and fisheries management issues, of course, but not at the expense of access issues.
Well rest easy, flycasters, TU has recently re-affirmed its strong support for future involvement in stream access issues
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Non-Profits of Gallatin Valley
American Wildlands: Leaving a Legacy Through Connections_thumb.jpg)
The Gallatin Valley is home to over 200 non-profits. These organizations do not hinge on metropolitan amenities, and are often created to preserve wild places and stimulate communities of the West. As part of our New West economy, NewWest.Net/Bozeman is highlighting Gallatin Valley organizations in a weekly series.
Founded upon the notion that a healthy and functioning environment requires interconnectivity between its natural landscapes, American Wildlands (AWL) has been advocating and promoting the conservation and protection of vital lands and wildlife throughout the Northern Rockies since 1977.
Placing a priority on areas outside of protected lands like National Parks and designated wilderness areas throughout Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, the organization is committed to protecting these ‘in-between’ places that are vital components to a healthy ecosystem.
The organization focuses much of its efforts on its Corridors of Life and Safe Passages Programs, with its most recent success being the initiation of a multi-year project on Bozeman Pass to decrease wildlife and vehicle collisions. The project was the response to the extremely high animal mortality rates on this stretch of highway, with nearly 1200 deaths in the past five years.
Tom Skeele, executive director, expands on AWL and their efforts.
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Yellowstone Bison
Madison Valley Landowners Get Tough with Montana DOL
Rob and Janae’ Galanis recently bought 711 acres on the Horse Butte Peninsula of Hebgen Lake just west of Yellowstone National Park. The land is a historical migration corridor for bison, and the new property owners would like to keep it that way by managing the property as a wildlife preserve.
The Galanises, who own a part-time home on the opposite side of Hebgen Lake, are making a stand on Horse Butte Peninsula. They are adamantly opposed to the current bison management policy, and they openly state they will consider any incursion by state or federal agencies to manage bison on their property as trespassing.
On August 16, 2007 the Galanises sent a letter to the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) in which they stated, “The current policy of hazing is inhumane, senseless, a waste of taxpayer dollars, and an embarrassment to the state of Montana. We trust you will respect our private property rights.” The DOL recently responded with a letter maintaining their right to manage bison on private property.
Rob Galanis says he is not looking to pick a fight, but with winter on its way and neither side budging, such a confrontation could be inevitable.
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