Explore Big Sky - August 11 to 24, 2022 by Outlaw Partners

WILDLANDS FEST SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON LOCAL NONPROFITS BOZEMAN HEALTH LAYS OFF DOZENS LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINS FOR WILDFIRE TALES FROM THE TRAIL: 100 MILES IN THE CRAZY MOUNTAINS BIG SKY RESORT LAUNCHES WOMEN’S BIKE CLINICS August 11 - 24, 2022 Volume 13 // Issue #16

CONTRIBUTORS explorebigsky #explorebigskyexplorebigsky @explorebigsky

EDITORIAL POLICY Outlaw Partners, LLC is the sole owner of Explore Big Sky. EBS reserves the right to edit all submitted material. Printed material reflects the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the opinion of Outlaw Partners or its editors. EBS will not publish anything discriminatory or

in bad taste. EBS welcomes obituaries written by family members or from funeral homes. To place an obituary, please submit 500 words or less to media@theoutlawpartners.com. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor allow EBS readers to express views and share how they would like to effect change. These are not Thank You notes. Letters should be 250 words or less, respectful, ethical, accurate, and proofread for grammar and content. We reserve the right to edit letters and will not publish individual grievances about specific businesses or letters that are abusive, malicious or potentially libelous. Include: full name, address, phone number and title. Submit to media@outlaw.partners. ADVERTISING DEADLINE For the August 25, 2022 issue: August 17, 2022 CORRECTIONS Please report errors to media@outlaw.partners. OUTLAW PARTNERS & EXPLORE BIG SKY P.O. Box 160250, Big Sky, MT 59716 (406) 995-2055 • media@outlaw.partners © 2022 Explore Big Sky unauthorized reproduction prohibited EDITORIAL POLICIES Purple asters and pink Indian paintbrush fill a lush Beehive Basin, framing Beehive Peak with their summer luster. PHOTO BY ME BROWN FUNOPINIONBUSINESSOPAENVIRONMENTSPORTSLOCAL&ENEWS4434292522101632 August 11 - 24, 2022 Volume 13, Issue No. 16 Owned and published in Big Sky, Montana PUBLISHER Eric Ladd | eric@theoutlawpartners.com EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, VP MEDIA Joseph T. O’Connor | joe@theoutlawpartners.com MANAGING EDITOR Bella Butler | bella@theoutlawpartners.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Gabrielle Gasser | gabrielle@theoutlawpartners.com DIGITAL PRODUCER Julia Barton | julia@theoutlawpartners.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Leonora Willett | editorial@theoutlawpartners.com CREATIVE GRAPHIC DESIGNER ME Brown | maryelizabeth@theoutlawpartners.com SALES AND OPERATIONS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Megan Paulson | megan@theoutlawpartners.com CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Treston Wold | treston@theoutlawpartners.com VP OF SALES EJ Daws | ej@theoutlawpartners.com MEDIA AND EVENTS DIRECTOR Ersin Ozer | ersin@theoutlawpartners.com MARKETING MANAGER Sophia Breyfogle | sophia@theoutlawpartners.com CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGIST Mira Brody | mira@theoutlawpartners.com SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Sara Sipe | sara@theoutlawpartners.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LEAD Patrick Mahoney | patrick@theoutlawpartners.com SCAN FOR TOWN CRIER NEWSLETTER. DAILY NEWS, STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

BOZEMAN HEALTH LAYS OFF DOZENS

Patrick Rooney, trails manager of Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association, lays ground on Aug. 9 for a new trail that will connect the North Fork trail to the lower Meadow Village area in Big Sky. PHOTO BY BELLA BUTLER

Women of all skill levels are finding stoke and support in Big Sky Resort’s new Women’s Bike Skills Series, free clinics offered every Friday afternoon in August.

LOCAL

TALES FROM THE TRAIL: 100 MILES IN THE CRAZY MOUNTAINS It takes a village to support runners in Montana’s only current 100-mile ultramarathon, the Crazy Mountain 100. SKY RESORT LAUNCHES WOMEN’S BIKE CLINICS

Jeff Dunn, Louise Johns, Kelly Kuntz, Sara Marino, Dave Marston, Erin McCracken, Scott Mechura, Anne Marie Mistretta, Brad Niva, Shannon Steele, Paul Swenson, David Tucker, Cy Whitling, Todd Wilkinson LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINS FOR WILDFIRE

A line of marked cars snaked through several Big Sky neighborhoods as sheriff’s deputies observed the landscape and learned about safety zones in the face of potential wildfire.

Early this month, Bozeman Health last week laid off nearly 30 leadership staff due to financial pressures on the healthcare industry. According to its CEO, this was an unprecedented decision for the largest private employer in Gallatin County.

WILDLANDS FEST SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON LOCAL NONPROFITS Four Grammy Award-winning artists will hit the stage in Big Sky Aug. 12-13. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Lukas Nelson & POTR, Brandi Carlile and the Indigo Girls are set to perform, raising funds for three local nonprofits working toward environmental stewardship and conservation. THE COVER:

BIG

TABLE OF CONTENTS OPENING SHOT 2514161911ON

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SAVEthe DATE! monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday 3 4 5 6 7 Lunch & Learn: ‘Our Big MeetVoterImplementationSky’Education:theCandidates Coffee with Community Leaders Panel WaterDiscussion: Panel FriendWorkforceDiscussion:&FundRaiser Joint Community&CommissionCountyResortTaxMeeting2ndAnnualExpo Coffee with Community Leaders Panel PanelTransportationDiscussion:Discussion:Housing5thAnnualBuildingForum Volunteer Day Topics Include: • Public Funding • Philanthropy • Housing & Planning • Public Works • Public Health & Safety • Arts, Culture, & Events • Recreation & Conservation • Economic Development • Education & Childcare COMMUNITY WEEK October 3rd - 7th NavigateBigSky.orgMoreInfo@ Big Sky, MT Hosted by:

Over the past decade, I’ve had the honor of leading EBS and Mountain Outlaw magazine, and the unique opportunity to report on this resort town during which I’ve interviewed and gotten to know many of you in this incredible community. And I’m humbled to have worked alongside this brave, creative and talented team.

O’Connor Editor-in-Chief

Explore Big Sky6 August 11 - 24, 2022 LETTERS

One article I specifically remember focused on the winter constellation Orion that first appears on the late summer horizon signaling the coming snowfall. That piece stuck with me. It was about the paradox of changing seasons, the sadness of leaving summer behind and the delightful anticipation of the winter ahead; that first powder dream of the season.

I’m writing this letter from my desk in the Outlaw Partners office, where I started as a senior editor in 2012; and where, today, we’re putting together my last edition of EBS newspaper.

I’ve covered three Montana elections, three Montana governors and the state Senate; Yellowstone National Park; grizzly bear attacks and wildfire; resort tax, water and sewer, the schools, the fire department, the sheriff’s office and sports. I learned about unincorporation and sixman football, nonprofits and HOAs and Big Sky Resort. I’ve gotten to know this community and its members, your struggles and your victories, the importance of our local businesses; just how good a ByWOM burger is and how to order a clutch lube.

Outlaw Partners and our editorial team have grown and shifted, over the years leaning on our traditional print media while expanding our digital platforms. We shapeshifted during COVID and came out the other side, stronger as a newspaper and as a community with arms locked. My heart is heavy leaving this team and the publications we’ve built but I’m grateful for the opportunity and for the trust you, our readers and sources, have placed in us. I look forward to witnessing EBS from the outside and in the trust I hope this community will continue to place in the Withpublications.changecomes anticipation and I’m excited for a new chapter in my life and career. I’m staying here in Big Sky for the time being and hope to see you all around town. I salute Outlaw Partners and our publications for documenting the news and history of this special place; for telling these important stories. And I salute you, the Big Sky community, whom I respect and have worked my best to serve over the past 10 years. As I look into the brightening predawn sky, I see Orion, the unmistakable, bright three stars making up his belt. The constellation hails the changing season and I’m reminded of the importance seasons play in all our lives. As your editor in Big Sky, I bid you farewell. As your fellow community member, I extend my thanks, raise a glass, and look forward to many more. My Josephbest,T.

In the summer of 2002, I interned at Skiing magazine in Boulder, Colorado. Majoring in English and working at a ski shop through college, it was a dream manifested. Between logging ski test data into spreadsheets and writing gear review blurbs, I began reading the stories of the ski world.

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BY BRAD NIVA EBS CONTRIBUTOR

The MHLA is a made-in-Montana bill that would add 20 rivers and streams in the upper Missouri and Yellowstone river systems to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Wild and Scenic designation is the highest level of protection rivers can get in the U.S. It protects rivers from any federally permitted projects that would harm their free flow, clean water and outstandingly remarkable values. The idea for the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was born right here in Montana, and we currently have five Wild and Scenic Rivers totaling about 388 river Amongmiles.the waterways that the MHLA would protect are the Gallatin River and the Taylor Fork, both of which are heavily used and loved by members of the Big Sky community who fish, paddle and hike along them. Other notable rivers that would gain protection include the Boulder, West Boulder, Madison, Smith, Stillwater and OneYellowstone.ofthehighlights

I also have some personal experience living along and working on Wild and Scenic rivers, having been an outfitter on the Wild and Scenic Rogue River in southern Oregon prior to moving to southwest Montana to take the helm at the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce. What that experience taught me is that protecting rivers and clean water isn’t just compatible with promoting thriving businesses in rural western communities; It’s a Theprerequisite.bottomline is the MHLA is thoroughly vetted, deeply supported by nearly eight out of 10 Montanans, community driven and it strikes an elegant balance between conserving our most prized rivers while still allowing everyone to use and enjoy them. For those reasons, I strongly urge Daines to join Sen. Jon Tester in pushing the MHLA across the finish line by the end of the current Congress. Brad Niva is the executive director of the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce.

A few months ago, I was fortunate to join a group of fellow Montanans on a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with our congressional delegation about the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act.

Explore Big Sky8 August 11 - 24, 2022 LETTERS

of our trip to the nation’s capital was meeting with Sen. Steve Daines, who is a frequent visitor to Big Sky. During our meeting, Daines listened to us as we talked about why we support the MHLA and how we think it’s good for business. And we listened to him as he told us why he thinks any new conservation designations should be balanced with measures that will make it easier to log, mine and conduct other extractive activities in appropriate places on our federal public lands.

At the conclusion of our meeting, we all felt that Daines got the message that protecting our most valuable rivers by passing the MHLA is both immensely popular among residents of southwest Montana and greatly needed to maintain our thriving outdoor recreation economy and our equally vibrant agricultural economy. That’s why I was caught off guard when Daines said during a June 7 Senate subcommittee hearing that the MHLA was not thoroughly vetted or widely supported by local communities. My experience in Big Sky is that the MHLA enjoys virtually unanimous support among a wide array of stakeholders including fishing and whitewater guides and outfitters, outdoor shops, hotels, restaurants, and major development interests who understand the connection between healthy rivers and a thriving local economy.

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SUMMER TIGER GRANT WORK NEARS SEASON WRAP

GREATER YELLOWSTONE COALITION ACQUIRES LAND FOR CONSERVATION EFFORTS

EBS STAFF PARK COUNTY — The Greater Yellowstone Coalition finalized a 75-acre conservation-based land acquisition in partnership with the Custer Gallatin National Forest in late July. The procurement makes the Emigrant property public land, ensuring protections over wildlife habitat and preventing future land development and mining. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition purchased the property—located 7 miles southeast of Emigrant in Park County—in 2019. The Forest Service secured funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund Critical Inholding to acquire the property. The land contains steep, rugged terrain that can now be used for remote outdoor recreation.

EBS STAFF BOZEMAN — Grizzly bear capture operations began Aug. 9 and will continue through Oct. 28 in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as part of ongoing efforts under the Endangered Species Act to monitor the population. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team will attract bears using natural food resources like deer and elk, and handle bears according to strict safety and animal care protocols. The monitoring serves to provide insight on grizzly distribution and migration for recovery efforts of grizzly bears in the GYE.

BIOLOGISTS BEGIN GRIZZLY BEAR CAPTURES FOR RESEARCH IN YELLOWSTONE

EBS STAFF MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. — Major construction repairs to Yellowstone National Park’s Northeast Entrance Road near Cooke City/Silver Gate began on Aug. 2. The road has previously been open to bicyclists and pedestrians, however partial closures are in place near Warm Creek Trailhead. Repairs are taking place on five sections of the road between Slough Creek and Barronette Meadow. Once repairs are completed, the Northeast Entrance Road between the park and Cooke City/Silver Gate will open for temporary automobile access.

LOCAL IN BRIEF

YELLOWSTONE NORTHEAST ENTRANCE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS

NEWS

REGIONAL WILDFIRES IMPACTED BY WARM, DRY CONDITIONS

ADVISORY ISSUED FOR HARMFUL ALGAE BLOOMS DETECTED ON HEBGEN RESERVOIR EBS STAFF WEST YELLOWSTONE – Harmful algae blooms have been detected on the northeast portion of the Hebgen Reservoir, the Grayling Arm area, according to NorthWestern Energy. A harmful algal toxin, anatoxin-a, was detected during routine monitoring and field testing at Rainbow Point. Harmful algae blooms pose a risk to people, pets and livestock. Health experts recommend staying out of water where algae is present. Advisory signs are posted in the area affected by the algal bloom, and NorthWestern Energy will continue to monitor the water in these areas.

EBS STAFF BIG SKY – After delays in local road work funded by a TIGER Grant awarded to Gallatin County in 2017, crews are celebrating progress as they prepare to wrap up summer repairs. The $10.2 million grant—intended to improve Montana Highway 64—includes new turn lanes, pedestrian infrastructure, a traffic signal and funding for Big Sky’s public transportation system. This summer crews completed building a new left-turn lane at the Powder Light Subdivision near Ace Hardware. TIGER Grant work will continue in 2023 with improvements including a new traffic signal and pedestrian tunnel, upgraded wildlife and curve warning signage, shoulder modifications and four more left-turn lanes.

Explore Big Sky10 August 11 - 24, 2022

EBS STAFF BIG SKY – Despite a wet spring, wildfire season has made its way to Montana. Recent hot, dry conditions have contributed to wildfire ignitions and growth across the West. The Elmo Fire near Flathead Lake has burned more than 20,000 acres since it started on July 29 and destroyed multiple homes, forcing closures and evacuations. The Clover Fire southwest of Ennis started on July 13 and has scorched more than 1,000 acres. Crews are actively fighting to contain these fires, along with others in the state, and the public is advised to use caution in fire-prone landscapes. Idaho’s Moose Fire, burning upward of 74,000 acres near the Salmon River, has sent intermittent clouds of smoke over to Big Sky.

Fire is a part of living in the West and has been for hundreds of years, Crandell said. What’s new is the increase in people and development. According to Springer, in the event of a fire the Big Sky Fire Department will focus on structure protection while the sheriff’s office will be focused on alerting residents of an evacuation notice. In Big Sky’s case, Springer said it’s important to remember that this is a rural area which presents its own challenges in the event of an evacuation.

PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER

Explore Big Sky11 August 11 - 24, 20222 LOCAL GALCO SHERIFF’S OFFICE TRAINS FOR WILDFIRE IN BIG SKY

BY GABRIELLE GASSER BIG SKY – A line of marked cars snaked through several Big Sky neighborhoods on Aug. 10 as sheriff’s deputies observed the landscape and learned about safety zones in the face of potential wildfire. As part of annual training, five Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office staff from West Yellowstone to Three Forks gathered in Big Sky to learn from trainer Dr. Brian Crandell with the Montana State University Extension Fire Service Training School. The Wildland Fire Behavior Training covered wildfire trends and potential activity along with evacuation strategies to prepare the sheriff’s office staff to act efficiently in the event of a wildland fire. According to Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer, the office has been holding these training opportunities for the past decade in partnership with the MSU fire school. Today, however, was the first time the event was held in Big Sky. “[Our staff doesn’t] play in the fire world all the time and so understanding how fire would behave is important for them recognizing if they’re going to get themselves into a bad spot or not,” Springer said. The sheriff emphasized the importance of partnering with the MSU extension adding that this is the only time his staff focuses on fire Beforediscussions.touringthe trainees around Big Sky, Crandell gathered the group near the helipad at the Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center where he walked through various fire scenarios with different wind strengths and fuels. He emphasized the importance of fuel, wind, aspect and slope in assessing and understanding a fire’s behavior. In addition to assessing wildfire tendencies, officers must also assess their own risk as well as their role in a real-life wildland fire scenario. “We conduct ourselves in a way that is respectful of the hazard, which is putting ourselves where it matters, where it makes a difference in the lives of the people that we’re protecting,” Crandell said. “At the same time making sure that our lives are in that calculation as well.”

Springer said Big Sky has excelled in recent years in implementing strong early detection and warning systems in the form of the Pano AI camera atop Lone Mountain, which detects smoke in the area and alerts a 24/7 Pano AI intelligence center. In addition to detecting fires in the early stages of ignition, Springer said his office and the fire department are well-equipped to communicate with the Big Sky community in the event of an emergency evacuation. Residents can visit readygallatin.com to sign up for emergency notifications.

Crandell (center) explains fire behavior and nearby safety zones to Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office staff.

PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER

Dr. Brian Crandell points out a draw during the Aug. 10 Wildland Fire Behavior Training.

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The $3.6 million general fund budget for FY23 is funded by the state of Montana and local taxpayers and is determined by enrollment from last school year, which was down by 3 percent. Though there was a drop in enrollment and therefore state funding, teacher benefits and salaries also rose this year, largely contributing to the gap between funding and costs, according to BSSD Business Manager Corky Miller. BSSD Superintendent Dustin Shipman called the deficit a “one-year anomaly.” Historic enrollment data for the district shows that it hasn’t experienced a drop in enrollment in more than 10 years. “We really anticipate that this is a one-year bridge to getting the budget from the state back to where it will balance,” Shipman said. Ophir Elementary and Middle schools and Lone Peak High School are experiencing growth in enrollment already, Shipman said, and LPHS was recently reclassified to Class B due to population growth, effective starting in the 2023-24 school year. Last year, LPHS graduated 19 students and this year will gain 36 freshmen for a total increase of 17 students. Thirty-two new kindergarteners will join the elementary school for the 2022-23 school year, and the new 4K program, which allows the district to enroll 4-year-olds in an early kindergarten program, will launch this year with 20 students. Enrollment for the 2022-23 school year is 423 not including the 4K program, up from an average over both semesters of 402 students last year. This year, the 4K program didn’t receive state funding. Instead, the district received resort tax funding from the Big Sky Resort Area District as well as dollars from the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation to start the 4K classroom. In future years, the school district will receive state funding for the program.

Explore Big Sky13 August 11 - 24, 20222 LOCAL

The BSSD School Board of Trustees approved the FY23 budget at its Aug. 5 meeting.

In the past, schools were able to apply to the state for more funds in the event of an unanticipated enrollment increase. This state support, however, was suspended in the last legislative session, according to Miller. When enrollment goes up, Miller said, there’s not a way for schools to access that funding until the following year.

PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER

BY GABRIELLE GASSER BIG SKY – The Big Sky School District School Board of Trustees approved its fiscal year 2023 budget at an Aug. 5 meeting. Due to lower enrollment last year, this year’s budget has a potential shortfall of nearly $350,000.

SCHOOL DISTRICT FACES POTENTIAL SHORTFALL IN FY23 BUDGET

Now approved by the school board, the proposed FY23 budget will be reviewed by the Gallatin County Superintendent of Schools and the Montana Office of Public Instruction. Miller says he expects formal approvals of the budget by the end of the month.

“The community of Big Sky should not see any impact to the level of service, accessibility to care, the compassionate way that we serve that community—there should be no changes,”

“I think what that says about the current circumstances is what an extraordinary time in our lives to have gone through—one, such a deadly pandemic,” Hill said. “It has consumed the resources of public health and healthcare systems in our community and I think it demonstrates how much our Bozeman healthcare professionals have done on behalf of their community … It really means that we are moving into this economic crisis because we’ve given so much, we’ve saved so many lives, and now the healthcare system needs to be healed as well.”

Explore Big Sky14 August 11 - 24, 2022 LOCAL BY BELLA BUTLER BOZEMAN – Bozeman Health last week laid off nearly 30 leadership staff due to financial pressures on the healthcare industry. According to its CEO, this was an unprecedented decision for the largest private employer in Gallatin County.

Hill Whilesaid.Hill reported that demand was starting to climb again in June and July, he wrote in his email to staff that “becoming more efficient in how we operate will remain permanent,” adding that healthcare has changed forever.

The Big Sky Medical Center, part of the Bozeman Health network. PHOTO BY JULIA BARTON

The healthcare industry is facing an “unprecedented crisis,” Hill wrote in the email, reporting that Bozeman Health’s costs this year have surpassed revenue by 8 percent, resulting in a net loss of $14.8 million in the first six months of 2022.

“Over the last 26 months during the COVID 19 pandemic, we have moved from a public health crisis to an economic crisis of our healthcare delivery system across the nation,” Hill told EBS in an Aug. 4 interview. “Those same dynamics are happening across our state and obviously right here in Gallatin County with Bozeman Health.”

Hill said he expects patients will see “no difference” following the layoffs, but current staff will absorb some additional responsibilities. Bozeman Health did not disclose the name or position of the laid off employee from the Big Sky Medical Center but Hill stated it was a “leadership support role.” Of Bozeman Health’s roughly 2,400 employees, 120 work at the Big Sky Medical Center.

In fact, Bozeman Health is currently hiring about 487 positions, according to a Bozeman Health spokesperson, including nurses, patient care technicians and licensed clinical social workers, among many others.

Hill said he has no recollection of any other layoffs in Bozeman Health history.

In an internal Aug. 2 email sent by Bozeman Health CEO John Hill to Bozeman Health staff, and provided to EBS, Hill announced the layoff of 28 employees as well as the decision to not fill 25 open positions, totaling a reduction in 53 fulltime equivalent positions. The reduction in force included one staff member at the Big Sky Medical Center.

A report published a month ago by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas found that the healthcare industry, including product manufacturing, announced the most job cuts in 2022 at 19,390 at the end of June, up 54 percent from 2021. Hill said the nonprofit healthcare system looked to cut costs elsewhere before looking to labor. “We have done everything we possibly can to reduce discretionary spending, redesign the way that we deliver care in the clinics and the hospitals, anything that we could potentially hold on when it came to expenditures, we have done that,” he said. But on top of increasing costs, Hill said Bozeman Health experienced “softer volumes” this past spring, a trend that hit the healthcare industry across the nation. As a last resort, the hospital turned to examine labor. “We did what we did to preserve the positions at the point of care,” he said. “Leadership, while it’s extraordinarily important for a healthcare system like ours, and those people are highly valued, it was the ability to preserve positions that do care for our community.”

UNDER FINANCIAL PRESSURE, BOZEMAN HEALTH LAYS OFF DOZENS OF EMPLOYEES

Hill said as high burnout rates among healthcare professionals throughout the pandemic led many to leave the industry altogether, Bozeman Health was forced to fill labor gaps with contract labor that costs three to four times the rates paid to the employer’s clinicians. This resulted in a 20 percent increase to labor costs, according to Hill, tracking closely with an American Hospital Association report that found hospital labor costs per patient had increased nearly 20 percent from 2019 through Bozeman2021.Health’s challenges don’t exist in a vacuum. Mariana Carerra, an associate professor at Montana State University who teaches health economics, said when she heard Bozeman Health’s announcement she was at first surprised to hear about layoffs in a labor market that needs staff so badly, but given the current state of the healthcare industry, particularly related to labor costs, it made “Hospitalssense.are struggling financially right now because there’s a shortage of healthcare workers that was foreseen even before this recent economic situation where we’re seeing worker shortages all over the economy, so that has only exacerbated the problem for hospitals having to staff medical care for their patients,” Carerra told EBS. “I think it’s sort of a perfect storm for them.”

“I think healthcare consumers want affordability and they want accessibility and they want that on demand, whether that be in in a virtual setting or in a clinic or hospital setting,” he said. In order to meet that kind of demand, Hill says Bozeman Health and other hospitals will continue to be charged with keeping costs low.

MOONLIGHT BASIN, BIG SKY FIRE DEPARTMENT PARTNER ON JACK CREEK ROAD PROJECT GRANT-FUNDED WORK INTENDS TO IMPROVE SAFETY IN CASE OF EVACUATION

PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER

BY GABRIELLE GASSER BIG SKY – The Big Sky Fire Department and Moonlight Basin are working together to improve safety and increase wildfire preparedness on one of Big Sky’s two emergency evacuation exits. Currently underway, the Jack Creek Evacuation Road Project will thin out and mulch the forest on either side of the road to reduce fuels that could feed a fire along Jack Creek Road. This is intended to reduce the risk of wildfire and ensure the safety of citizens and emergency personnel in the event of an evacuation. Jack Creek Road connects Big Sky to the Madison Valley. Next to the eastbound Montana Highway 64, Jack Creek Road, owned by Moonlight Basin, is the only other emergency exit out of Big Sky.

The Big Sky community has identified evacuation as a top priority for several years now as the area becomes busier and the potential for congestion increases. Though private and gated, Jack Creek Road would be opened to the public in the event of an evacuation, according to Rich Chandler, director of environmental operations for Lone Mountain Land Company, which owns Moonlight. “[The project] helps with evacuation, it helps with firefighting, it helps on every level when you think about a wildland fire,” said BSFD Chief Greg Megaard. The project is funded in part by a $75,000 grant awarded to BSFD from Coalitions and Collaboratives Inc., a national nonprofit that offers grants to help communities better prepare for wildfire and reduce risk. The BeaverheadDeerlodge National Forest, Madison Ranger District and the Madison County Office of Emergency Management each provided letters of support for the grant application. Moonlight Basin has spent over $250,000 on the Jack Creek project as well as on similar fuels reduction work on South Side Road adjacent to and south of Jack Creek Road.

“In the event of emergency access or egress-ingress for the community, this road is going to be critical,” Chandler said. “Moonlight Basin will open up its gates and allow the folks on the Madison side to come up to assist in any fire response and vice versa if the community of Big Sky needs to be evacuated out.”

“By selectively removing certain timber and in retaining others, both in species and age diversity, you promote a more healthy and resilient forest,” he Chandlersaid.

Explore Big Sky15 August 11 - 24, 20222 LOCAL

said Moonlight’s work on South Side Road is already 70 percent complete. In total, Moonlight will treat about 130 total acres along both Jack Creek Road and South Side Road. The goal is to finish the work on the roads this fall, according to Chandler. In other efforts to improve Big Sky’s evacuation procedures, Megaard said the fire department is working with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office on an early notification system.

Work on the project began in June with crews clearing 100 feet of forest on the uphill and downhill sides of the road as a way of reducing fuels and therefore risk of wildfire. Chandler said the goal with this reduction of fuels, or shaded fuel break, is to manage fire behavior by forcing it down to the ground where firefighters are better able to control the fire. Not only will this work reduce fuels and increase wildfire preparedness, Chandler said, but it will also improve forest health in the treated areas.

This map shows South Side Road and Jack Creek Road highlighted in yellow. MAP COURTESY OF LONE MOUNTAIN LAND COMPANY

Rich Chandler, director of environmental operations for Lone Mountain Land Company, stands in an already-treated area and talks about the Jack Creek Evacuation Road Project. PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER

An excavator transforms a tall tree into mulch.

The Crazy Mountains are an island range in southwest Montana, isolated as they interrupt the flatness of the Shields Valley and the prairie that reaches east toward Billings. To the Apsaalooké people this range is called Awaxaawippíia; “awaxaawi” meaning mountain, and “ppíia” meaning ominous or angry. To them, the range is sacred.

“If you’ve been up to the Crazy Mountains you can understand the power that the mountains have … and so you have to go up there to suffer and receive those powers,” said Scott Flatlip, a member of the Apsaalooké people and Crazy Mountain 100 finisher. “And suffer you will, going up those mountains.”

With the mountains below our feet and the vast constellations above, it’s impossible not to feel small and insignificant.

CREWING IN THE CRAZIES

A stunning view of Campfire Lake in the Crazy Mountains. PHOTO BY ERIN MCCRACKEN

There were 10 aid stations along the trail for runners to fuel up on snacks, refill water bottles and check in with their support crew. BY JULIA BARTON

GRAPHIC

According to our meticulously devised spreadsheet that tracks aid stations, car shuttles, projected pace and arrival times, menus and inspirational quotes, Erin should be arriving at Crandall Cabin aid station, her 69th mile, around 2:45 a.m. Alarms are set and duties are assigned, so we try to get a few minutes of rest. The quiet is punctuated sporadically by cheers as runners begin to arrive, hungry, tired and beaten down by the day’s 90-degree high and four summit assents that top out around 10,200 feet above sea level. Another flash of heat lightning illuminates the sky and from my bivy I can still see the headlamp spots, some single, some in huddled groups, traversing the ridgeline above, discernible only from the stars by their hurried movement.

HOW TO KEEP SOMEONE ALIVE DURING MONTANA’S ONLY 100-MILE ULTRAMARATHON SPORTS

Part of surviving a course like the Crazy Mountain 100 is assembling your crew: a group of trustworthy and patient friends who have a disdain for sleep and would love nothing more than to spend a pleasant July weekend driving unmaintained Forest Service roads, cooking and eating nonperishable camp food and withgoing any form of personal hygiene.

WILSALL – It’s 9:30 p.m on Friday, July 29, and from Shields Valley Road the Crazy Mountains are a dark mass against fading light. “Look,” I say, directing the gaze of the two others I’m in the Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 with toward a string of glowing headlamps twinkling as runners snake their way across the range. Behind them, a flash of dry lightning illuminates the sky followed by an ominous rumble of thunder.

“This could be a long night,” said our driver, Ben McCracken. Ben’s wife, Erin McCracken, is one of those runners with the headlamps; one of 129 masochistic racers competing in the Crazy Mountain 100, Montana’s only 100-mile trail Theultramarathon.teamwith me in the car is Erin’s crew, the people who will feed her, support her and sometimes run with her on this wild journey. We’ll meet her shortly at the Crandall Cabin aid station to get her some food and refill her vest before she departs with me as her pacer on the next leg of her journey. Boasting 25,000 feet in total elevation gain, the race sends athletes through a course that traverses the entirety of the Crazy Mountain range, navigating private ranches, Indigenous lands of the Apsaalooké (Crow) people, as well as present-day U.S. Forest Service land. “I started dreaming of the places I’d like to traverse,” said race founder and director Megan Dehaan. “Then one day I bought some maps and started putting thoughts to paper.” Over the last couple years, the local ranch owner has channeled her experience running, crewing and volunteering into this titanic event of her own. After countless hours of mapping, testing routes, negotiating permits, talking to land owners, and flagging the course, her dream became a reality and all the racer slots, pre-qualified by a 50-mile race, were filled—people were actually excited to push their bodies through this enormous range for 100 miles within a 36-hour cutoff time.

Explore Big Sky16 August 11 - 24, 2022 BY MIRA BRODY

Being chosen as part of this crew is the highest form of flattery, right? I ponder this question as I hunker down in a sleeping bag propped up on a double-wide camp chair and gaze up at the Milky Way shining bright above us.

After the race Dehaan tells me about the last place finisher, Cale Hofferber. After missing the cutoff at Huntin’ Camp, the final aid station 7 miles from the finish line, Hofferber, with the blessing of the aid station captain, pushed on to the finish, the odds stacked against him for reaching the final cutoff of 36 “Hehours.hadtwo minutes to cross that finish line, and I ran out to yell to him he needed to run like his life depended on it,” said Dehaan. “And he did, he made it. That was all I had left in me to witness for the day. I was done. I cried. I was so happy to be able to give him that buckle. He deserved it. He worked for it.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIN MCCRACKEN The sun sets on day one of the Crazy Mountain 100 right around Sunlight Pass as a dry lightning storm moves in. PHOTO BY

Miles: 100.2 Highest

In 1857, before he became a great leader of the Apsaalooké people, Chief Plenty Coups traversed the Crazies as a 9-year-old, and after a four-day fast, saw visions of the destruction the arrival of European settlers would bring to their land.

10,200 feet Runners started 129 Runners finished 73 Fastest time 23:21:00 Longest time 35:58:51 CRAZY MOUNTAIN 100 BY THE NUMBERS

The Apsaalooké people attribute Plenty Coups’ strong leadership to this spiritual transcendence. It is still believed that protectors live in the Crazy Mountains and to this day young Apsaalooké men continue to seek guidance in their embrace.

From U.S. Route 89, as we head back home to Bozeman toward a clean bed, warm meal and shower, the Crazy Mountains are just a few gray bumps on the horizon in the rearview mirror, unchanged since the time of Plenty Coups. With us we carry the clarity we’ve gained after our own mountain journey.

Explore Big Sky17 August 11 - 24, 20222 SPORTS

Flatlip is a high school health enhancement teacher in Hardin. Although he has always been a runner, it was Bozeman’s Ed Anacker Bridger Ridge Run that endowed him with a love for big mountain traverses. He founded a social media group, Indigenous Trail Running, where he advocates for representation in the sport by sharing stories from natives and other BIPOC runners across the Flatlipcountry.explains that running is an important part of the Apsaalooké culture—before they attained horses, they were a migratory people, running as a way to send messages to different bands, alerting villages of impending danger and hosting footraces for fun. By the late 1800s, the tribe lost over 90 percent of its land, including the Crazy Mountains. Flatlip says running is his way to continue to feel connected with that land. It’s now Saturday, July 30. A bored cow moos in the Erindistance.arrivesat Crandall Creek Cabin at 4 a.m. just as I’m munching on a burrito warmed over our camp stove. Another crew member, Alice Cennamoka, hustles to change Erin’s socks and asks her how she’s feeling, when was the last time she ate and how many times she peed—you’re submitting to the most basic aspects of the human condition out here. I tie my shoes and pin a small yellow bib onto my shorts labeled “PACER” as Cennamoka’s husband and Erin’s previous pacer, Ben Engebretson, fills me in on the last 25 miles. “She’s walking uphills and downhills,” he says. “She hasn’t been able to eat much.”

“You look at these mountains you think, that’s what molded these great leaders into who they were,” Flatlip said, now 90 years after Plenty Coups’ death. “That’s what makes me really happy I was able to go up there, see those areas, talk to the land and spend time suffering and just going through hell.”

All of this is out of character for Erin, but the nurse and mother of two boys is well versed in long nights on her feet and I know we’ll make it to the next aid station—Forest Lake Campground, 6.5 miles away—at some point, mostly alive. I’ve been running with Erin for around three years now. Together, we’ve summited some of the Greater Yellowstone Region’s highest peaks, longest ridgelines and have endured all the accidents that come with such feats. Pacers are runners who join a racer for legs of their course to keep them on pace, and in a race like the Crazy Mountain 100, they’re essential. What’s different about pacing is that by the time you pick up your runner, it’s much like guiding a sleep deprived toddler through a shopping mall—your job is to remind her to eat and drink, keep her spirits high and focus on the trail Thisahead.morning she’s a bit rough, but nothing unusual of someone who’s spent 70 miles and 24 hours on their feet. After a few minor hallucinations (“It’s crazy how that tree doesn’t look like a tree,” she tells me) and the warmth of the sunrise has washed over us, we arrive at the Forest Lake Campground aid station at 6:30 a.m. where volunteers cheer us in and our final two crew members, Kelly Meeker and Allison Milodragovich, await. After a 20-minute nap and five spoonfuls of mashed potatoes, Erin takes on new life, gearing up and departing with Milodragovich, who will pace her for possibly the roughest section of the race—20 miles of high-altitude hill repeats on what will be another 90-degree summer day. It’s 4:21 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The final stretch of the race is a fully exposed cow pasture and the heat of the day has set in as runners come in through the finish line arch way. We are cheer Erin into the finish flanked by her family to receive her finisher’s belt buckle and a well-deserved chair. We ask her how she’s doing. “I feel fine,” Erin said. “But my feet hurt for some reason.”

The “Crazy Crew” who helped shuttle cars, provide aid, morale support and pacers over two days and 100 miles in the Crazy Mountains. ERIN MCCRACKEN peak:

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Gaffney appreciated the positive energy from the women in the clinic. “Everyone’s really supportive of each other,” she said. “And there doesn’t feel like there’s a lot of ego. People are just happy to be there having fun.”

“I know a handful of women who wouldn’t otherwise be riding the bike park or have access to that but in the upcoming clinics they’re going to try and make it because the lift tickets and the bikes are affordable,” Gaffney said.

On Aug. 5, during the first clinic in the series, Alice Schaefer, 47, approaches a jump on the Snake Charmer trail on Andesite Mountain. As her front tire begins to climb up toward the lip of the jump, she loads her front shocks in the same way that coach Lexie Hendricks demonstrated just minutes before. Her bike flies off the ground and Schaefer extends her limbs to give it more lift. She lands clean, a small cloud of dust rising around her as her tires find traction on the dry ground. Her peers in the advanced group she’s riding with whoop from the line on the other side of the jump, where they wait for their own turn to practice the skill. Schaefer’s been biking for decades and is a mountain bike coach herself back in her hometown of Sun Valley, Idaho, but she’s still stoked to learn more. “I love jumping,” she tells me on the Ramcharger 8 chairlift, her black ponytail hanging out of her fullface helmet. “But I kind of feel like mentally I need some extra.”

PHOTO BY BELLA BUTLER

“Everyone was like ‘Don’t worry, you can do it, you can do it,’” she said.

Hendricks, one of the coaches who rode with the advanced group, played an organizing role in bringing the women’s skills series to fruition.

PHOTO BY BELLA BUTLER Riders enjoy aprés beers while learning basic bike mechanics.

“Can I give you a tip?” Schaffer asked Gaffney, 27. “Sure!” Gaffney replied. Schaffer complimented Gaffney’s riding and told her if she extended her body more when she was going off jumps, she might get more air.

Gaffney nodded intently, asking follow-up questions as Shaffer demonstrated as best she could from her seat on the lift.

Marino’s friend, Morgen Ayres, 48, said the clinic was an opportunity to meet new women to connect with for future rides. As riders shared stories from the afternoon, one of the coaches, Emily Mintle, demonstrated basic bike maintenance, including a brake pad inspection when Marino reported having squeaky brakes.

After the lifts stopped spinning, women from each of the groups reunited on the patio outside Westward Social for après beers, a little dustier than three hours ago when they met for the first time in the base area.

“I just wanted to bring it here and give the opportunity to women in this community as well,” she said over an après beer. “We have this giant mountain and we should use it for everybody and make it super inclusive.”

BY BELLA BUTLER BIG SKY – Fridays in August at Big Sky Resort sound like bike tires slashing through dirt, gears whirring, breaks singing and women cheering each other on as they navigate berms and jumps. Sometimes, you can hear the joy from simply loading a bike onto a chairlift for the first time. It’s a dusty symphony orchestrated by a cohort of the resort’s female downhill mountain biking coaches during the Women’s Bike Skills Series, free afternoon clinics occurring each Friday in August at the resort’s bike park.

Many of the women riding in the clinic said they felt the women-specific element of the series had contributed to a culture of support. After riding Snake Charmer, I loaded the Swift Current chairlift with Schaefer and a rider from Bozeman, Meaghann Gaffney.

At the top of Happy Hooves, a blue-rated trail on Andesite, Marino’s fellow riders cheered her on as she navigated a tricky section.

Alice Schaefer and Meaghann Gaffney, two participants from the first Women’s Bike Skills Series clinic, pose at the top of the Swift Current lift at Big Sky Resort on Aug. 5.

Explore Big Sky19 August 11 - 24, 20222 SPORTS

One goal anchoring the series is inclusivity. Though more than 40 women showed up for the first clinic, participants are spread out into beginner, intermediate and advanced groups. In recent years, numerous studies have served to break down an understanding commonly held in mountain biking that the sport is male dominated. In fact, a 2018 study published in the National Library of Medicine states that 40 percent of males indicated they were advanced or professional riders while the same figure for women was half that.

Sara Marino, 50, from Big Sky, had one goal when she showed up to the intermediate group: ride beyond the beginner Explorer lift. And she did.

At Big Sky Resort, eight of the 17 total coaches are female, as are three of the seven bike mechanics.

BIG SKY RESORT LAUNCHES FREE WOMEN’S SKILLS SERIES

From Duluth, Minnesota, Hendricks arrived in Big Sky two years ago after first coaching at Spirit Mountain in her hometown, where she had coached some women’s clinics.

The Women’s Bike Skills Series will continue on Aug. 12, 19 and 26. Visit thewomens-bike-skills-seriesactivities/mountain-biking/downhill-coaching/bigskyresort.com/summer-formoreinformationaboutWomen’sBikeSkillSeries.

Another intention behind the clinic is accessibility. The clinics are free with a bike-haul ticket, and for those without one, Big Sky Resort is offering riders $25 tickets from 2-5 p.m. every Friday through August. Clinic participants can also rent bikes for $60, down from the usual $178.

“I think women’s clinics are super awesome just because we all vibe together,” she said. “They’re less competitive, it’s just more uplifting and confidenceboosting to be riding with other women.”

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Explore Big Sky21 August 11 - 24, 20222 SPORTS BIG SKY CO-ED SOFTBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS EBS STAFF BIG SKY – The tenth week of competition of the Big Sky Coed Softball League is underway. The Huckers are at the top of the leaderboard with an 11-1 record. The Wildcats are holding steady at second place with a 9-2 record. Riverhouse and LPC are tied for third place with 9-3 records. Below are softball standings as of Aug. 9. The Cave pitches to the Cab Lizards, who won 22-9. PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER TEAM NAME 1. The Huckers 2. Wildcats 3. Riverhouse 4. LPC 5. Herbaceous Smokey Bears 6. Yeti Dogs 7. Milkies 8. Cab Lizards 9. Meadowlarks 10. Lotus Pad 11. Lone Mountain Land Company 12. Big Sky Ballers 13. The Cave 14. The Rubes 15. Mooseketeers WIN11999 8 8876442111LOSS 1233 4 4456788101111 bigskybuild.com BIGSKYBUILD.COM | 406.995.3670 | BIG SKY, MT USA

BY GABRIELLE GASSER BIG SKY – As use of Beehive Basin trail increases, area residents are feeling the impacts on the trailhead and the surrounding neighborhood.

BSCO and the Forest Service are also working to educate trail users about proper etiquette and trail use to help keep these wilderness areas pristine.

Explore Big Sky22 August 11 - 24, 2022

The upper Beehive Basin parking lot managed by BSCO is designed to hold 18 cars. PHOTO BY LEONORA WILLETT

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF BSCO

Visitation to the trailhead is far outstripping the capacity of these two lots. According to BSCO data, nearly 70,000 cars parked in the upper lot in 2021. So far, 2022 has seen almost 50,000 vehicles use the Bronsteinlot.suggested adding more signage barring visitors from parking along the road could be one solution. He also said that adding large obstacles like rocks along the roadsides would prevent vehicles from clogging up that space.

The two parking lots serving Beehive Basin are busier than ever and overflow cars are often lining either side of the road near the trailhead. This congestion presents an issue for nearby homeowners trying to access their properties and creates a conundrum that Big Sky Community Organization, which manages the upper parking lot, is trying to resolve.

Corey Bronstein, part-time Beehive resident and president of the Beehive Basin Homeowners Association, has owned his property for nearly two decades and said he has watched the pristine area become overcrowded. Often during the week, he says, larger trucks working in the neighborhood can’t pass the section of road by the parking lots because cars are parked everywhere.

Bronstein said the BBHOA is seeking out solutions to keep the area pristine. “We have a problem; there are a lot of people frequenting the trailhead and we’ve got to figure out a solution together as a community to make sure that we’re not going backwards as it relates to the lack of parking facilities,” he said. “That’s my greatest fear is that this place is being loved to Todeath.”address parking-capacity issues at the trailhead, BSCO purchased a parcel of land supported by Beehive residents and in 2018 built the second parking lot that it now manages. The upper lot is designed to hold 18 cars if everyone parks appropriately, according to BSCO Parks and Trails Director Adam Johnson. The lower lot, managed by the U.S. Forest Service along with Beehive Basin Trail, can accommodate between 12 and 15 cars.

Wendi Urie, recreation program manager with the Bozeman Ranger District, said the Forest Service, alongside BSCO, is working with Outside Kind, an organization that educates people about recreating responsibly, to help spread important messaging to anyone headed outdoors.

BEEHIVE BASIN TRAIL PARKING EXCEEDING CAPACITY ENVIRONMENT

Urie added that building more parking, especially at Beehive, could have a negative impact and reduce the wilderness experience for those headed into the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. As the Bozeman Ranger District sees more users on trails across the Gallatin Valley, Urie says a multi-pronged approach will be key.

Part of the Master Trails Plan that BSCO has been working on since 2018 is creating more trailheads and additional access points for people to access the network of trails around Big Sky as well as the backcountry to avoid overcrowding at popular spots.

This chart shows a comparison of usage on Big Sky’s five most popular trails.

“While Beehive Basin may be a beautiful hike, we have other trailheads that are less busy,” he said. “The more we can spread people out, the more of a solution we have.”

To help alleviate the pressure on Beehive, Johnson suggested that hikers start the trail at the lower Beehive Basin trailhead, which is near the Big Sky Fire Station #2 across Highway 64 from the entrance to Big Sky Resort. The 1.7-mile lower trail takes hikers to the parking lot for the main trail, offering an alternative access point when lots are Currently,full.

This chart shows data gathered by BSCO on Beehive Basin Trail use and parking lot use over the last five years.

“We’re evaluating what the next step is up at Beehive, simply because there’s so many people coming up to Beehive, there’s no way we can build enough parking for everyone that’s trying to get into Beehive,” Johnson said. “We’re really trying to figure out what the next step is.”

“If one of our members ever needed a fire truck or a bigger emergency vehicle, I just don’t know how they would physically get them there,” he said. “They would have a really difficult time navigating to people’s property.”

Johnson said BSCO is working with the Forest Service to remedy an issue with the easement on the upper portion of the lower trail. When the Beehive trail was first built, easement documents never appeared in the public record, he said. BSCO is working to get the easement re-signed to ensure the lower trail will remain public in perpetuity.

Johnson said his organization is trying to direct visitors to other trails in Big Sky if they arrive at Beehive and the lot is full. He suggests North Fork or Dudley Creek as alternatives that are less traveled and still provide hikers with beautiful views. Beehive isn’t the only trail in Big Sky seeing record usage. The most popular trails in Big Sky, according to Johnson, are Ousel Falls Trail, Crail Trail and Beehive Basin. Year over year, Ousel Falls has seen the largest increase in usage. According to BSCO data, about 80,000 people hiked Ousel Falls in Johnson2021. said BSCO is working to create more trailaccess points to spread out those numbers across trailheads and reduce crowding.

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“We’re really honored and thrilled to be a part of the Wildlands Music Festival,” said Whitney Montgomery, CEO of BSCO. “To benefit financially from this allows us to do things such as make sure we mark Ousel Falls Trail to keep it safe and add to maintenance of our trails and even construction of new trails.”

Gardner added that the wider Big Sky community’s participation in conservation work is of critical Meganimportance.Paulson, CEO of Outlaw Partners, hopes this event will encourage others to act. “We designed Wildlands to honor and give back to these important organizations within southwest Montana so others may be inspired to do the same,” Paulson said.

The festival, first held in 2018 with the goal of stewardship over wild and open spaces, is produced by Outlaw Partners, publisher of Explore Big Sky.

“GVLT is beyond thrilled to be a part of Wildlands Music Festival—the lineup is one of the best Montana has ever seen,” said Chet Work, executive director for GVLT. “Plus, the organizations supported by Wildlands Festival all work to ensure that the most attractive qualities of Big Sky and all of southwest Montana will last for future generations to enjoy forever.”

The Gallatin River Task Force, a Big Sky nonprofit dedicated to river conservation, will be the third beneficiary of the festival. The task force works on a variety of river restoration projects to improve the health of the Gallatin River, spearheads education programs and monitors the health of the river, among other objectives.

WILDLANDS FESTIVAL BRINGS MUSIC, STEWARDSHIP TO BIG SKY

Explore Big Sky25 August 11 - 24, 20222

Hundreds of volunteers showed up on National Trails Day to support GVLT’s work to maintain trails around the Gallatin Valley.

“A pillar of Outlaw Partners is to utilize our platform of marketing, media and events to help build community and support groups that are doing amazing nonprofit work,” said Eric Ladd, chairman of Outlaw Partners. “Supporting the efforts to help protect the Montana landscape including clean waters in the river, open lands and animal corridors is paramount for the legacy of the Theregion.”threenonprofits receiving donations each work in different ways to preserve the landscape, as well as to connect people with the outdoors.

Lukas Nelson plays at the inaugural Wildlands Festival in 2018 at Montana State University. OUTLAW PARTNERS PHOTO

A percentage of all Wildlands ticket sales will go to three local nonprofits: the Gallatin River Task Force, Big Sky Community Organization and Gallatin Valley Land TakingTrust.place in the Big Sky Events Arena in Town Center, Wildlands aims to bring together those who share a love of the outdoors through music while giving back to the community.

Taking the stage on Friday night, music legends Lukas Nelson & POTR will bring their country rock sound to the star-studded lineup. Nelson has played in Big Sky on three other occasions and in 2018 won a Grammy for “Best Compilation Soundtrack” for his work on “A Star Is Born” with Lady Gaga.

Grammy winning duo Indigo Girls take the stage on Saturday evening to perform songs from their new album, “Look Long,” along with classics such as “Closer to Fine.” The Wildlands Festival will be an official stop on their “Look Long 2022” tour.

Rounding out the event, six-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, performer and producer Brandi Carlile will headline the festival Saturday night as a stop on her “Beyond These Silent Days” tour. Carlile previously took the stage in Big Sky in 2019 as part of the Peak to Sky music festival. Tickets for the event can be found at wildlandsfestival.com.

BY GABRIELLE GASSER

BIG SKY – The upcoming Wildlands Festival is bringing four Grammy Award-winning artists to Big Sky for two nights of music as part of one of the biggest music events of the summer. Over Aug. 12 and 13, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Lukas Nelson & POTR, Brandi Carlile and the Indigo Girls will take the stage.

Work added that the proceeds donated to GVLT from festival ticket sales will help the organization protect scenic open space and critical wildlife habitat. He pointed to more than a dozen projects GVLT is currently working on in southwest Montana, including enhancing the more than 100 miles of trails in Bozeman’s Mainstreet to the Mountains trail network.

In addition to signage at Ousel Falls, Montgomery said festival funds will also be used to add signage on Hummocks and Uplands trails as well as to improve safety and maintenance on local trails.

Closer to home, the Big Sky Community Organization has been a pillar of the Big Sky community for more than 20 years. Responsible for managing Big Sky’s parks and trails as well as providing a variety of recreational programs, BSCO plays a major role in helping the Big Sky community get outside.

Kristin Gardner, Chief Executive and Science Officer of the task force, said her organization is excited to be a part of Wildlands and will use funds from the festival to support several projects. “Our main priorities over the next year are to move forward projects that mitigate nuisance algae growth,” Gardner said. “[as well as projects] that boost our community’s water supply, resilience and our river access restoration projects that will reduce human impacts along the mainstem Gallatin.”

Gallatin Valley Land Trust, a Bozeman-based trails and conservation organization, aims to protect open spaces and build trails in perpetuity. Most recently, GVLT secured a permanent conservation easement on the North Bridger Bison Ranch in Sedan, Montana.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Jason Isbell has netted four Grammy awards including two for Best Americana Roots Song, “If We Were Vampires” and “24 Frames,” and two for Best American Album, “The Nashville Sound” and “Something More Than Free.” Isbell and the 400 Unit will round out Friday night.

A&E ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PHOTO BY KELLY KUNTZ

BSCO staff and volunteers complete trailwork around Big Sky during National Trails Day. PHOTO COURTESY OF BSCO Task force staff take samples at the Middle Fork of the West Fork of the Gallatin River to gather data on water chemistry and nutrient levels.

PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER

Explore Big Sky26 August 11 - 24, 2022 A&E

Film: “Accomplice” and “Progression” The Independent, 8 p.m.

Women’s Mountain Biking Clinic Big Sky Resort, 9 a.m. Gallatin Valley Farmers’ Market Gallatin County Fairgrounds, 9 a.m.

Thursday, Aug. 11 - Wednesday, Aug. 24

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WEDNESDAY, AUG. 24 Fire District Board of Trustees Meeting Big Sky Water & Sewer, 8:30 a.m. Big Sky Farmers Market Firepit Park, 5 p.m. Trivia The Independent, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, AUG. 11 Music in the Garden The Independent, 5 p.m. Music in the Mountains: Tommy Castro and The Painkillers Len Hill Park, 6 p.m Music on Main: The Brevet Bozeman, 6:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 17

BIG SKY EVENTS CALENDAR

Live Music: Amanda Stewart Band Tips Up, 9 p.m. FRIDAY, AUG. 19 10th Annual Cat Walk Bozeman, 11 a.m.

Wildlands Festival: Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Lukas Nelson & POTR Big Sky Event Arena, 5:30 p.m. Poker & Texas Hold’em Tips Up, 6 p.m. Live Music: Craig Hall Trio and Friends The Independent, 8 p.m. Live TakeMusic:AChance & Jen N Juice Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Live Music: Kayli Marie Tips Up, 9 p.m.

FEATURED EVENT: WILDLANDS FESTIVAL AUG. 12 - 13, 5:30 P.M.

Big Sky Farmers Market Firepit Park, 5 p.m. Live Music: Brian Stumpf Riverhouse BBQ & Events Poker & Texas Hold’em Tips Up, 6 p.m. Trivia The Independent, 7 p.m. Live Music: Dan Dubuque Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Women's Mountain Biking Clinic Big Sky Resort, 2-5 p.m. Live Music: Tom Marino Riverhouse BBQ & Events, 5:30 p.m. Poker & Texas Hold’em Tips Up, 6 p.m. Live Music: Craig Hall Trio and Friends The Independent, 8 p.m. Live Music: Stonesman Way Tips Up, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, AUG. 13

THURSDAY, AUG. 18 Wildflower and Weed Hike Beehive Basin, 9 a.m. Music in the Garden The Independent, 5 p.m. Music in the Mountains: Caitlin Krisko and The Broadcast Len Hill Park, 6 p.m.

SATURDAY, AUG. 20 Women’s Shred Fest Big Sky Resort, 8:15 a.m. Live Music: Mike Murray The Independent, 8 p.m.

Film: “The Bourne Ultimatum” The Independent, 8 p.m.

“TheTheatreWorks’:SoundofMusic” Ellen Theatre, 7:30 p.m., daily through Aug. 21 Live MadelineMusic:Hawthorne Band Tips Up, 9 p.m.

FRIDAY, AUG. 12 Learning in the Mountains: Service Providers BASE, 12:30 p.m. Women's Mountain Biking Clinic Big Sky Resort, 2-5 p.m.

Introduction to Wood Burning BASE, 10 a.m. Wildlands Festival: Brandi Carlile and the Indigo Girls Big Sky Event Arena, 5:30 p.m.

Four Grammy Award-winning artists will take the stage at Wildlands Festival for two nights in Big Sky. The festival gives back to the community by donating proceeds to three southwest Montana nonprofit organizations which focus on conserving and protecting the landscape that surrounds Big Sky and Bozeman. This year, proceeds will go to the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Big Sky Community Organization and the Gallatin River Task Force. Tickets can be purchased at wildlandsfestival.com. Wildlands Festival is produced by Outlaw Partners. Outlaw Partners publishes Explore Big Sky.

TUESDAY, AUG. 16 Water & Sewer Board Meeting Big Sky Water & Sewer District, 8 a.m. Middle Fork Restoration Middle Fork Project 3 Restoration Site, 1 p.m. Bozeman Farmers’ Market Lindley Park, 5 p.m. Film: “Where the Trail Ends” The Independent, 8 p.m.

Women’s Shred Fest Big Sky Resort, 8:15 a.m. Cruisin’ on Main Car Show Bozeman, 9 a.m. All Saints in Big Sky Big Sky Chapel, 10 a.m. Big Sky Christian Fellowship Big Sky Chapel, 4:30 p.m Poker & Texas Hold’em Tips Up, 6 p.m.

MONDAY, AUG. 15 Community Yoga Len Hill Park, 12 p.m. Pints with a Purpose Bridger Brewing, 4 p.m. Live Music: Wyatt Hurts Riverhouse BBQ & Events, 5:30 p.m. Live Music: Mathais The Independent, 8 p.m.

Film: “Dune” The Independent, 8 p.m. TUESDAY, AUG. 23 Bozeman Farmers’ Market Lindley Park, 5 p.m. English as a Second Language Class BASE, 6:30 p.m.

Live Music: Cole Decker The Independent, 8 p.m. Live Music: Robby Hutto and Andy Johnson Tips Up, 9 p.m. SUNDAY, AUG. 14 St. Joseph’s Mass Big Sky Chapel, 8 a.m. Women’s Mountain Biking Clinic Big Sky Resort, 9 a.m. All Saints in Big Sky Big Sky Chapel, 10 a.m. Big Sky Christian Fellowship Big Sky Chapel, 4:30 p.m. Poker & Texas Hold’em Tips Up, 6 p.m. Film: “The Bourne Supremacy” The Independent, 8 p.m.

If your event falls between Aug. 25 - Sept. 7, please submit it to media@theoutlapartners.com by Aug. 17. You or Someone You Know Need Help Getting Sober?

MONDAY, AUG. 22 Community Yoga Len Hill Park, 12 p.m. Pints with a Purpose Bridger Brewing, 4 p.m. Live Music: Wyatt Hurts Riverhouse BBQ & Events, 5:30 p.m.

Live Music: Walkric Tips Up, 9 p.m. SUNDAY, AUG. 21 St. Joseph’s Mass Big Sky Chapel, 8 a.m.

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Conservation easements, like that acquired by the Vissers, puts money or tax incentives in the hands of farmers and ensures that they’ll never have to see development wash out the land they’ve worked on and been a part of for generations.

BY BELLA BUTLER MANHATTAN – Eleven miles west of bustling Four Corners, Mel Visser surveys a portion of his 779-acre farm from his front stoop. Dozens of horses graze on the green bounty of the land, and a shift in the breeze flushes a flock of birds from a patch of wild lupine along a creek. “I love the open space,” he says, admiring the life playing out before him. “Except for them damn houses out there.”

LOCAL FARMER

In addition to the elk herd, the native grasslands planted by Mel decades ago serve as prime habitat for upland bird species, raptors and mule deer—all residents of the land the easement seeks to protect.

The Visser land cannot be fragmented; it cannot be developed; and it cannot be used for non-agricultural commercial purposes. The easement is also tied to the deed, so the protections are in perpetuity.

The Vissers’ conservation easement isn’t the land trust’s first endeavor in the area. In the Churchill/ Amsterdam region, GVLT has worked with 23 landowners to successfully conserve 9,700 acres.

NEWS

Miles beyond his rolling hills, a cluster of rooftops poke up from the horizon, a constant visual reminder for Mel of the sprawling development creeping ever closer to his family’s farm. His father purchased the land in the 1940s; it’s where Mel was born and raised, and it’s where he hopes to live the rest of his life. But fast-paced urbanization is an imposing threat on this wish. On June 3, 2020, Mel and his wife, Marge, finalized a conservation easement on their property with the help of the Gallatin Valley Land Trust. The conservation project, which began as mere discussion three years ago, aims to protect the Vissers’ property from fragmentation and development to ensure that the highly productive land can remain viable for agriculture and to safeguard migration corridors and habitats for wildlife. “[GVLT is] just trying to keep working lands in the hands of farmers, and it’s getting tougher by the day with the value of land creeping up…” said one of GVLT’s lands project managers Chad Klinkenborg. “It’s definitely been a priority for us to protect those critical [agricultural] properties that contain highly productive soils, and this particular project was no exception to that.” According to Klinkenborg, the Vissers’ land is roughly 80 percent of what the National Resources Conservation Service designates as prime soil. Mel said that in 1992, inflated fuel and fertilizer prices forced him to shift away from grain farming and find another way to draw an income from his land. It was then that he struck a deal with Jake’s Horses, an outfitting company near Big Sky. When the snow blows in and the temperatures drop, 20-80 horses from Jake’s take refuge on Mel’s land, their winter Althoughpasture.78-year-old Mel has no immediate interest in returning to laborious grain and hog farming, the conservation of his rich piece of dirt will allow for the continuation of the winter pasture that’s served as Marge’s and his main source of livelihood for years.

“Conservation easements are a way to help families keep their properties in [agriculture] and pass their land onto the next generation—their next generation—so they can continue to farm and utilize [agriculture] as a sustainable source of livelihood.”

PHOTO BY LOUISE JOHNS

Outlaw Partners

Klinkenborg estimated that of GVLT’s projects in the area, 90 percent are on generational farms.

PROTECTING OUR WILDLANDS REFLECTING ON THE IMPACTFUL WORK OF GALLATIN RIVER TASK FORCE, BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION AND GALLATIN VALLEY LAND TRUST OP

All four of Mel and Marge’s kids were born and raised on the farm, and Mel hopes the land that was passed onto him can one day rest in the hands of one of his children. Kevin, their youngest son, lives on the property and does most of the heavy lifting nowadays. He knows one day the farm will be his responsibility, and he’s more than content with that fate. He shares in his father’s deep admiration for the quilted patchwork of fields and fences, farmstead buildings and interminable sky. “This is my paradise too,” he said.

Another interest that warranted the easement is the surrounding wildlife. Roughly five years ago, the Vissers observed a herd of 300-400 elk travel from Ted Turner’s neighboring Flying D Ranch across their land to what locals know as “The Bench,” a plateau just beyond the Visser property. It’s a wonder Mel said he never saw growing up, but he’s enjoyed watching the herd’s migration ever since. Mel and Kevin hypothesize that the wolves that have moved onto the Flying D Ranch are what have pushed the elk up their way, and Kevin adds that because the land is no longer used for farming, which leaves the ground mostly bare in the winter, the yearround pasture likely resembles a buffet for the herd.

This particular conservation easement contains stipulations that satisfy three primary goals:

The expanse of earth that Mel looks across from his stoop, the nooks and crannies he used to explore as a kid, the land he’s come to know so intimately, will forever remain as he sees it now: unfragmented and undeveloped, a treasured piece of the “good ol’ West” he remembers. An original version of this story ran in the July 1, 2020 edition of EBS. CONSERVES LAND FOREVER

Explore Big Sky29 August 11 - 24, 20222

The Visser property, once used for grain and hog farming, is now winter pasture for Jake’s Horses.

As much of the surrounding landscape adopts a new form as a platform for homes and commercial structures, Mel is happy to have the assurance that his beloved land will not host “the rat race” that he looks upon with disdain. “You’ll carry me off of here before I move to town,” he said emphatically. “We’re losing our rural Montana. It’s not the good ol’ West anymore. It’s too urbanized.” He laments the loss of a quiet vastness that many new residents of the Gallatin Valley may never know.

The cost of the easement, equivalent to the value of the property’s development rights, was funded by a trio of sources: The Gallatin County Open Lands levy, which voters approved in 2018, the NRCS Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and the Vissers themselves, who accepted only a portion of the dollars and relinquished the remainder as a charitable Accordingcontribution. to reportingby Time in November 2019, Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies were up 50 percent in the Northwest from mid-2018 to mid2019, and between 2011 and 2018, the U.S. lost more than 100,000 farms. The decline of America’s quintessential small family farms has come to dominate the nation’s narrative in recent years.

While award-winning artists will bask in the spotlight at Outlaw Partners’ upcoming Wildlands Festival, the two-night event will also shine a light on three local organizations doing critical work to conserve and protect our region’s treasures: wildlands. While you get hyped for our shows listening to Brandi and Jason on your drive to work, take a moment to reflect on these stories that look back at some of the work the Gallatin River Task Force, the Gallatin Valley Land Trust and the Big Sky Community Organization have done to keep our home wild.

Following the finalization of the easement, Mel is able to get out of debt, pay his bills and look toward retirement. The threat of being forced to “sell out,” as he’s seen too many neighbors do over the years, is squelched, and he can take comfort in the fact his children and their children will know the land as it was, not from stories and old photos but from seeing it with their own eyes.

The 3-mile Mud Creek Trail Loop offers a beginner-friendly mountain biking route located about a mile south of Big Sky off of U.S. Highway 191. PHOTO COURTESY OF SARA MARINO

MUD CREEK TRAILS

Explore Big Sky30 August 11 - 24, 2022 OP NEWS SARA MARINO EBS CONTRIBUTOR OUSEL FALLS

The Crail Ranch Trail is a 2.6-mile roundtrip, leisurely path that traces the historic Crail Ranch Meadow, named after Big Sky’s original settlers. The flat, gravel surface is welcoming to any ability or type of trail user. You can access the trail by parking either at the Big Sky Community Park off Little Coyote Road, or at the Crail Ranch Homestead Museum on Spotted Elk Road. Be sure to leave time for a side trip to the museum. Guided tours are offered on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 3 p.m. through September. The grounds are open every day during daylight hours for selfguided walking tours and picnicking. The newest feature, the Crail Ranch Native Demonstration Garden, is now in full bloom. Big Sky’s first garden project has emerged through collaborative efforts among the Gallatin Invasive Species Alliance, Gallatin River Task Force, Big Sky Water and Sewer District, the Historic Crail Ranch Homestead Museum and Big Sky Community Organization.

The Mud Creek Trail loop is 3 miles in length and climbs about 450 feet in the first 1.5 miles, providing an opportunity to get your blood pumping a bit before the fast and flowy descent with berms and terrain features to enhance the ride. The trail should be ridden counter-clockwise and features a beginner-friendly climb and the descent is in the intermediate range. Beginners that are nervous about the descent can return the way they came up on the climbing trail. Hikers are welcome on the climbing trail but should steer clear of hiking on the descending trail for everyone’s safety. There is signage at the 1.5mile mark to indicate where the trail changes from two-way traffic to recommended downhill use only.

Ousel Falls is a trail for all seasons. And right now, winter is still holding on.

The garden is an outdoor classroom that showcases more than 700 native, wildlife-friendly and waterwise plants. The outdoor classroom will be used as an instructional tool for residents, visitors and students and will help our community understand that beautifully landscaped gardens can be sustained in a water-challenged environment. Water meters have been installed to track how native plants save water over time. There are also community vegetable garden beds that can be reserved for use by contacting Kimberly at crailranch@bscomt.org.

Ousel Falls and Ousel Falls River are slowly melting off. A quick hike to the falls reveals river banks still lined with snow and a still frozen waterfall.

Trail stats Distance: 1.6 miles roundtrip Difficulty: easy Elevation: 6,540 feet Surface: gravel, snow-packed in the winter and early spring Uses: hiking, snowshoeing, dogs on-leash Directions: The trailhead parking lot is located 2 miles south of Lone Mountain Trail off of Ousel Falls Road. A version of this article originally appeared in the April 12, 2019 edition of Explore Big Sky.

Hop on the Crail Ranch Trail and take a trip back in time and try to imagine what Big Sky was like those many years ago, while enjoying efforts made to keep it sustainable for the future. Trail Stats Distance: 2.6 miles roundtrip Difficulty: easy Elevation: 6,285 feet Surface: gravel Uses: walk, run and bike Directions: From Meadow Village, head north on Little Coyote Road. Travel past the Big Sky Chapel and turn onto the first road on your right. Look for the Big Sky Community Park entrance sign and turn right. The trailhead is immediately on the left-hand side and there’s parking near the softball fields. Sara Marino is the Development Manager for the Big Sky Community Organization. BSCO creates recreational and enrichment opportunities for people through leadership of partnerships, programs and places. A version of this article originally appeared in the Aug. 16, 2019 edition of Explore Big Sky.

If you haven’t checked out these trails yet, do yourself a favor and get out there. Trail maintenance from the BSCO team is helping these trails ride great. Be bear aware and have fun! A version of this article originally appeared in the September 10, 2021 edition of Explore Big Sky.

CRAIL RANCH TRAIL

PHOTO BY SARA MARINO ON THE TRAIL

The Michener Creek Trails quickly gained traction and popularity since being built by Terraflow Trail Systems in 2019 through private funders. The trails came under the Big Sky Community Organization trail system in May of 2021 thanks to the help of the Blackfoot Hills Property Owners Association and at that point, the trails reverted to their historical name of Mud Creek.

The Mud Creek Trails are easy to access. From Big Sky, travel about a mile south on U.S. Highway 191 and turn at the Michener Creek Road located between The Whitewater Inn and Canyon Adventures. Or, leave your car at home and bike the paved Lone Mountain Trail that runs from Town Center to the Big Sky Conoco. At that point the trail becomes the Gallatin Canyon Trail which keeps you safely off the road the entire time, ending at Ophir Elementary School. BSCO added an informational kiosk and trail signage, and plans to add a bearproof trash receptacle for users’ convenience.

This is a time to see the trail in a new way: fewer crowds, river banks lined with snow and frozen waterfalls. Be prepared for all trail conditions on your hike, including mud, ice, snow and slush. Shoes with traction devices like Yaktrax are a good idea for slick spots, or consider bring a trekking pole for stability and support. The 1.6-mile hike crosses through a ravine and over the Southfork of the Westfork of the Gallatin River via two picturesque bridges. Take a moment to read the plaques that are installed along both bridges. From births to deaths, anniversaries, and even names of beloved family pets, there are tributes and memorials of all kinds for those who share a love for Big Sky. After the second bridge, the trail meanders through the woods with a short climb up to a vista that overlooks a natural 35-foot waterfall. The warmth of spring has the falls breaking through the snow and ice. Don’t miss coming back in May during spring runoff to truly see the falls showing off in all its Grabglory.your camera, a water bottle and your studded shoes and head out for a hike that will fill you with an even greater appreciation for nature and Big Sky’s incredible outdoor opportunities.

The Crail Ranch Trail’s newest feature is a native plant garden that features 700 different species.

PHOTO BY SARA MARINO

“With the variety of threats facing the Gallatin, from climate change to high recreation pressure, we need to use every tool in the toolbox,” Gardner said. “By focusing our efforts on this impaired stream, we can strategically repair damage done while creating resiliency for an uncertain future.”

Everyone who visits and lives in the Upper Gallatin Watershed has a role to play in watershed stewardship. While restoration efforts are an important piece of the puzzle, we need everyone to pitch in to allow our waterways to meet water quality standards. Developers can utilize low-impact development techniques, residents can limit their use of pesticides and herbicides, visitors can practice leave-no-trace ethics and everyone can conserve water.

STREAM

Channelization of the Middle Fork below Lake Levinsky.

Along with the Middle Fork, the South Fork of the West Fork of the Gallatin River and the main West Fork of the Gallatin River are also impaired. Similar projects along these waterways could go a long way toward keeping the main stem Gallatin River from reaching the point of impairment, a fate that has yet to befall our backyard blue-ribbon stream.

“Our collaborative effort with the Gallatin River Task Force on rehabilitation is an important part of preserving our ecosystem, one of the core principles of the ForeverProject, the resort’s long-term roadmap for Decadessustainability.”ago,channelization

David Tucker is a conservation writer for the Gallatin River Task Force. An original version of this article ran in the Oct. 8, 2021 edition of EBS.

“As a community, we’ve identified sustainability and water conservation as key objectives,” said Emily O’Connor, conservation director for GRTF. “This project is another step in the right direction. We hope it serves as an example of how to live in Big Sky with ecological integrity in mind.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF DUNN RESTORATION SET TO BEGIN IN BIG SKY

BIG SKY – Three streams in Big Sky fail to meet state standards for water quality, but the Gallatin River Task Force plans to change that.

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BY DAVID TUCKER EBS CONTRIBUTOR

of the creek below the Lake Levinsky outlet created the unfavorable conditions that exist today; this isn’t the only place where stream conditions have been altered. “This stretch of the Middle Fork will serve as a case study,” said Kristin Gardner, GRTF’s chief executive and science officer. “We’re excited to share the results with community members throughout Big Sky and take steps to restore riparian habitat and floodplain connections along other streams, as well.”

On Oct. 5, 2021, restoration began on the Middle Fork of the West Fork of the Gallatin River, just downstream of the Lake Levinsky outlet adjacent to Big Sky Resort. The Middle Fork is impaired due to excess sediment loading, nutrients and e-coli, and restoration efforts led by GRTF will help improve water quality while slowing the flow of water through our headwaters community.

The effort represents part one of a multiphase restoration of the Middle Fork, and project partners will be installing beaver-dam analogs and other natural features to better replicate how water would flow through a landscape uninterrupted by human development. The features serve two purposes: to add an additional layer of filtration and to keep water from rapidly running off downstream. To address sediment and alterations to streamside vegetation, bioengineering techniques will be used to restore a natural meandering riffle-pool sequence with increased floodplain connectivity, including wetland creation and natural water-storage features. With funding from the Big Sky Resort Area District, the Moonlight Community Foundation and the Montana Watershed Coordination Council, the Middle Fork project is a collaborative effort toward shared community goals. “The Middle Fork stream restoration project will enhance habitat, mitigate drought conditions and improve healthy water resources in Big Sky,” said Amy Trad, Big Sky Resort’s sustainability specialist.

MAKING IT IN BIG SKY: THE CRAIL RANCH HOMESTEAD MUSEUM

– Anne Marie Mistretta, conservator and former chair of the Crail Ranch Conservators “

BUSINESS

We’re in a community that is growing, is in many respects changing and this museum keeps the community grounded in its ranching and homesteading roots so that we, as a community, can see what we evolved from, and how the pillars of our society here in Big Sky remained the same. Those pillars are: our people, our character, our recreation and our natural environment.

EBS: What programs or events does the Crail Ranch organize?

EBS talked with Mistretta to learn more about the Crail Ranch and its role in the Big Sky community.

The Historic Crail Ranch Conservators pose in 2014 in front of a newly erected storage shed which was built to help the property grow as a museum. Today there is an ongoing effort to create an online database of all the artifacts, photos and documents in the Crail Ranch Homestead Museum.

EBS: What is the importance of the Crail Ranch to Big Sky? AMM: “We’re in a community that is growing, is in many respects changing and this museum keeps the community grounded in its ranching and homesteading roots so that we, as a community, can see what we evolved from, and how the pillars of our society here in Big Sky remained the same. Those pillars are: our people, our character, our recreation and our natural environment. I maintain that no matter how we are changing in terms of growth, we are the people that we were 100-and-some years ago, we have always had the same volunteering and giving character and we have always been about recreation in the outdoors and there’s always been a very heightened concern for the natural environment here. I always posit that no matter how much we’ve grown, we have retained that character and those values.”

A version of this article originally appear in April 23, 2021 edition of Explore Big Sky.

AMM: “We do children’s education, and we do that through our connections with the school curriculum, and the summer camps. We do adult education, and we have summer programs. We usually have what’s called a living history presentation, which is an afternoon with an actor who adopts the persona of a local or regional historical figure. We do a lot of publications and we write for local newspapers, as well as Montana Historian Magazine (and) Destination Big Sky. We write a lot, and our publications are about local and regional history, even state and national history, but they’re through the lens of someone from the Crail family or somebody locally … We do a number of things in the summer, like hike-and-learns. In the winter we have a biannual event, it’s called Of Wilderness and Resorts, and we normally have someone locally who is published and then we also show the Homesteads to Huntley film. There is something on the horizon, it’s called customcodex.com. We just contracted with them and we will be having a tremendous amount of information digitally online that people can access exhibits as well as any part of our 1,400-artifact collections. We have interpretive signs around the community so that people can read them and learn … I feel that we’ve not only been all about preserving this ranch, it’s 120 some years old, but that it’s a jewel in our community because it can educate people, we give tours too.”

EBS: What is the most interesting piece of history about the Crail Ranch? AMM: “Historic Crail Ranch’s most important attribute is its resilience. Unique double dovetail notching provides structural stability. After operating as a stock ranch for 50 years, followed by a short stint as a dude ranch, two buildings survived the wrecking ball and a fire when the property transformed to a golf course. Since the 1980s, various groups have rehabilitated and preserved the Crail Ranch, including the Gallatin Canyon Women’s Club and the nowdefunct Gallatin Canyon Historical Society. The property now serves as a museum, preserved by the Historic Crail Ranch Conservators under the Big Sky Community Organization.”

BY GABRIELLE GASSER BIG SKY– In 1902, Augustus Franklin Crail established a homestead on the banks of the Gallatin River in the area now known as the Big Sky Meadow Village. For half a century, the homestead expanded to 960 acres and was home to generations of Crails. Today, the Historic Crail Ranch Museum, marked by two log structures that are some of the oldest in the area, is an admired relic of Big Sky’s rustic early days. As Big Sky grew and the ranch land was purchased by Chet Huntley, the two remaining cabins were eventually placed on the National Register of Historic Places thanks to the efforts of the now-defunct Gallatin Canyon Historical Society in the 1980s. In 2001, a dedicated group of conservators turned the preserved Crail Ranch into the Crail Ranch Homestead Museum. Former chair of the historic Crail Ranch Conservators, Anne Marie Mistretta joined the cause when she moved to Big Sky full-time in 2003. She and her husband, Jerry Mistretta, had been coming to Big Sky since 1993 for vacations while living in Connecticut, where they resided in a barn converted to a house. Mistretta had a lot of antiques and was involved in local history in Connecticut and felt she would miss that when coming to Big Sky. She began volunteering with the conservators immediately upon arriving in Big Sky full time. Mistretta took a hiatus from the Crail Ranch during her tenure as superintendent of Big Sky School District #72 but rejoined immediately following her retirement. After becoming chair of the conservators in 2013 Mistretta said the group focused on infrastructure projects and on curating the museum to be an educational resource for the school and summer camps.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANNE MARIE MISTRETTA ”

EBS: What is the best piece of business advice you have ever received? AMM: “A museum is not static, and it isn’t just about objects and artifacts, it’s about people and their desire to learn from what we have and what we know and connect it to themselves. That’s why we have much more of an online presence now and it’s because we really want people to engage with our research and with our objects.”

Some answers below have been edited for brevity. Explore Big Sky: How are BSCO and other organizations involved with the Crail Ranch? Anne Marie Mistretta: “That’s the other thing that we’ve tried to do in the last seven years is make sure that we’re a community asset. We actually are quote unquote owned by Big Sky Community Organization they hold the title to the property and they also provide quite a few services for us such as accounting services and property upgrades ... Over the last seven years what we’ve tried to do is connect more closely with the school district so that we are part of the school district curriculum. We are partners with Big Sky County Water and Sewer District, Gallatin River Task Force, Gallatin Invasive Species Alliance, we are even connected, to some extent, with the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center. We see ourselves as a community asset. There’s lots of places in Montana that have little homesteads, but we’re among the few communities that have a homestead that’s actually a museum.”

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In many areas, insurance companies are either requiring homeowners to pay enormously high premiums or they have announced they will no longer pay out damage claims for property owners who choose to build in risky areas.

BY TODD WILKINSON EBS COLUMNIST We are living in a time in which some people would rather ignore the dots than begin connecting them, or ponder the meaning of cause and effect, or believe that denying science is less anxious an undertaking than giving serious consideration to what’s in front of us. Sometimes it’s difficult to assess what’s happening when you’re in the middle of it. Consider the Regularindicators:andincreasing summer hoot owl fishing and floating restrictions on our rivers; algae blooms on lakes and even in the Gallatin. While our immediate area has so far avoided large fires this summer thanks to a cool and wet late spring, we are by no means out of the woods.

At the same time, the agency has dealt with unprecedented cutbacks in personnel carrying out scientific research and wildlife stewardship, backcountry management, trail maintenance, law enforcement, monitoring of livestock grazing allotments, and restoration work.

Human-caused climate change, they say, has helped to transform what would ordinarily be a drought event into an extended megadrought. One of the tools used to compare warm, dry periods in the past with the time we’re in now are tree rings that allow scientists to look back in time.

Last summer, Dr. Cathy Whitlock of Montana State University, Scott Bischke and others released the first-ever assessment that examines the ecological impacts of climate change on Greater Yellowstone. Look it up. The analysis is yet another opportunity for connecting the dots of sciencebased reality. Todd Wilkinson is founder of Bozeman-based Mountain Journal (mountainjournal.org) and a correspondent for National Geographic and The Guardian. He’s authored numerous books, including his latest, “Ripple Effects: How to Save Yellowstone and America’s Most Iconic Wildlife Ecosystem,” available at Thismountainjournal.org.columnhasbeen updated from the original version published in EBS in April 2021.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA/PUBLIC DOMAIN

While the impact is most pronounced in desert and far-west states, the tentacles extend right into our backyard in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. “Severe and persistent 21st-century drought in southwestern North America motivates comparisons to medieval megadroughts and questions about the role of anthropogenic [humancaused] climate change,” the nine authors write. “We use hydrological modeling and new 1,200-year tree-ring reconstructions so summer soil moisture to demonstrate that the 2000-2018 drought was the second driest 19-year period since 800, exceeded only by a late-1500s megadrought.”

Lake Powell, a federal water project in southern Utah that was touted as a water bank insurance policy against droughts and a wellspring for economic prosperity via land development, crop irrigation and recreation, is suffering from a “20year drought”—the last 10 years of which have been called extreme. This summer, water levels could reach 3,540 feet of elevation above sea level at Lake Powell, lowest since 1968.

Outside of deserts, and particularly in forested areas, the researchers note that drought conditions are worsened by drying soils in summer driven by human-caused warming through enhanced water evaporation and early loss of snowpack.

The afternoon in early September 1988 when the Old Faithful Inn nearly burned to the ground from the advancing North Fork Fire. Wilkinson covered the fire that day as a reporter.

Based on 31 different climate models, researchers believe humans putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is altering weather patterns and ocean water temperatures, giving way to less moisture, lower humidity and warmer temperatures.

One way to think about it is this: a ski area may have lots of powder in February but if warming temperatures cause it to melt earlier, and summer moisture either doesn’t materialize or rains are offset by scorching temperatures, soils dry out.

Explore Big Sky34 August 11 - 24, 2022 OPINION

In Greater Yellowstone, including mountain foothill areas around Bozeman, Big Sky, Paradise Valley and in the Tetons, thousands of homes have been built at the edge or inside forests. Policy experts say they are the equivalent of people building homes in river flood plains or along ocean coastlines where hurricanes roar ashore.

While climate change means huge challenges relating to fires and property loss (including health issues from smoke), water availability, rangeland for wildlife and livestock, crop production, and the outdoor recreation economy, in the desert Southwest it may be even more dire. Tens of millions of Americans depend on snowmelt and precipitation that originates in the Rockies and then, via river systems like the Colorado, is tapped by states including Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and California downstream.

When soils dry, grasses and forests dry and become highly vulnerable to fire, whether lightning or human caused. No amount of forest thinning will halt drying soils; in fact, logging, some other studies note, may make things worse.

On top of that, firefighting costs are often borne by all American taxpayers. In recent years, those costs have consumed half of the U.S. Forest Service budget with a huge percentage related to defending structures on private land.

Experts say that water today has been overappropriated, meaning more has been allocated to different user groups than is generated in the system, especially during droughts. While transferring of water rights related to agriculture has bought states in the Colorado River upper and lower compacts more time, many believe it is time borrowed.

THE NEW WEST WE, AND MUCH OF THE WEST, ARE LOCKED IN MEGADROUGHT

Two years ago, a Labor Day weekend forest fire near the M Trailhead in Bozeman topped the Bridgers and destroyed 68 structures, 30 of which were homes up Bridger Canyon. And that November, the Porcupine Fire torched nearly 700 acres near Big Sky. Last summer, the Shedhorn Fire up Taylor Fork south of Big Sky burned 75 acres and firefighters contained a torching tree on the South Fork Loop. Currently, a dozen wildfires are burning in Montana. Whitebark pine trees, whose cone seeds are an important source of nutrition for grizzly bears, continue to die and now are being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Melting out of the mountain snowpack is generally happening earlier. Wetlands are drying out and disappearing. Average temperatures are rising. Last summer, a peer-reviewed analysis published in the journal “Science” suggests that much of the West, including southwest Montana and much of Wyoming, is suffering the consequences not of a drought, but megadrought. The study is titled “Large contribution from anthropogenic warming to an emerging North American megadrought.”

“Generations of children will have poorer childhoods because they will never have a ‘wild’ place along a ditch to explore,” she says. It’s hard to love a semi-desert once you’ve come to appreciate the wonders that a ditch can bring.

Fleck and other students of the Colorado River see a time coming soon when many water diversions will cease because of their lower priority dates. Some ditches are already dry, as the water gets left in the river for the Lower Basin states of Arizona, Nevada and California. These states share the river equally with the Upper Basin states of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming, where the river begins and gathers strength.

Throughout the West, thousands of ditches that snake for miles through semi-arid country are nothing less than beloved. They add living green corridors to walk or bike along, impromptu wetlands frequented by birds, and always, a respite from summer heat. But now a warming climate delivers less melted snow to rivers that supply these diversion ditches with water.

*The rankings are based on data provided by thousands of advisors. Factors included in the rankings were assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory record and client retention. Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC. Shore to Summit Wealth Management, LLC is a separate entity from

DITCHES ARE A VANISHING PARADISE BY DAVE MARSTON WRITERS ON THE RANGE

Dave Marston is publisher of Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to lively discussion about the West.

They always called it a ditch, this 71-mile-long canal that carried water all over Denver.

Annette Choszczyk lives in rural western Colorado these days, but when she was a kid, the Highline Canal in Denver was her summer paradise. “To us, it was river and a playground, complete with rope swings, swimming holes, crawdads and a trail alongside it that adults and kids could walk on to the foothills or far out into the prairie.”

WRITERS ON THE RANGE

Explore Big Sky35 August 11 - 24, 2022 OPINION

Federal legislation also mandates piping many earthen ditches to cut salinity in the Colorado River water that’s sent to Mexico. The result: dry trails, disappearing wetlands and the end of a rural and urban amenity. Many people mourn the loss. “With less water we have to figure out how to try to retain the best of what we value the most,” says John Fleck, a water researcher at the University of New Mexico’s Utton Center. He says the Griego Lateral, in Albuquerque, that he regularly bikes along, was built in 1708, and during the COVID lockdown, the ditch bank was mobbed with bikers and walkers desperate to get outdoors. “There is incredible value in these ditches,” he says. But Fleck points out that we’re confronted by difficult choices: “How much water do we keep in rivers and which ditches do we save?” Any loss can be painful, and in a blog post, Fleck said simply: “I love living near a Youditch.”could say of Cary Denison, former project coordinator for Trout Unlimited and an irrigator, that he was born in irrigation boots. “In western Colorado, my dad was the superintendent of the Fire Mountain Canal,” he says, “and my first job was irrigating.” These days, though, Denison thinks rivers get shortchanged because too much water gets diverted into ditches. “Then a river suffers,” he says. “We need to maintain enough water in the river for fish and plant life.”

Over centuries, says Fleck, “one of the things that we’ve done in all these Western landscapes is to narrow the river itself with levees and dams and control it in a narrow channel. And we’ve distributed water across the floodplain through ditches. It’s this huge rich, complex social and cultural ecosystem that we’ve all lived in for hundreds of years.”

Scott and his team manage roughly $300,000,000 in private client assets. Scott Brown CFP®, CIMA®, CRPC® recognized as Barron’s Top 1000 Advisor’s in 2011, 2012, and 2013.*

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But increasing aridity is already changing that pattern. Earlier this summer, Choszczyk—who now lives in western Colorado—mourned the loss of some of her local ditches as they got piped, ending the riparian ribbon that enhanced her neighborhood.

Dennison recalls a startling moment as he irrigated family property outside of Hotchkiss, Colorado. The gated 12-inch pipe was clogged, so he and his brother began cleaning it out, expecting a mass of leaves and twigs. But the clog turned out to be the biggest brown trout—“and I fished almost daily,” he says—that he’d ever seen. That fish had come a long way. Their property was nine miles from the diversion where the river was sweeping almost entirely into the ditch. These days Dennison is an irrigator himself and lives in the town of Ridgway. But he recalls that giant brown trout as “a day where irrigators should have taken less.” The experience led Denison toward his work in conservation: “We need to take only the water from rivers we absolutely need.”

The experience, accreditation, industry-wide recognition and integrity that Southwest Montana deserves.

Explore Big Sky36 August 11 - 24, 2022 OPINION

A LIFETIME OF LEARNING BY PAUL SWENSON EBS COLUMNIST Hello EBS readers. I am a new contributor to EBS and would like to tell you a little bit about myself and the column that you will read in subsequent editions. To do so I would like to take you on a small historical journey on how I arrived at this point in time. I am a third generation Montana educator, starting with my grandfather who taught elementary school in Butte, Montana, in the 1930’s and ‘40s before miving to Bozeman in 1942 during the potential Axis threat to our nation’s copper supply during World War II. Here he spent his career as an elementary principal until the mid 1960’s. During the summer months, he and my grandmother would camp at Greek Creek, fishing and enjoying peaceful days along the Gallatin River. He tied flies and built flyrods that he would sell to any interested fisherman he met along the way. My father was born in Butte but spent the majority of his life in Bozeman. He attended Montana State University in the 1950’s, majoring in Physics, to later return and become the chairman of the Physics Department in 1970. There he taught, researched and administered a growing faculty until his Myretirement.mothergrew up in Thermopolis, Wyoming, the daughter of a petroleum geologist and her amazing mother. Mom tells many fascinating stories of spending time with her family in the wilds of Wyoming. She also attended MSU in the 1950’s, pursuing a nursing career. She too returned to MSU, working in the student health service where she later retired. In the summers during college, my dad worked at the post office at Mammoth, Wyoming, in Yellowstone National Park. My dad’s passion for fly fishing led him to develop a love for the fishing and backcountry of Yellowstone, which he shared with his new girlfriend (mom) who also had an incredible connection to the outdoors because of her upbringing. Eventually they got married and had three children—my two sisters and me. In 1970 my parents made a life-changing purchase for our family: a cabin across the highway from the Almart Lodge, now known as the Cinnamon Lodge. The family would move from Bozeman to the cabin for the summer. Except for tennis, swimming lessons and getting groceries in Bozeman (there was no Big Sky at the time), we were always at the cabin. Every day we would do some activity—hiking, fishing, floating the river, picnics, cook-outs, playing games and many others. During these adventures we would learn about our surroundings and how to embrace the outdoors. We did not have a television, it was before VCRs and computers, so we had to create our own entertainment. Amazing what a kid’s imagination can do with a couple sticks or playing with some frogs borrowed from the neighbor’s pond.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Paul Swenson has been living in and around the Big Sky area since 1966. He is a retired science teacher, fishing guide, Yellowstone guide and naturalist. Also an artist and photographer, Swenson focuses on the intricacies found in nature.

A young Paul Swenson sits at his family’s cabin in 1975. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL catch at Greek Creek in 1968. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL SWENSONSwenson and his dad pack through Hilgard Basin in 1974. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL SWENSON

I entered Montana State University to study geology and physics. Sciences that combined my passions for the outdoors, both sides of my family tree, and how the universe works. But when I graduated, the oil crisis of the mid 1980’s destroyed the job markets in geology. So, I went to graduate school at Stanford University and finished my masters in 1988. When I was done there were still no job offers that met my expectations. Therefore, I moved back to Bozeman and became a ski bum and bartender at Bridger Bowl, and a fishing guide in West Yellowstone. After two years of this lifestyle, I felt a need to do something else, to give back to my community. I returned to MSU and received my credentials to teach science, which I did for the last 32 years, in Bozeman, Billings, and then here in Big Sky. Teaching was a truly unique and fulfilling experience, to share my passions with my students and have them learn about the incredible place where they live. Now I am retired; 2022 was my final year. As I thought about what to do with my newly acquired time, I noticed some former students writing for EBS. “What if I could share the knowledge gained through a lifetime of experience, and educating others, to write a column for our local paper? Would it help residents and visitors alike better understand, appreciate, and respect the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem?” I asked myself. So here I am, writing for you. Over the next few months while reading this column I hope you gain new understanding and perspectives on this region. If nothing else, maybe you will think, “Huh, that’s interesting.”

SwensonSWENSONholdsuphis

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Explore Big Sky38 August 11 - 24, 2022 bellecose.com JACKSON HOLE | BIG SKY | VERO BEACH | CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA OPENING AUG 17 UPCOMING DESIGNER EVENTS Home Decor, Gifts, Women’s Clothing & Fine Jewelry 223 Town Center Avenue, Unit A1, Big Sky, MT | 406.995.2655 Monday–Saturday: 10am to 6pm | Sunday: 12pm to 5pm LET’S GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER! COCKTAILS ON THE PATIO 223 TOWN CENTER FRIDAYS: AUGUST 19 & 26 | 4PM TO 6PM DANA BRONFMAN RACHEL KATZ Friday, Saturday & Sunday AUGUST 19, 20 & 21 Friday, Saturday & Sunday AUGUST 26, 27 & 28 OPINION BY SCOTT MECHURA EBS COLUMNIST

It seems like in so many aspects of our lives, we are met with adversity and challenges we haven’t faced in decades. But there’s one area where humans are at the top of their game. We are more efficient and successful than any other time in history when it comes to farming and ranching. And drones, of all things, are playing an increasingly key role in that success. Ranchers work from sun up to sun down, seven days a week, 365 days a year. And drones are being used for more and more of that work.

A rancher in Terry, Montana, was telling me that in certain weather conditions, a cow can self-suffocate in a blizzard.

While some ranchers still ride horseback, more and more ride a dirt bike or ATV to traverse, on Montana average, about 30 miles a day perusing fence line, looking for holes or breaks. This takes time and fuel to accomplish. With technology and battery improvements, drones are being used for inspecting these fence lines in a fraction of the time.

Drones are also being used to scan pastures for herbage and invasive weeds. This way, they can pinpoint their herbicides and watering to more efficiently manage the land. They can upload hundreds of photos to a server and analyze every pasture as a whole to best determine exactly when to move the herd on to the next. And here’s where it gets really cool: the animals themselves.

Silly of course. A drone couldn’t really make a spontaneous decision to dispose of a cow it deemed it unacceptable, could it?

Scott Mechura has spent a life in the hospitality industry as well as a former certified beer judge.

AMUSE BOUCHE THESE ARE THE DRONES YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

Overall, I do think this does much more good than harm. However, being inherently cautious of intrusive technology, I can’t help but recall a scene from 1999’s “The Matrix” in which a drone-like machine spots a human deemed unacceptable and systematically flushes him out as waste.

The next goal is to determine if there is a way in which drones can move the herd from one pasture to the next. So far there’s only been limited success. They can herd the cattle in theory, but the sight and sound of a drone is naturally unsettling.

Placing a GPS tracker in an animal to monitor their location is also useful. If all heads aren’t accounted for, perhaps a young calf is lost or separated from its mother. And location and heart rate can indicate a possible pursuit by a predator. And since ranchers aren’t really the sit-in-front-of-acomputer type, all these applications can be monitored in real time on their phones, allowing them free time to … never mind, ranchers still do not have free time. Never hurts to dream though.

Cattle do not have the ability to breathe through their mouth, only their nose. So if temperature and humidity are just right, ice begins to close over the nostrils begin with every intake of oxygen. This causes the animal to panic as their breathing becomes more labored, which expedites the process. But monitoring via drone in a far-away gully where the cows are taking refuge can help prevent this.

Cows instinctually want to be left alone when they are ready to birth a calf. And this sometimes means the cow will wander far away to be left alone. This means a ranch hand has to be monitoring her without being intrusive enough to push her farther away. With a drone, she can be monitored on everything from heart rate to body temperature.

A hand can then intervene when it is necessary. In addition, heat tracking is being used to see if a cow or calf is caught in a broken barbed wire fence line, stuck in a bog or experiencing hypothermia.

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True to its grassroots origin, WIA involves community members at many different levels. Current opportunities include:

Explore Big Sky40 August 11 - 24, 2022 OPINION

Policy-driven solutions like expanding mental health coverage and addressing social determinants are imperative and are better handled in Helena and Washington, D.C. Here in Big Sky, though, grassroots efforts have led to the creation of local organizations to promote mental health and well-being and such efforts continue to sustain them.

Hiring a behavioral health program manager and two outreach workers and expanding their tele-counseling program in collaboration with the coalition and Montana State AssistingUniversitythecoalition and Rimrock Addiction Treatment Center with integrating a local addiction peer support specialist

• A sliding fee program with a special category for seasonal workers that comes to about $15 per session

WIA is a member of the Big Sky Behavioral Health Coalition that works collaboratively with the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation, Big Sky Community Organization, Human Resources Development Council, Big Sky Community Food Bank, and Bozeman Health to address the mental and behavioral health challenges our community faces. WIA’s Counseling Hub Model, a platform that enables counseling, not as a traditional clinic, was informed by the coalition and “best practice” counseling models in other Rocky Mountain West towns. This model includes: • Free space, service promotion, guaranteed payments to counselors who see clients who are uninsured and underinsured as well as flexibile service hours

• The “Design In Kind” project: volunteer decorator teams refurbishing counseling rooms Contact WIA board member Betsy McFadden at Hiringbmcfluke@aol.comfor:

Grassroots organizations are the heart of our community. It’s never too late to get involved!

“I take my hat off to the women who started WIA and all the board members and staff since then,” Morand said. “I have never walked into a job where the fore-mothers had generated such a strong network and so much social capital.”

“I see my role as a curious catalyst who constantly asks, ‘What mental health and well-being services does our community need and what is the best way to provide them,’” explained MaryBeth Morand, WIA’s executive director, when we spoke in late July. “I manage an outreach team that collects the feedback and ensures WIA programs are ‘just right’ for Big Sky.”

•

• community health worker

• For more, email info@wiabigsky.org, call (406) 993-6803 or visit wiabigsky.org

• behavioral health program manager

• Connect with a counselor: bigskywia.org/counseling

LET’S TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH WIA’S CREATIVE COUNSELING APPROACH POWERFUL museumoftherockies.org | 406.994.2251 | 600 W. Kagy Blvd. Presenting Sponsor: Stephanie Dickson & Chris McCloud Leading Sponsor: Sheehy Family Foundation Contributing Sponsors: In Memory of Ruth Sommerfeld Apsáalooke Women and Warriors explores the history, values, and beliefs of this Native American (Crow) community known for their horsemanship, artistic pursuits, matriarchal ways of life, and honors the tradition of “counting coup” - performing acts of bravery. Visitors will learn about Apsáalooke origins, cultural worldviews, and the powerful roles that both women and warriors hold in the community through a unique mix of traditional objects and contemporary Native American pieces. This exhibition is jointly organized by the Field Museum and the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society at the University of Chicago. Now – December 31 Portraits of Apsáalooke women symbolically caring for the shields. –Various Artists Future in our Eyes. –Ben Pease Beaded Horse Regalia. –Lydia Falls Down Apsáalooke Art and Design –Bethany Yellowtail

• Office remodeling, with support from Big Sky Resort Area District, for more counseling rooms, ADA accessibility and sound-proof booths for private access to tele-counseling, online coaching and other support.

“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with –community.”DorothyDay, activist BY SHANNON STEELE EBS COLUMNIST Many of us were drawn to Big Sky for its promises of opportunity, exploration and independence. In the process, we separated ourselves from our support systems— friends and family—with confidence that the community we would find of like-minded adventurers would sustain us. And it does, a lot of the time. But at other times, our experience can feel shrouded in loneliness and uncertainty.

And while many of us are far away from where we grew up, we are all products of our environments of origin—physical and emotional circumstances that were mostly out of our control. These so-called social determinants can be more important than health care or lifestyle choices in influencing health. Even the crisp mountain air can work against our mental and physical health. High altitude causes metabolic stress due to long-term oxygen deprivation. Sadly, worldwide there’s a spike in suicide above 2,500 feet. Indeed, our rugged individualist, Montana-loving selves can sometimes feel trapped by the lore of the Mountain West that tells us we’re tough and we can make it alone. The weight of this myth is especially heavy for men. Masculine norms keep men from seeking help. Men ages 25-64 have by far the highest incidences of completed suicide in Montana.

One example is Wellness in Action, formerly known as Women in Action. WIA was started in 2005 by nine local women who were concerned that many children and families in Big Sky were missing out on quality education, recreation, health and human services. WIA began by fundraising for camp scholarships and has broadened its efforts with Big Sky itself. It changed its name from Women to Wellness to assure men that they are welcome too!

Shannon Steele is the behavioral health program officer at the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation, and values a collaborative and community-centered approach to mental/ behavioral health and wellness. She has a background in mindbody wellness and community health, and is also a certified yoga instructor and active volunteer. Community, wellness and the outdoors have always been pillars inShannon’s life.

Talk to us about your construction loan options. Building your dream home takes planning and patience. And it all starts with the right financing. Our experienced, dedicated team can guide you through your construction loan options, providing the highest levels of service at every stage. Our competitive construction loans offer: One closing with one set of fees Low down payment options Financing for renovations and expansion projects usbank.com to learn more about U.S. Bank products and services. Mortgage, home equity and credit products are offered by U.S. Bank National Association. Deposit products are offered by U.S. Bank National Association. Member FDIC. ©2020 U.S. Bank 448802c 4/22 Gina Marshall Mortgage Loan Officer 406.522.3293 office 406.600.8699 NMLSgina.marshall@usbank.comcell#489006 To learn more, visit my mortage loan officer webpage. Loan approval is subject to credit approval and program guidelines. Not all loan programs are available in all states for all loan amounts. Interest rates and program terms are subject to change without notice. Visit © 2021 .. All rights reserved. Engel & Völkers and its independent franchisees are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act. Each property shop is independently owned and operated. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. If your property is currently represented by a real estate broker, this is not an attempt to solicit your listing. 140 Upper Beehive Loop Road | $6,250,000 | 4 Beds | 4.5 Baths +/- 6,705 Sqft | +/-20.67 Acres | MLS# 366377 Listing Advisor: Stacy Ossorio, Broker | Private Office stacy.ossorio@engelvoelkers.com | 406.539.8553 170 Gray Owl Lane | $4,850,000 | 4 Beds | 5.5 Baths +/- 4,832 Sqft | +/- 3.8 Acres | MLS# 368621 Listing Advisor: Stacy Ossorio, Broker | Private Office stacy.ossorio@engelvoelkers.com | 406.539.8553 25 Blue Spruce Way, The Pines B-4 | 3 Beds | 2 Baths +/- 2,016 Sqft | $1,900,000 | MLS# 368974 Listing Advisor: Stacy Ossorio, Broker | Private Office stacy.ossorio@engelvoelkers.com | 406.539.8553 2270 Yellowtail Road | Golf Course Location | 4 Beds | 3.5 Baths +/- 2,757 Sqft | $2,795,000 | MLS# 371585 Listing Advisor: Stacy Ossorio, Broker | Private Office stacy.ossorio@engelvoelkers.com | 406.539.8553 DON’T JUST VISIT HERE, LIVE HERE.

CAMPSTOVE COOKING

3. Let this rest for a while to rise. 4. Once the dough has risen and is ready, heat your pan on the camp stove with a bit of oil or butter and squish your dough so it covers the entire surface of the pan—cover and let cook until the bottom starts to brown and flip.

Instructions

HOMEMADE PIZZA

· Summer sausage

· Dried tomato paste

Julia Barton makes homemade pizza on an MSR Whisperlite camp stove in the Wyoming backcountry, circa 2016. PHOTO COURTESY OF JULIA BARTON

This is what I use for toppings, but feel free to get creative here:

Explore Big Sky42 August 11 - 24, 2022 OPINION

· Cheese

Protect what matters most. At AssuredPartners, we’re here to provide best-in-class asset protection and unparalleled service when wildfire strikes. Through our powerful partnerships we are able to provide complimentary wildfire defensive services that protect your home before, during and after a wildfire. Contact Rob Kerdasha for a complimentary review of your current homeowners policy 406.640.0375 robert kerdasha@assuredpartners com BY JULIA BARTON In 2016 I embarked on a month-long backpacking and climbing trip in Wyoming’s Wind River Mountains with NOLS, a nonprofit wilderness education program. We carried mostly raw ingredients with us—flour, sugar, butter and grains—meaning we were cooking from scratch most nights on the camp stove. During that time, I learned how to make homemade pizza, a meal that feels extra gourmet when eaten on a remote mountain top, far from traditional kitchen amenities. Making dough, especially outdoors, can be intimidating, but I assure you that it’s not as significant of an undertaking as it seems. If you’re car camping, you could even buy pre-made dough and bring it out with you. Either way, this pizza is sure to hit the spot after a long day outside. I do most of my backcountry cooking based on approximations, and the measurements below don’t need to be exact—ratios and texture are the most important components for the dough. I recommend making the dough in the morning and carrying it with you as you hike during the day or making it on a day when you get to camp fairly early in the afternoon, so the dough has time to rise. Depending on the size of your pan, this recipe will make two to three pizzas. For the crust you’ll need: · 1 teaspoon dry yeast · 2 cups lukewarm water · 1 pinch sugar · 1 pinch salt · 1 pound flour

· Salt and pepper

1. Dissolve the yeast in some warm water and let the yeast bloom for a few minutes before mixing in the salt and sugar. The mixture should foam up a bit, at which point you can begin adding in flour.

5. Add on your toppings (don’t forget to rehydrate the tomato paste first!) and cover so the cheese melts. 6. Rotate the pizza as you go to make sure it cooks evenly and enjoy!

2. I usually add flour in a plastic bag as it can be a messy process. (Depending on the type of flour you use, the elevation and humidity, the measurements may change a bit. Focus on hydrating the flour just enough for it to come together.)

· Dried onion

If you’re thinking of buying or building in the Gallatin Valley, give me a call to take advantage of my knowledge of the market and experience as a local lender – it makes all the difference. NMLS# 412554 Rates and terms may vary. All loans subject to credit approval. MEMBER 4150 Valley Commons Dr, Bozeman MT I opportunitybank.com Opportuni MOR TG AG E A Division of Oppor tunity Bank of Montana Brett Evertz • 406-629-0132 Home Loan Division Assistant Manager • bevertz@oppbank.com NMLS #523473 LOOKINGTOBUY your own piece of the 406 ? Let’s talk.

FUN ILLUSTRATION BY CY WHITLING BEAR SPRAY COUNTRY

BY CY WHITLING EBS CONTRIBUTOR

Anecdotally, almost no one treats bear spray with that level of respect. Instead people let it dangle precariously from backpack straps inches from their face, throw it haphazardly into hot cars and generally treat it like a bottle of sunscreen, not a firearm equivalent.

Finally, any sort of bear spray carriage system while riding lifts at a bike park borders on madness. You’re here to crank out gravity laps and push yourself while sharing a chairlift or gondola with other folks. Do you really want this day-ruining can clanking around as you do that? I live in constant fear of riding through a cloud of bear spray at a bike park because some thoughtless person slid out in a berm and blew up their can. Sure, an accidental bear spray deployment isn’t going to kill anyone. But it will ruin your week. And, if you leave that dangerous little security blanket in your hot car, it can blow up and total your vehicle. So it’s important to weigh the risks and probabilities in both directions. How likely is a bear encounter that requires you to use bear spray? How hard will it be to carry said spray responsibly? How much do you want to risk macing yourself or a friend? This isn’t a call to leave your bear spray at home. But if we all treated bear spray like a firearm, if we all practiced carrying and deploying it responsibly, the mountains we love would be just a little bit safer.

In case you haven’t gone through a hunter’s education course, that roughly translates to, “Always treat it like it’s loaded and the safety is off, and never, ever point it at something you don’t want to shoot.”

Explore Big Sky44 August 11 - 24, 2022

Of course, that care is always in tension with another rule of using bear spray: Always keep it easily accessible and on your person. Bear spray buried deep in your pack does no one any good in a chance encounter with a bear. Bear spray strapped to your bike is useless when you wander away from it to get a photo for Instagram. Bear spray that’s easily accessible on your waist belt isn’t worth much if you’ve never practiced taking the safety off, aiming it the correct direction and deploying it. Any situation where you actually need to use bear spray is by definition a high-adrenaline moment. Are you actually confident that you could draw and deploy your bear spray if your life depended on it? An accidental bear spray deployment will really mess up your day, but it’s also hard to carry in an accessible manner. Many long-time mountain residents focus on that last part and rig up “clever” carrying solutions that they then treat like a safety blanket, never heading out without it, regardless of the sport. That’s especially dangerous while mountain biking. Bear spray in a water bottle pouch hanging off your bars is a popular solution. It’s also a great way to get maced when the spray bounces out, or you go over the bars and accidentally deploy it. Spray on a hip belt is also a liability. How many bike crashes involve abrasion to the hips and thighs? Those same crashes would be a lot worse if you punctured a high-pressure can of mace as you went down.

Those of us that live and recreate at the nebulous intersection of bear country and bear spray country need to reexamine our relationship with this ubiquitous weapon. It’s an important distinction. Bear country is obvious enough: It’s any place you should worry about getting messed up by a bear (usually a grizzly.) On the other hand, bear spray country is anywhere you could be the accidental victim of bear spray, regardless of the presence or absence of a bear. Any area can become bear spray country, thanks to folks who treat bear spray like an accessory, not the dangerous weapon it is. Too often, places like supermarkets, chairlifts and bike parks are invaded by bear spray users who just don’t think about what’s in that can. Bear spray is dangerous. That’s the entire point. It’s made to stop a 500-pound animal going 30 mph with mutilation on its mind. You don’t affect that with a nice, friendly, gluten-free, non-GMO product. Scientists concocted a formula that has been proven to have more stopping power than any handgun that’s practical to carry. This stuff is mean. It’s approximately three times as aggressive as traditional mace that we’d use on humans. That’s why Alaska’s government website’s second rule for bear spray is: “Treat bear spray like a firearm.”

Explore Big Sky45 August 11 - 24, 2022 FUN BIG SKY BEATS ON STAGE IN AUGUST BY LEONORA WILLETT Whether you are at Wildlands Festival or Music in the Mountains, there is plenty of music to jam to in the heat of August. Tunes from Madeline Hawthorne, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Brandi Carlile and Indigo Girls will echo off the surrounding mountains the weekend of Aug. 12 and 13 at the Big Sky Events Arena. Enjoy this taste of their tunes. 1. “The Story” by Brandi Carlile 2. “If We Were Vampires” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 3. “Love Is” by Tommy Castro 4. “Heart’s Content” by Brandi Carlile 5. “Closer to Fine” by Indigo Girls 6. “Lucky in Love” by Tommy Castro 7. “Galileo” by Indigo Girls 8. “Find Yourself” by Lukas Nelson & POTR 9. “Don’t Waste It” by Caitlin Krisko and The Broadcast 10. “Forget about Georgie” by Lukas Nelson & POTR 1253 Jack Creek Road •On Property Ponds •160 +/- Acres •Horses Allowed •Room for Barn and Guest House •Opportunity to purchase a Moonlight Club Golf Membership MLS # 365900 | 5 BED + 5.5 BATH | 7,218 +/- SQ. FT. | 160 +/- ACRES | $12,950,000 MOONLIGHT BASIN | BUYER OPTION TO PURCHASE A MOONLIGHT CLUB GOLF MEMBERSHIP Michelle Horning Sales Associate 406.570.8901michelle@bigsky.com

70 Spruce Cone, #14 Big Sky, MT Listed at $995,000 | 3 Beds | 2.5 Baths | 1,400± SQFT

* Membership

Live Your Montana Dream!

Welcome to in-town Big Sky living at its best! This sunny end unit condominium has 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms, ready for you to enjoy all Big Sky has to offer. The convenience cant be beat, with quick access to restaurants, shops, farmers markets, concerts, grocery store, and hospital. The Westfork park and playground is also just around the corner. With just a short ten-minute drive up to the Big Sky Resort, you will be skiing over 5,800 acres of incredible powder in no time. Listed by Michael Pitcairn 120 Firelight Drive C-10 Big Sky, MT Listed at $820,000 | 2 Beds | 2 Baths | 1,092± SQFT Enjoy Big Sky from this end-unit Firelight condo. Walk to Town Center to enjoy PBR, live music, shopping and dining! This 2 bedroom, 2 bath first floor Firelight Condo is right in the middle of it all. Surrounded by trails for biking and hiking, or enjoy your east-facing patio looking out towards the Gallatin Range and Levinsky Ridge. Make this your Big Sky getaway! Listed by EJ Daws All information given is considered reliable, but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete, and should not be relied upon as such.These offerings are subject to errors, omissions, and changes including price or withdrawal without notice. All rights reserved. Equal Housing Opportunity. If you currently have a listing agreement or buyer broker agreement with another agent, this is not a solicitation to change. ©2016 LK REAL ESTATE, llc. lkrealestate.com upon approval

97 Crail Creek Court Big Sky, MT Listed at $1,795,000 | 2 Beds | 2.5 Baths | 2,180± SQFT Make the most of your time in Big Sky! Located in the Big Sky Meadow Village, this spacious 2-bedroom, 2.5 bath Crail Creek condominium is being offered fully furnished. This end unit has been recently updated with new flooring, granite countertops, kitchen appliances, and baseboards. With its welcoming entryway, open floor plan, wet bar, and wood-burning fireplace, this home is a great place to entertain! A two-car garage and a 300-plus square foot bonus room on the lower level provide ample storage space within the 2,180 square foot living space. Listed by Carrie Bryan TBD Michener Ranch Big Sky, MT Listed at $4,250,000 | 65± Acres

This incredible 65 acre legacy estate has multiple, worldclass homesites to enjoy diverse wildlife, and captivating views of Lone Peak, Spanish Peaks, Beehive Basin, and the Gallatin Range Hyalite's. With minimal restrictions and no HOA, this parcel allows for creative use to build your dream home, guest house, barn, shop, and more all connected to nearby power and high-speed fiber internet. The beautiful stone accent entry leads to multiple roads for endless recreation including hiking, biking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, 4 wheeling, and Listedsnowmobiling.byRyan Kulesza and Michael Pitcairn Contact L&K Today! 406.995.2404LKRealEstate.com

Authentic Montana horse property on 24.37 acres with amazing views of the Bridger Mountains to the North and Ted Turner's Flying D Ranch to the West. There is a quaint home with excellent detached improvements including a 2 truck garage with bonus truss storage, a 1930s guest cabin from Karst MT, a wood stove sauna, 35x30 Hay & Tack Barn, round pen, multiple corrals & turn out sheds, plus a large post & beam storage lean to structure. Mature landscaping and trees including a wonderfully placed hedge. No known covenants or zoning. Excellent fencing, well maintained pastures including a partial weed free certified hay pasture. View spectacular sunsets on the Bridger Mountains with wildlife activity that abounds. Location is ideal with a quick drive to HWY 191, South to Big Sky in 35 min; or NE to Downtown Bozeman in 20 min. Very close to a Gallatin River fishing access and multiple National Forest/Wilderness accesses. Endless possibilities with this wonderful property! 420 E Williams Road, Gallatin Gateway, MT Now listed at $2,325,000 Let Us Work For You Buyers | Sellers | Development Consulting LKREALESTATE.COM

ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED IS DEEMED RELIABLE BUT IS NOT GUARANTEED AND SHOULD BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED. INFORMATION AND DEPICTIONS ARE SUBJECT TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, PRIOR SALES, PRICE CHANGES OR WITHDRAWAL WITHOUT NOTICE. NO GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY HAS JUDGED THE MERITS OR VALUE, IF ANY, OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ADVERTISEMENT OR ANY REAL ESTATE DESCRIBED OR DEPICTED HEREIN. THIS MATERIAL SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL IN ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE PRIOR REGISTRA TION IS REQUIRED OR WHERE SUCH AN OFFER WOULD BE PROHIBITED, AND THIS SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH ANOTHER REAL ESTATE AGENT. NOTHING HEREIN SHALL BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL, TAX, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. THE INN RESIDEN CES AT M ON TAGE B IG SK Y 32 R E S I D ENCES | 3 AND 4 BEDROOMS DE E D E D QUARTE R-OWNER S H I P INTERESTS PRICING B EGINS AT $1,500,000 For the first time in Big Sky, The Inn will offer a unique second home ownership opportunity in a luxury Residence, steps from the new Montage Big Sky. Connected by an underground pathway, Montage Residences Big Sky offers owners privileged access to the resort’s amenities and services, plus ski-in, ski-out access to Big Sky Resort. All owners will also enjoy the benefit of membership at Spanish Peaks Mountain Club, which includes private concierge services, a Tom Weiskopf Championship golf course, clubhouse and a year-round calendar of special, member-only events and experiences. Ownership at The Inn is offered in deeded, quarter-share ownership interests, and includes fully-furnished three and four-bedroom Residences, as well as an exclusive après ski resident’s lounge, ski lockers and lobby bar 406. 995.6333 | MONTAGERESIDENCESBIGSKY.COM