Explore Big Sky - October 20 to November 2, 2022

PUBLISHER

Eric Ladd | eric@theoutlawpartners.com

EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR

Jason Bacaj | jason@theoutlawpartners.com

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Julia Barton | julia@theoutlawpartners.com

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Jack Reaney | jack@theoutlawpartners.com

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CREATIVE

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ME Brown | maryelizabeth@theoutlawpartners.com

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Trista Hilman | trista@theoutlawpartners.com

SALES AND OPERATIONS

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Megan Paulson | megan@theoutlawpartners.com

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Treston Wold | treston@theoutlawpartners.com

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Ersin Ozer | ersin@theoutlawpartners.com

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Sophia Breyfogle | sophia@theoutlawpartners.com

CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGIST

Mira Brody | mira@theoutlawpartners.com

EVENTS AND MARKETING COORDINATOR

Tucker Harris | tucker@theoutlawpartners.com

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

Sara Sipe | sara@theoutlawpartners.com

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LEAD

Patrick Mahoney | patrick@theoutlawpartners.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Kaley Burns, Jacob W. Frank, Gus Hammond, Marne Hayes, Neal Herbert, Matthew Maaskant, Yvonne Martinell, Colter Nuanez, Paul Swenson, Amanda White, Cy Whitling.

A&E

TABLE OF CONTENTS

BSSD FOOD SERVICE MANAGER RECEIVES HEALTHY MONTANA KIDS AWARD

Long-time local Lindsie Feldner brings healthy, sustainable, delicious food options to Ophir School and Lone Peak High School, and the students love it. During her five-year tenure, Feldner has worked hard to emphasize whole food cooking practices and sourcing produce from within the state.

BIG SKY POST OFFICE TERMINATES CONTRACT WITH USPS

During Community Week, Al Malinowski announced a plan to end Gallatin Partners’ contract with the United States Postal Service, ending their 21-year management of the Big Sky Post Office without a plan for mail service after Feb. 28, 2023. Malinowski sat down with Explore Big Sky to explain the past, present and future of Big Sky postal service.

BIG SKY FOOD BANK DEMAND INCREASES BY 250%

ON THE COVER:

Lindsie Feldner, the food service manager at the Big Sky School District, cleans up after making a hearty lunch of bison chili and cinnamon rolls on Oct. 14. Earlier in the week, Feldner was awarded the Montana Professional Teaching Foundations’ John Morrison and Cathy Wright Healthy Montana Kids Award for her innovative strategies at improving student health. PHOTO BY JULIA BARTON

EDITORIAL POLICIES

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.

The Big Sky Food Banks operations manager, Sarah Gaither Bivins, believes that in today’s local economy, people are struggling to make it through each month on their paycheck. The Oct. 22 canned food drive will be crucial to sustain the food bank’s busiest time of year: late fall.

PLUS: TSERING’S FUND’S ‘HELAMBU’ TO SHOW AT BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL

“Helambu” took two years to put together and follows the Hyolmo people of northern Nepal and the efforts of Tsering’s Fund and a local secondary school, Melamchi Ghyang, to prevent the trafficking and early marriage of young girls in the region.

ADVERTISING DEADLINE

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.

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For the November 3, 2022 issue: October 26, 2022

CORRECTIONS Please report errors to media@outlaw.partners.

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SCAN FOR TOWN CRIER NEWSLETTER. DAILY NEWS, STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

Covered in royal blue from head to toe, students from Ophir Elementary School piled into an oldschool Yellowstone National Park tour bus for the Lone Peak High School homecoming parade through Town Center on Oct. 5. PHOTO BY JULIA BARTON

OBITUARY

ROBERT “BOB” VOZAR

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of a true Big Sky legend, Robert “Bob” Marino Vozar, 61, on October 6, 2022. He died of MSA, Multiple System Atrophy, and lived with that disease for 12 years, inspiring all who knew him.

He was the baby of the family, born February 18, 1961, in Crosset, Arkansas, to Cam Frank Vozar (deceased) and Lea Bertani Vozar Newman of Bennington, Vermont.

He spent his childhood in Bennington, Vermont, where he learned to ski at the age of five, graduating from Mt. Anthony Union High School and playing on the golf and soccer teams. He attended University of Vermont, where he earned a BS degree in Sports Medicine, and became a ski coach/trainer. He moved to Colorado, working as a finish carpenter and skiing as much as possible. After accepting a job in Big Sky, Montana, he was working on a ski shop expansion when he met the love of his life, Jeanine Palma, another passionate skier. They were fortunate to spend 19 fabulous, fun-filled years together.

Bob and Jeanine enjoyed many great adventures in and out of the country, and they loved the outdoors—camping, waterskiing, golfing, but most of all skiing. To quote Bob, “To feel the wind in my face, see all my friends, keep on skiing, I can’t complain. It could be a lot worse. I’m blessed. A skier for life!” Cooking was another passion because he was a serious foodie, grilling rib eye steaks and

fixing “Bob’s” pasta to perfection, washing it all down with an icy, cold Budweiser.

Bob always worked hard and had a very positive attitude, thanks to the help of the awesome therapists at Lone Peak Physical Therapy, the volunteers at Eagle Mount Adaptive Skiing Program, his many caregivers, and doctors. He was a gracious and humble human being. His heart grew even bigger as time went on, and people were drawn to his magnetic personality.

He is survived by his life-long partner Jeanine Palma, his mother Lea Newman, four siblings-brother Cam Alan Vozar, sister Donna Lee Olendorf and husband Don Olendorf, sister Linda Vozar Sweet and husband Roger Sweet, sister Mary Vozar and partner Paul Bohmann, and many nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Bob’s Life will be announced at a later date. The family requests that donations be made to Eagle Mount Adaptive Program in Bozeman, Montana.

Arrangements entrusted to Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd.

On October 3rd as part of Community Week 2022, Big Sky gathered at Buck’s T-4 to learn and discuss ballot issues and candidates for the upcoming election. Watch the event recording by scanning the QR code or learn more by visiting BigSkyCommunityWeek.com.

Upcoming Board Meetings

A biweekly District bulletin

LOCAL

NEWS IN BRIEF

BILLINGS CLINIC OPENS BOZEMAN LOCATION OVER THE WEEKEND

EBS STAFF

BOZEMAN—The Billings Clinic formally opened its doors to the public on Saturday, Oct. 15 with a ribbon cutting, replete with a helicopter, cheerleaders and mascots from both Bozeman high schools and Montana State University.

“When Billings Clinic started planning for building here in Bozeman, we knew a couple of things. One… this community was going to continue to expand. We also knew how important it is for patients to receive care in their communities,” said Dr. Clint Seger, interim CEO for Billings Clinic.

The opening marked the first milestone in Billings Clinic expanding operations and services for communities in Gallatin County. The nonprofit health care organization is scheduled to open a clinic in West Yellowstone in January 2023, said Hannah Shirkey, vice president of regional operations.

The West Yellowstone clinic will have urgent care and occupational medicine services, Shirkey said. She added that the organization will look at data to see what specialties would make sense to add to that location, such as pediatrics and OB-GYN services.

MONTANA’S FIRST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TREATMENT COURT LAUNCHES

EBS STAFF

Missoula County announced a new program on Oct. 11 to expedite domestic violence cases, which Justice of the Peace Alex Beal noted would become the state’s first domestic violence treatment court.

Domestic violence cases are often long and difficult to prosecute, leaving victims in the home of their abuser, according to Ryan Mickelson, deputy county attorney with Missoula County. The new program hopes to speed up the process.

During the press conference, the director for Missoula County’s Community Justice Department, Shantelle Gaynor, said partner family member assault is one of the five top reasons people are booked into the local jail. She added that one in three American women and one in nine American men report experiencing intimate partner violence.

HUNTER SURVIVES GRIZZLY BEAR ATTACK IN MONTANA

EBS STAFF

A nearly 700-pound grizzly bear charged out of thick brush southeast of Glacier National Park, attacking and injuring a bird hunter before the man shot the animal, Montana wildlife officials said Oct. 12.

The 51-year-old Washington state man was left with injuries that were not life-threatening after the encounter Oct. 11 near Choteau, said officials with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The man and his wife were hunting on private property when the 677-pound male bear charged out of the brush, knocked the man over and stepped on him, authorities said.

The man fired at the bear with a shotgun and a handgun, wounding the animal, which returned to the cover of the thick brush, wildlife officials said.

Grizzly bears are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, but state and federal wildlife officials decided the bear had to be euthanized because of its injuries.

TWO DEAD IN MURDER-SUICIDE IN GALLATIN CANYON

EBS STAFF

The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office today announced that a woman shot her husband to death on the evening of Oct. 18 before taking her own life. The sheriff’s office responded to a call just before 7 p.m. reporting gunshots at 20 Cliff Manor Ln., roughly 10 miles south of Gallatin Gateway into the Gallatin Canyon. A witness reported that a woman shot at a man before fleeing the scene.

When responders arrived, they found the body of 53-year-old Jason Jones. Jason was a physician at Bozeman Health and practiced medicine in both Big Sky and Bozeman. Preliminary findings suggest Jason died from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators indicated that the suspect was Jason’s 50-year-old spouse, Kimberli Jones.

Kimberli was later found near the Hyalite reservoir dead of an apparent selfinflicted gunshot wound.

There is an ongoing investigation into the incident.

INTERIOR LAW JUDGE ALLOWS BISON GRAZING ON FEDERAL LANDS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A federal administrative law judge has denied a request to block permits that expand bison grazing in north-central Montana while several parties challenge them.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Attorney General Austin Knudsen and the Montana Stockgrowers Association asked the U.S. Interior Department's hearing division in August to reverse the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's granting of the permits.

Administrative Law Judge Veronica Larvie ruled on Oct. 13 that while there were several concerns about the permits, the parties failed to show that the expanded bison grazing would cause immediate and irreparable harm and she declined to block them while the case moves forward.

The MSA argue additional bison grazing will harm the cattle industry and the local economy.

BSSD FOOD SERVICE MANAGER RECEIVES HEALTHY MONTANA KIDS AWARD

LONG-TIME LOCAL LINDSIE FELDNER BRINGS HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE, DELICIOUS FOOD OPTIONS TO OPHIR SCHOOL AND LONE PEAK HIGH SCHOOL

BY JULIA BARTON

BIG SKY—Lindsie Feldner, the food service manager at the Big Sky School District, was surprised in the lunchroom on Oct. 10 with the Montana Professional Teaching Foundation's John Morrison and Cathy Wright Healthy Montana Kids Award.

Feldner was among eight nominees for the award, which serves to recognize a Montana educator for innovative strategies that increase student health.

“I'm just so grateful that it was a lunch program that was recognized,” Feldner said. “I hope it's beneficial to other lunch programs out there and they see that the work they're doing is valuable.”

During her five-year tenure, Feldner has worked hard to emphasize whole food cooking practices and sourcing produce from within the state. She explained that locally sourced and homemade food is not only more nutritious, but tastes better.

The numbers suggest that Big Sky students agree. When Feldner started the program, roughly 20% of students purchased lunches from the cafeteria; now, it’s 80%.

“It's nice for everybody to get recognized for the hard work that they do, regardless of their position in our school,” said BSSD Superintendent Dustin Shipman. “She does a lot, her impacts have been a lot.”

Feldner was nominated for the award last year by BSSD colleagues Dr. Kate Eisele and Vanessa Wilson, and said that enough time had passed since her nomination that she assumed the award had

already been given out to someone else. When she received the award, she was honored and surprised.

Recent lunch favorites among students include chicken pesto pasta, grilled chicken gyros and Thai Buddha bowls. Feldner makes foods that have various worldly origins and she has gained enough trust with her lunches that students are open to expanding their palettes. Part of this process comes from involving students on every level of food production, from ideating recipes and helping to cook, to serving their peers and doing dishes.

“This is their program,” Feldner said about the students. “Essentially, it's only successful if they eat it.”

Student lunch helpers get a free lunch, which allowed more kids to try Feldner’s meals and

ultimately encouraged them to keep coming back, contributing to the program’s steady growth.

The program’s success goes beyond the food that’s served on the lunch tray. Through making more food from scratch and using locally sourced ingredients, Feldner has cut down on packaging waste, carbon emissions from food transportation and overall food costs. The program also uses composting to sustainably dispose of waste.

The budget for lunches is tight, Feldner explained, as the school receives little funding from the United States Department of Agriculture to subsidize lunch costs. As such, Feldner’s efforts in securing grants from local organizations have been a serious factor in the program’s success.

Feldner holds a degree in nutrition and brings experiences from a long history of food service in Big Sky to the BSSD cafeteria. She started the locally renowned Wrap Shack and ran the restaurant for seven years before selling it, has worked as a private chef, ran a commercial kitchen and provides catering services.

“I think cooking is kind of a lost art and I'm trying to bring it back,” Feldner said. “It is something that every student should have going with them out into the big world. It will help them to live more economically and have skills to cook for themselves. In so many ways it's gonna benefit them in their futures.”

A program that will be returning this year after a hiatus during COVID-19 is family cooking night, where Feldner invites students and their families into the kitchen to learn to make meals together with fresh, seasonal ingredients.

VISITS TO THE BIG SKY FOOD BANK MORE THAN TRIPLED OVER THE SUMMER FOOD BANK WILL HOST FOOD AND COAT DRIVE

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—The community need for Big Sky’s food bank more than tripled in the summer of 2022 compared to the prior summer. For all seasons, overall need grew by 60% from 2021.

“In the past, data shows that most people used the food bank once, twice, maybe three times a year,” said Sarah Gaither Bivins, the food bank’s operations manager. “Now, in this current climate, people just can’t make it through the end of the month on their paycheck. Before COVID, we used to allow people to shop once a month––not that we ever turned anyone away. Now, you can shop up to once a week if you need to.”

Senior citizens have shown a particular increase in visitation, Bivins said, and almost half of their customers work in Big Sky but live in Bozeman, Belgrade, or even Amsterdam and Manhattan.

“The workforce can no longer live here, you know,” she said.

She clarified that, while the 250% increase still indicates a crucial need, that statistic is also inflated by the vast growth in Big Sky’s summer tourism, which has brought more summer jobs to serve the growing interest in mountain biking and hiking.

The Big Sky Community Food Bank and Resource Center is part of the Montana Food Bank Network and located just north of Big Sky on U.S. Highway 191. Anyone is welcome to grab food once per week, and new visitors will be asked to record basic demographic information. Bivins said it’s helpful that the site is located away from Town Center, as food security is a sensitive issue. But as inflation on consumer goods and cost of living continues to challenge many Big Sky residents, visiting the food bank has become more common since 2020.

Fall is the busiest season, Bivins said. Many winter seasonal employees arrive early, often having cut into their savings to move and facing limited opportunities to work full-time hours as ski tourism builds slowly into December.

On Oct. 22, the food bank will prepare for a busy season with their annual Great Pumpkin Giveaway, a canned food drive. Bivins and her staff spread a patch of pumpkins around Fire Pit Park in Town Center, allowing families to choose a pumpkin in exchange for a food donation.

“In the past we haven’t really pushed the canned food drive part,” she said. “This year, we’re trying to say, you know, 10 to 15 cans would be really nice to have. Get a case of soup at COSTCO and bring it in exchange for a pumpkin.”

Bivins has seen a decrease in canned food donations in the past year.

These canned options are especially valuable as many food bank visitors only have access to a microwave to cook with. Ace Hardware Big Sky donates 100 crockpots every year to help provide another cooking tool, given out for free.

Many winter employees also move here without realizing how frigid the weather becomes, she said. The bank accepts coats and winter clothing and holds an annual coat drive in late fall.

“We don’t need children's coats,” she said. “People spend their money on kids first. But they’ll get stuff for themselves here, for sure.”

Anyone can also schedule an appointment to sit down with Bivins and complete applications for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), the statewide lowincome energy assistance program (LIEAP), and receive support with job applications.

Bivins is the only full-time staff member, with two part-time employees and other volunteer opportunities available through the Volunteer Big Sky website.

Lindsie Feldner holds a lunch tray full of fresh, locally sourced fruits and vegetables in the colorfully-decorated cafeteria. PHOTO BY JULIA BARTON

UNDERSTANDING THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE BIG SKY POST OFFICE AS CONTRACT SET TO TERMINATE

BIG SKY HAD OUTGROWN THE CURRENT FACILITY A DECADE AGO OR MORE, SOURCES SAY.

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—Concern struck Big Sky during Community Week when Al Malinowski announced a plan to end Gallatin Partners’ contract with the United States Postal Service, ending their 21-year management of the Big Sky Post Office without a plan for mail service after Feb. 28, 2023.

Malinowski hopes USPS will recognize the ongoing challenge and step in to operate a federal service in Big Sky, providing the resources and scale this growing community needs.

Big Sky’s postal service has always been operated on a contract basis with USPS. In 2001, Gallatin Partners took over the contract from the Big Sky Owners Association, who had been serving roughly 1,000 mailboxes in their present-day ground floor office. Having seen growth and planning for more, Gallatin Partners made an ambitious bid to USPS for a $199,000 annual contract to upgrade to a 4,000 square foot facility. The bid was rejected, and USPS funded a 2,500 square foot facility, where Gallatin Partners began operating in 2002.

After two decades, Big Sky has nearly tripled in size, and the space and technology constraints provided in the USPS contract have made it increasingly difficult to keep up with that growth, leading Gallatin Partners to decide it was time for a change.

“This was not a knee-jerk reaction,” Malinowski said. “Without making this decision, our community wasn’t going to move toward the solutions that we desperately need at this point.”

Just seven months after USPS increased funding by about $230,000 to fully fund the post office, Malinowski understands that this news may come as a surprise.

“I get where there could be some confusion,” said Malinowski. “My request to [USPS] was that if they were willing to take on the full obligation cost-wise––so I didn’t have to go to resort tax anymore––that would buy us the time to continue working on a long-term solution for the post office.”

If the USPS had chosen to not fund the full $547,000 contract, Malinowski said the same decision to terminate the contract would have been made back in February.

‘THE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAIL DELIVERY' Malinowski said three factors led to this decision to end the USPS contract.

First, the post office is not big enough to handle the current population plus modern e-commerce trends. When large packages such as automobile tires and appliances arrive, the staff must work around the extra bulk in the small mailroom.

Second, as a contractor of the USPS, the Big Sky Post Office is not eligible to use any standard USPS technology. This includes their point-of-sale system— which Big Sky handles manually with a cash register—and mail status scanning. Staffers scan each barcode into a handheld device and manually download the data into their system at the end of the day, rather than having that information transmitted immediately as it would in the USPS scanning system.

“While it gets the job done, it’s not efficient,” Malinowski said, adding that USPS tech policies exist for informational safety, not just “stubborn-ness,” and those automated tools aren’t available to a contract office.

Third, residents living in Gallatin Canyon have to juggle multiple addresses with different zip codes, he explained. Any mail sent through USPS requires their Big Sky Post Office address with the 59716 zip code. Items sent through UPS and FedEx will deliver directly to their home address in the 59730 zip code because those items are processed by the Gallatin Gateway post office, roughly 30 miles north.

The building off Little Coyote Road will contain residential spaces on the top floor.

PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

If a resident uses the wrong address, their parcel will often be returned to the sender.

Malinowski believes that the post office should follow the lead of the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District, which is moving to include the canyon. However, Big Sky cannot currently make any change due to their status as a contract facility.

Malinowski said he’s pointed out these issues to the USPS since 2001. Just five months ago, in May, letters were sent from a number of local and state officials, as well as from Montana’s Congressional delegation, asking the USPS to work with Big Sky in crafting a long-term solution.

Malinowski said he’s still willing to have those discussions and would consider extending the contract if they’re productive.

And if the contract is not renewed, this is what Malinowski expects: “The ultimate responsibility for mail delivery falls on USPS … I’d like to think they are looking at what would be most beneficial for the Big Sky community,” he said.

WINDOW CLOSING ON A CHANCE TO RELOCATE

Some 30 yards from the existing post office, a multipurpose building is under construction. Malinowski said the developers have been patient as they wait to see if a post office might fill the ground floor.

“The opportunity that the building next door presents is a very efficient move, and a timely move,” Malinowski said. “We can solve this issue if things could work out in a short period of time. We could get the space we need and add the [mailboxes] our community needs. But if we let that opportunity slip by without evaluating it properly, we’re years away from a proper solution.”

He pointed out an area in the building’s rear that would function as a loading dock for deliveries. There would also be significantly more storage than the existing post office.

Malinowski says he does not know when that patience will end, but he imagines it’s soon.

He encouraged concerned Big Sky residents to voice their opinion by writing a letter to the federal postal service about their experience and frustrations.

“I’ve heard back from my counterparts, that they’ve received the letter and they’re having some meetings,” Malinowski said. “We’ve yet to have any official dialogue on how we can solve this long term. I’m optimistic, but to be honest, the ball is kind of in their court.”

The post office operates in a 2,500 square foot facility with 1,661 mailboxes, less than half of Big Sky’s current population. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

POST OFFICE UNCERTAINTY, WATER QUESTIONS AND ROAD IMPROVEMENTS TAKEAWAYS FROM BIG SKY'S COMMUNITY WEEK

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—The people of Big Sky showed up for transportation and highway safety upgrades, a water conservation conversation, a forum with county election candidates, the future of local postal service and a parade of Big Horn pride.

For five days, beginning on Oct. 3, Community Week opened these topics for public discussion, with various sessions attended by an average of between 60 and 100 people, according to the Big Sky Resort Area District. The week was sponsored by the BSRAD and the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, and events were mixed between in person and virtual. Sessions were recorded for ongoing community access.

“[The chamber and BSRAD] both work on these big ideas of building community but from our own angles, so it was a nice opportunity to bring our expertise and our contact lists together,” said Caitlin Quisenberry, vice president of operations and events at the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce.

“For year one, it was a success,” she added, on the collaboration and one week structure. “People showed up, we got our ducks in a row.”

Quisenberry plans to contact local homeowners associations next year to encourage part-time residents to join, as much of the programming was virtual and relevant.

“I think that there was a lot of programming,” said Daniel Bierschwale, executive director of BSRAD. “As we look towards what we do next year, we'll be very intentional to eliminate any overlap in programming and how we're using our time.”

He added that he understands the many reasons why folks could not attend sessions, but he hopes they watch the recordings and get up to speed.

Next year, he said, BSRAD and the chamber will likely shift focus to the topics which they didn’t have time to cover this year, including child care and Big Sky’s workforce, and not hold quite as many panel discussions.

BSRAD will host “Slice of Community Week” at Beehive Basin Brewery from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 17, giving out free pizza and Community Week fact sheets. Bierschwale said all are welcome, and he looks to continue the challenging conversations from community week in a casual setting.

BIG SKY: 'A WORLD-CLASS TRANSPORTATION DESTINATION'

That’s the goal of Darren Brugmann, executive director of the Big Sky Transportation District.

At the virtual transportation discussion on Thursday, Oct. 6, Brugmann spoke to the importance of Skyline Bus Service. Executing an existing plan for the $10.3 million TIGER grant awarded to Gallatin County in 2018, four additional commuter buses are expected to carry commuters to and from Bozeman as early as winter 2023/24. Skyline is currently upgrading their website and hopes to finish in November before resuming regular bus service for the winter season on Nov. 21.

Although no timeline has been provided, the transportation district also plans to launch a fare-free micro transit pilot program. Similar to Uber, riders would schedule a pickup and drop-off within some limited range of the Meadow Village.

Beyond public transit, the TIGER grant is also designated for a series of upgrades on Lone Mountain Trail. The improvements include left-turn lanes onto Big Sky Resort Road, Andesite Road, Big Pine Drive and Huntley Drive, a pedestrian tunnel and a stoplight to regulate entry and exit traffic at the Meadow Village end of Little Coyote Road, and bus pullout space along U.S. Highway 191.

“It will be a lot of work,” said Danielle Scharf, Bozeman region manager for Sanderson Stewart, the civil engineering firm working on the project. “It is going to be a fairly painful summer in terms of traffic control, but the good news is that it will be mostly done in one year.”

Highway 191 faces needs that consistently outpace funding, according to Mitch Buthod, statewide urban planner with the Montana Department of Transportation. The recommended improvements to the road between Bozeman and West Yellowstone would cost $350 million.

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN BIG SKY RIGHT NOW

According to James Rose, hydrogeologist from the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, community members should focus on water.

In the virtual water supply discussion held on Tuesday, Oct. 4, Rose presented an ongoing study showing that unusual bedrock creates fragmented groundwater aquifers that rely primarily on snowmelt to recharge each year.

Voters from both Madison and Gallatin County heard from their local candidates and those running for a place on the Montana Supreme Court during the candidate forum..

PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

Combined with a semi-arid climate and fast population growth, residents can expect increased discussion about local water access and regulating both residential and commercial water use.

Jim Muscat, water superintendent at the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District, said a transition from landscape to xeriscape, which would decrease the amount of water used for irrigation, might lay in the community’s future.

“How big can we grow?” he asked, weighing population growth against a finite water supply. “The true limiting factor is probably going to be Mother Nature, and how much [water] there is.”

Other discussion topics included Gallatin River conservation and widespread upgrades to sewage networks in the Gallatin Canyon. Big Sky’s new Water Resource Recovery Facility is still under construction but will include the canyon corridor.

FROM COUNTY CANDIDATES TO THE MONTANA SUPREME COURT

Fifteen candidates for office positions in Gallatin and Madison County assembled at Buck’s T4 Lodge on the evening of Monday, Oct. 3, to meet local voters and share their goals. Two incumbents running for the Montana Supreme Court, Ingrid Gustafson and Jim Rice, also joined the candidates in Big Sky, as they look to engage with the entire Montana voting population.

“If there was one that I would loved to see more people at, it [was] the voter education,” Bierschwale said as he reflected on the week. “Primarily because democracy does not work if the electorate does not choose to educate themselves about the issues at hand and the candidates that are representing their values.”

LOCAL

He said this applies to local governance as well, including organizations like BSRAD and the Water and Sewer District, of which many conducted unopposed board elections in the spring.

POST OFFICE SET TO CLOSE, AND MADISON COUNTY VOTING

On Wednesday morning, elected officials from Gallatin and Madison County and BSRAD met in the Wilson Hotel for their bi-annual summit to collaborate on local issues. After opening proceedings, Big Sky Post Office contract manager Al Malinowski took the podium.

“Gallatin Partners has made the decision that the time has come to provide the United States Postal Service with notice that we intend to terminate the contract with the post office in Big Sky,” Malinowski said. “It seems to be the remaining tool we have in the toolbox to try and get what this community deserves as a post office.”

Malinowski emphasized that after 21 years of contract postal service, the Big Sky Post Office has outgrown its facility and its lack of federal employees and status. He said he believes that Big Sky has one of the larger contract stations anywhere, at least in Montana.

He prompted the community to consider whether it was time to become a federally operated postal operation, and whether it was time to include the adjacent canyon into the Big Sky’s postal service.

"We have the danger of becoming a community where we replace our tram more frequently than we replace and upgrade our post office,” he said.

The postal service contract will remain intact until the end of February. By then, Malinowski hopes to find a solution.

After the discussion on postal service, Madison County Commissioner John Heckler spoke about his ongoing effort to bring a polling station to the Big Sky portion of Madison County. Although his goal was for the upcoming Nov. 8 general election, he promised, “there will be a polling station for voters in Madison County in Big Sky by the next federal election. It just takes time.”

Fire Chief Greg Megaard offered the Big Sky Fire Station 2––near Big Sky Resort––as a voting space.

Gallatin County Commissioner Zach Brown sent a note to BSRAD and thanked the community for the most productive joint county commission meeting he’d yet been a part of.

HOMECOMING: THE BIGGEST PEP RALLY IN HISTORY

On Wednesday evening, before Thursday and Friday’s homecoming volleyball, soccer and football games, the Big Horn community came together for a parade in Town Center and a pep rally hosted by Athletic Director John Hannahs and boys soccer coach Jeremy Harder. Hannahs declared it “the biggest pep rally in history.”

Lone Peak High School volleyball was the only team to bring home a win, but all teams competed in front of supportive crowds at home. A highscoring football game brought a nail-biting conclusion to a long week full of challenges and opportunities for the Big Sky community.

INN ON THE GALLATIN CLOSES CAFÉ AFTER A NEARLY 67-YEAR RUN

BY JASON BACAJ

GALLATIN CANYON—A staple restaurant for Big Sky and Gallatin Canyon residents shut down for good in September after a nearly 67-year run.

The Inn on the Gallatin and its breakfast café first opened in 1955, according to Deanne Stalnaker. She and her husband, Steve, purchased the café, its six cabins and nine recreational vehicle sites back in 2013. Neither had been in the restaurant business before, but they decided to jump in regardless. The restaurant was closed for a couple years while they shored up the building.

The couple plans to continue operating the cabins and RV sites. They simply felt the need to step back from the café after 10 years in order to open up space for new projects and adventures.

“We had fun doing it,” Deanne said. “I think if we hadn’t had such an issue with labor, you know, we probably could have done it a little bit longer.”

Trouble finding people able to work the café led the Stalnakers to shift café operations so that it was only open to folks staying at the Inn’s cabins or RV sites. They had a chef at first, but when that person moved to Helena, Steve took the reins in the kitchen.

At one point two years ago, just Kevin and Deanne were available to staff the café, and they ended up serving 52 people in three hours, she said. The two ended up working in the kitchen for hours past closing getting things cleaned and prepped for the next morning. The day marked a turning point for them. They knew the restaurant’s time was limited.

The breakfast café was not just locally renowned, but regionally.

Steve said they were perhaps most well known for their biscuits and providing a basket of hot doughnut holes to each table. Beyond that, their spicy eggs benedict, pancakes and unique cinnamon roll recipe developed by the chef initially hired by the Stalnakers were what brought people back repeatedly.

“People used to come in from Livingston and Helena to eat breakfast,” Steve said. “So, you know, all the locals that ate here and supported us, it’s a big thank you to them. They just made it fun.”

As for their future plans, the café space is slated to become a workshop. And the two want to make changes to some of the cabins and their own living space on the property.

“We definitely don’t sit around for months waiting for something to happen,” Steve said.

But mostly the couple wants to finally take advantage of the outdoor summer recreation opportunities that abound in the area.

“This is the first year we went whitewater rafting,” Deanne said. “This is our time.”

The Inn on the Gallatin's cafe sits right off U.S. Highway 191 between Gallatin Gateway and Big Sky. PHOTO COURTESY OF DEANNE STALNAKER

Much of the cafe’s supplies have been sold off now and the space is slated to become a workshop. PHOTO COURTESY OF DEANNE STALNAKER

MORNINGSTAR LEARNING CENTER PLANS TO CLOSE ON FRIDAYS BIG SKY CHILDCARE CENTER STRUGGLING TO FIND, HOUSE AND RETAIN THE RIGHT TEACHERS

which is a primary reason for the upcoming change back to four days. She described the recent trend of sending messages to involved parents during the evening, asking families to volunteer to keep their child home the next day so that Morningstar could legally operate with the number of staff available.

“With the number of teachers that we currently have, if one person calls out sick or is taking a vacation day––which they are totally entitled to have and take––administrators are in the classrooms,” Butan said.

For the class size and enrollment that Morningstar currently has, they need 13 to 14 people per day. They have 11 teachers on staff at the moment.

One parent questioned why a 40 to 50-hour workweek is considered such a challenge in Big Sky, where long hours are the norm.

BY JACK REANEY

Five more teachers and four months of time.

That’s the minimum of what it would take for Big Sky’s only licensed early childhood education center to continue providing childcare on Fridays, according to executive director Mariel Butan.

On the afternoon of Tuesday Oct. 10, Butan and center director Laura MacPherson held a town hall meeting at BASE to discuss the recent challenges not only at Morningstar, but in the child care industry. Butan and MacPherson gave a slideshow presentation to share statistics from both national and state child care industries and at Morningstar, helping to frame the announcement that within the next month, working parents will need to find another option to care for their preschool aged children. In attendance were a handful of concerned parents; some voiced frustration, some shared gratitude and some expressed both.

“This community needs more than Morningstar can––or has been able to––provide,” Butan explained. Butan and MacPherson said their mental and physical wellbeing has been affected negatively by this ongoing struggle of providing an essential service to the working population. The center is the lone provider of care for children under 3 years old in a 40-mile radius, and it currently enrolls 45 children with more than 20 on a waitlist. With one fewer day of service, working parents will need to bridge the child care gap every Friday.

Morningstar received over $400,000 in late February from an American Rescue Plan Act Childcare Stabilization Grant and another $400,000 in late August from a Montana ARPA grant plus a $100,000 corporate match from the Lone Mountain Land Company. Still, Butan and MacPherson emphasized that this issue cannot be fixed by grants alone, as the bigger challenge revolves around hiring professionals willing to stay with Morningstar long-term.

According to data presented at the meeting, the average tenure of a new hire has dropped steadily since 2016, from 22 months to less than four. Of the 13 teachers hired thus far in 2022, only seven remain. Butan called it, “heartbreaking to see and unacceptable in an educational environment.”

The directors argue that pay is not the issue. Morningstar pays an average annual salary of $47,663 which nearly doubles the state average of $27,705 and beats the higher national average by roughly $11,700. The learning center is open 45 hours a week, not including time spent by staff cleaning the facility and commuting. In recent interviews to pinpoint the factors of retention, teachers have reflected burnout, long hours and workload without mention of housing or pay.

“You wind up losing good people because they can make more money doing an easier job somewhere else,” Butan told EBS.

Still, data shows that housing is a factor: of 34 hired since May 2021, 17 remain and 14 of them live in Big Sky. Of the 17 employees who left, 12 did not live in Big Sky, or they moved out before leaving the nonprofit. MacPherson has conducted four interviews in the last three weeks, and all candidates need housing.

“That is the number one make-or-break if they can take the job,” MacPherson said. “And we don’t have more housing at this time.”

Butan added that Morningstar is at further risk of losing current teachers, some of whom have asked about employee housing availability.

“Even those teachers know that they have a sunset on their current living situations, and they’re trying to get into employee housing as soon as possible,” Butan said.

This past January, a similar decision was made to consolidate Morningstar’s staffing needs into a four-day schedule. According to Butan, it enabled a greater degree of reliability for those four days,

“I hear you talking about school and teachers, but this is childcare,” they said. “So are you moving from a childcare [facility] to a school, and you want higher credentials for childcare?”

“All of our teachers do have to have a standard credential to work, and they are considered teachers per the Montana early childhood registry,” MacPherson answered. “It’s a standard across the board that they must have a certain level of education to qualify as a teacher in our childcare center. And we are a licensed Montana state licensed childcare center. So yes, a 50 to 55 hour workweek is standard in Big Sky, but those people are not working with young children. The nature of [the childcare] industry is very emotionally and physically challenging.”

Another parent voiced their struggle with this ongoing situation, adding a statement of gratitude:

“You are two of the most talented individuals we could possibly have in this position. You’re going to guide us through this and find partnerships and find a solution. I feel grateful because I know how hard this is, and I just want to say thank you.”

Fifty-five minutes into this challenging discussion, the parents and caregivers applauded MacPherson and Butan after hearing those words.

After the meeting, Butan spoke with EBS about her frustration with having to make this decision. She said she recognizes and regrets that parents will struggle to work and be with family, and that it was a difficult decision to make.

“One small but mighty nonprofit cannot keep up with the demand in this community,” she said.

Paid substitute teaching opportunities

Although they prefer to retain a sustainable longterm staff as an education center, Butan said Morningstar is hiring substitute teachers and will pay $350 per day. If candidates are a good fit and pass a background check, they will be expected to complete a four-hour CPR training course and 14 hours of orientation coursework.

Morningstar Learning Center is the only licensed child care provider in Big Sky.

PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

SURPRISE

SPORTS

ALL PART OF THE PLAN THE BOBCAT QB CONTROVERSY THAT ISN’T

BY COLTER NUANEZ SKYLINE SPORTS

BOZEMAN—Many an eyebrow raised when the news hit just a day after Montana State’s storybook season ended abruptly at the hands of the North Dakota State University juggernaut.

Why would MSU bring in a transfer quarterback? Sean Chambers? Like, the three-year starting quarterback who led a fourth quarter comeback for the University of Wyoming Cowboys to beat the Bobcats in Laramie last season?

Chambers had originally been recruited to Wyoming by now-MSU head coach Brent Vigen, who previously served seven seasons as the Cowboys' offensive coordinator. And now Vigen was bringing him to Bozeman.

The rationale behind the decision has roots in the first quarter of the Football Championship Subdivision national championship game against NDSU in January, when golden boy quarterback Tommy Mellott suffered a lower leg injury that took him out of the game—a lopsided 38-10 Bison win.

Prior to that injury Mellott, a former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year who hails from “Butte, America,” had taken the FCS by storm.

He was a dual-threat dynamo who took over starting quarterback duties following an embarrassing 29-10 loss to archrival Montana in the regular-season finale. Mellott had engineered a dramatic run, leading the Bobcats to three straight playoff wins, advancing to the title game for the first time in 37 years.

According to Vigen, it was all part of the plan. And thus far in 2022, the plan has worked.

“Our quarterback position has evolved considerably,” Vigen said when asked about the quarterback position at MSU. “Think of where we (were) 12 months ago with Tommy still running down on kickoffs and playing receiver. Tommy’s development, first of all, is the thing you gotta look at.

“I think we were able to react appropriately to the fact that [former starter] Matt [McKay] had already left

[transferred to Elon], [former starter] Tucker [Rovig] was going to forgo his last year and graduate and then Casey Bauman was most likely going to leave.

“In Sean we had a guy that started a lot of football games and played a lot of good football and was similar enough to Tommy from a style perspective that if we had to go to him, we shouldn’t have to change our offense.”

Montana State enters the meat of its schedule with an unblemished 4-0 record in Big Sky Conference play. MSU ranks No. 3 in the latest FCS national poll with a 6-1 record overall, the lone loss coming to Pac 12 contender Oregon State in mid-September.

During the non-conference portion of their schedule, MSU used a true two-quarterback system with efficiency and precision. Mellott, a 6-foot, 200-pounder with elite speed and quickness, provided the lone bright spot—135 rushing yards—against Oregon State.

Chambers was more of a red-zone quarterback for MSU, evidenced by his FCS-leading 16 rushing TDs through seven games.

“You have an offense, you want to recruit to it,” Vigen said. “Each individual quarterback, their style is little bit different so you can adjust to that, but it can’t be this drastic ebb and flow like we had in the championship game.”

Vigen’s foresight paid off when Mellott smacked his head off the red turf at Eastern Washington early in the ‘Cats conference opener.

All Chambers did is come into the game and rush for 160 yards. Even when he faltered—he threw a pick into the end-zone late in the fourth—he was able to find redemption. One play later, the MSU defense forced a turnover to put the ball back in his hands.

Two plays after that, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Chambers barreled in for the game-winning score in a tight 38-35 game.

As MSU slow-rolled Mellott’s return from the head injury, a quarterback controversy, at least on the surface, sprung up.

Chambers followed up his powerful performance against EWU with a virtuoso one against UC Davis. The stout bruiser showed surprising speed, galloping to a 78-yard touchdown on MSU’s second offensive snap. By the time the dust settled, he became the second quarterback in conference history to both throw and run for more than 200 years in a single game.

Chambers earned FCS National Player of the Week honors for the effort.

He looked sharp the following week, leading MSU to 34 unanswered points in the first half of a win over Idaho State.

When Mellott was cleared to play, Vigen stated that MSU’s “idea would be to start Tommy,” and many again scratched their head. Sure, securing Chambers on the open market had paid dividends. And sure, MSU had shown it could operate a two-quarterback system. But riding a three-game winning streak and sitting atop the conference standings, would it be smart re-jigger the scheme?

In Mellott’s first start back, he found a rhythm and rolled. He finished 16-of-20 for 217 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-14 win over Northern Colorado.

Chambers finished 2-of-4 for 33 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He rushed 11 times for 41 yards, giving him a Big Sky-best 622 rushing yards.

For now, MSU intends on using both of its dual-threat options to the best of their abilities. And if the wins keep coming, why not?

“Ultimately, we have two really good quarterbacks and two guys with good skill sets,” offensive coordinator Taylor Housewright said. “Both of them are all about winning. And that’s what matters most to us.”

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports, a multimedia online news-gathering outlet founded in 2014. You can find his work at skylinesportsmt. com and you can reach him at Colter.Nuanez@gmail.com

Sean Chambers confers with an injured Tommy Mellott on the sidelines of Bobcat Stadium during the Oct. 8 game against Idaho State.

PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

Sean Chambers throws downfield in a blowout win over Morehead State. PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

SPORTS

LONE PEAK FOOTBALL CELEBRATES 'PIERCE NIGHT' WITH A SIX-TOUCHDOWN WIN

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—In their final home game, the Big Horns set the tone by scoring 36 unanswered points against the Sheridan High School Panthers.

Junior quarterback Juliusz Shipman ran for a 65-yard touchdown on the first play of the game. Minutes later, he threw a 42-yard pass to freshman Ebe Grabow and senior Pierce Farr finished the effort with a two-yard rushing score. The Big Horn defense swarmed the Panthers, and Juliusz returned an interception for a touchdown. Junior George Helms returned a punt 38 yards, and then scored on a direct snap. In the second quarter, Junior Bryce Houghteling caught a short pass near half field and leapt for the pylon to give the Big Horns a 36-0 lead.

“It was great that we could start fast, and get a score right away,” head coach Dustin Shipman said. “Our team really plays with a lot more confidence in themselves and their teammates when they have a little bit of a lead.”

Even with the excitement of a home win to keep Lone Peak High School in the playoff hunt, anyone at the game will tell you that senior Farr stole the show.

With the comfort of a five-possession cushion at halftime, the crowd shifted their focus to Farr, their linebacker, running back and only senior.

“And now folks, the man of the hour. No. 50, Pierce Farr,” Athletic Director John Hannahs announced over the PA system. With the rest of the team in the locker room, Pierce and his parents, Adam and Hannah Farr, stood alone on the turf, facing a boisterous home crowd.

“Pierce has been a varsity starter for all four years, and a defensive captain for three of those years for the Big Horns football team,” Hannahs said. “One thing he is especially proud of is being the original Big Horns water boy from third grade until high school.”

That tradition has carried on, as young boys continue to pace the sideline bringing water bottles to every huddle.

Hannahs said that Farr is a proud member of the honor society and senior vice president. He plans to attend Texas Christian University next fall, he loves to fish and hunt and he coaches flag football in Big Sky.

The crowd appreciated when Hannahs announced that Farr is a Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor “to his favorite future Big Horn, Russell.”

Hannahs’ voice trembled as he finished reading his statement.

“As somebody who has known Pierce since he was very small, I cannot tell you how much we will miss you, what a hard worker you are, and just how proud myself and the rest of the school district are of all your accomplishments.”

The crowd of students began chanting “Pierce! Pierce! Pierce!” as no. 50 turned to join his team in the locker room. The student section found at least five ways to chant Farr’s name on Friday night.

Farr scored his second rushing touchdown to begin the fourth quarter, and with a 44-6 lead, the Big Horns began to ease off the gas. Young and secondstring players including junior quarterback Aidan Germain began to enter the game.

With three minutes remaining, Farr was relieved from the game. He walked slowly toward the home sideline as his classmates applauded and called for his attention.

“I was not disappointed leaving, with all these great fans here cheering me on,” Farr said. “It was pretty surreal. You only get it once. I remember how it felt when the seniors did it last year.”

“[Tonight] will probably be the highlight of my career,” Farr said. “It’s so much fun playing with these boys and coming out on top. That was probably the best three quarters of football our team has played. You can’t do better.”

After the game, coach Dustin Shipman spoke to Farr’s impact on the Big Horns.

“Well, it was Pierce’s night, right? I remember watching him in sixth grade and knowing he was going to make a big impact on this program when he got here. He’s really going to be missed. We’re happy that we were able to honor him with a win. His teammates really came together around him to play their best tonight.”

The Panthers scored twice in the final two minutes of play, calling timeouts, attempting onside kicks and taking shots downfield to extend the game another 15 minutes in real time. Most of the loyal home fans stuck around, at one point singing “Country Roads” as they waited to honor Farr and celebrate the Big Horns home victory.

Finally, the Big Horns took victory formation to kneel and run out the clock and the fans moved to the sideline as the team celebrated their 44-21 win.

“I can’t believe that I don’t have any more games here,” he said. “I’m still happy with this win, but these guys—I’ll be here for their senior night next year for sure to cheer them on.”

Senior Pierce Farr raises his hands in appreciation for the home support as he walks off his home field.

PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

Senior no. 50 Pierce Farr scored twice in his final home game for Lone Peak. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

Freshman Ebe Grabow wraps up a Panthers receiver. PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

SPORTS

VOLLEYBALL

LADY BIG HORNS STRUGGLE AGAINST TWIN BRIDGES

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—On Friday afternoon, the Lone Peak High School Big Horns matched up against the Twin Bridges High School Falcons in a Class C volleyball game in Big Sky.

The Big Horns took control early and won the first set, but the Falcons swooped in to win the next three in a best-of-five match. After the first game, the Big Horns struggled with communication and serving, unable to keep momentum and losing each game by a margin of five to seven points. The Big Horns will look to return to the win column on Oct. 18, celebrating Senior Night against West Yellowstone.

“It was a hard-fought battle. I would have liked for us to play the way we did in the first game throughout the entire match,” said head coach Bailey Dowd after the match. “But I thought the girls played hard, and we have some things to work on going into the tournament. We just gotta communicate more on free balls and make sure we’re playing clean volleyball.”

Lone Peak receives an automatic berth in the five-team district tournament, but they will need to finish in the top three to advance further. Upcoming games will play an important role in determining their playoff seed.

In the first set, both teams got off to a hot start.

Big Horn senior Jessie Bough aced the Falcons twice in a row to take a 4-3 lead, and junior Ella Meredith got the opposing defense off balance with a spike to extend the Big Horns lead to 6-4. Meredith’s performance stood out on Friday, forcing the Falcons outside with her strong presence at middle blocker.

The Falcons fought back to tie the score at 11, and each team scored in 2 to 3-point bunches until Big Horn senior Maddie Cone ended a long rally with a signature spike to tie the score at 18.

Cone struck again to give the Big Horns a 19-18 lead and immediately followed her spike by staying calm under pressure while tying her shoe in front of the excited crowd.

The Big Horns surged ahead from a 20-20 tie when junior Dylan Klein softly directed a kill into open space, and senior Emily Graham fooled the Falcons up front by setting backwards over the net. When the Big Horns took a 24-22 lead, the Falcons called a time out. They returned and tied the score at 24, creating a win-by-two situation for both teams.

Big Horns freshman Lily Turner assisted junior Vera Grabow on a spike, blocked out of bounds by the Falcons, advantage Big Horns. Grabow’s serve was handled but not returned, and the Big Horns earned a narrow victory.

Turner and junior Emerson Tatom both joined the starting lineup on Friday, as coach Dowd tried to give a favorable matchup on the outsides. Throughout

the match, Turner and Tatom were coached and encouraged by experienced teammates, especially seniors Bough, Cone and Graham.

Throughout the second set, the Big Horns struggled to communicate and played from roughly five points behind. With a 25-20 win, the Falcons tied the match at one game apiece.

The third set began with high intensity, as the Big Horns held onto a threepoint lead. Momentum swerved when the Falcons trailed 16-13 and sparked a six-point run. After a Big Horns timeout, the Falcons won six of the final nine points, taking the second set 25-19.

The fourth and final set began with hope for the Big Horns, as the score was tied 5-5. But the Falcons continued to take control, winning six of seven points to take an 11-6 lead. The Big Horns continued to score but could not recover from that five-point deficit. The Falcons eventually won 25-18.

Coach Dowd said she looks forward to the final games at home leading up to the district tournament, including “Spike for the Cure” night to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research.

The Big Horns celebrate an ace by senior Jessie Bough. PHOTO BY JULIA BARTON

Junior Ella Meredith leaps to finish an attempted kill.

PHOTO BY JULIA BARTON

Audrey Hall Photography - Interior Design by Envi Design

TSERING’S FUND FILM ACCEPTED TO PRESTIGIOUS BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL

EBS STAFF

The latest film from local nonprofit Tsering’s Fund, “Helambu,” has been accepted to the Banff Mountain Film Festival, giving people the option to watch online via the festival’s website starting Oct. 29.

But before then, locals will get the chance to see the film in Bozeman on Friday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. at the Commons. The Bozeman showing is free, though Pete Schmieding, the nonprofit’s president and chairman, asked that people reserve tickets through the Tsering’s Fund website.

The festival runs from Oct. 29 through Nov. 6, and Schmieding said he’s heading up to Banff to introduce “Helambu” to the audience on Nov. 3.

“Most people don’t know who we are and what we’re doing. This is going to raise our awareness in the world by a lot, just being out there,” Schmieding said.

The film took two years to put together and follows the Hyolmo people of northern Nepal and the efforts of Tsering’s Fund and a local secondary school, Melamchi Ghyang, to prevent

the trafficking and early marriage of young girls in the region. Wes Overvold served as the director of cinematography for the film and Schmieding was executive director.

Tsering’s Fund was founded in 2007 and works across Nepal. The nonprofit has focused recent efforts in the Helambu region to place young, at-risk girls in boarding schools and ensuring they’re educated through college. Schmieding told EBS in July that the nonprofit sponsors roughly 140 students at Melamchi Ghyang. The effort is intended to break the cycle of poverty in the region by changing the culture of a region that traditionally marries young women off or sends them to work overseas rather than paying for their education.

Tsering’s Fund sponsorship and is now attending HAMS Nursing College in Kathmandu. She’s expected to graduate in December, Schmieding said.

“One of the things we were trying to do with the film was personalize the trafficking issue,” he said.

Experience the Northern Rocky Mountains’ spookier history and folklore brought to life through a production that blends live theater with the Taylor Planetarium’s state-of-the-art capabilities.

PERFORMANCES

Friday, October 21 | 6:30 & 8 p.m.

Saturday, October 22 | 5, 6:30 & 8 p.m. Sunday, October 23 | 5 p.m.

Friday, October 28 | 6:30 & 8 p.m. Saturday, October 29 | 5, 6:30 & 8 p.m. Sunday, October 30

5 & 6:30 p.m.

UnburyingMontana’sBone-chillingHistory

Maya Hyolmo holds a candle during a ceremony in the village

Purchase tickets

Beverly

Ned Phares

BIG SKY EVENTS CALENDAR

Thursday,

THURSDAY, OCT. 20

Visit Big Sky Board of Directors Meeting Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, 8:30 a.m.

Mosaic Art Class BASE, 10 a.m.

After School ARTventure BASE, 4:30 p.m.

Open Pottery Studio BASE, 6 p.m.

Screening: Thursday Night Football The Independent, 6 p.m.

Live Music: Chandler Huntley Montage Big Sky, Alpenglow Lounge, 7 p.m.

HorrorFest Film: “Halloween 1” The Independent, 8 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCT. 21

Screening: “Helambu” The Commons, 6 p.m.

Live Music: Jacob Roundtree Montage Big Sky Alpenglow Lounge, 7 p.m.

Salomon Quality Ski Time Film Tour Emerson Center for Arts and Culture, 7:30 p.m.

Live Music: Kent Johnson and Friends Tips Up, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCT. 22

Great Pumpkin Giveaway Food Drive Fire Pit Park, 12 p.m.

St. Joseph’s Mass Big Sky Chapel, 5 p.m.

Live Music: Zander Chovanes Montage Big Sky, Alpenglow Lounge, 7 p.m.

Live Music: Stoneman’s Way The Independent, 8 p.m.

Live Music: DJ Spearience Tips Up, 9 p.m.

SUNDAY, OCT. 23

St. Joseph’s Mass Big Sky Chapel, 8 a.m.

All Saints Big Sky Service Big Sky Chapel, 10 a.m.

Big Sky Christian Fellowship Service Big Sky Chapel, 4:30 p.m.

Community Art Class: Weaving BASE, 6 p.m.

Live Music: Tom Murphy & Kevin Fabozzi Montage Big Sky, Alpenglow Lounge, 7 p.m.

MONDAY, OCT. 24

All Levels Pottery Series BASE, 10 a.m.

Screening: Monday Night Football The Independent, 6 p.m.

All Levels Pottery Series BASE, 6 p.m.

Live Music: Amanda Stewart Montage Big Sky, Alpenglow Lounge, 7 p.m.

Trivia Tips Up, 9 p.m.

TUESDAY, OCT. 25 Studio Art Practice BASE, 1 p.m.

All Levels Pottery Series BASE, 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26

Big Sky Fire District Board of Trustees Meeting Big Sky Water and Sewer District, 8:30 a.m.

St. Joseph’s Mass Big Sky Chapel, 12 p.m.

Jumpstart to Oil Painting Class BASE, 5 p.m.

Trivia

The Independent, 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, OCT. 27

Mosaic Art Class BASE, 10 a.m.

After School ARTventure BASE, 4:30 p.m.

Open Pottery Studio BASE, 6 p.m.

Screening: Thursday Night Football

The Independent, 6 p.m.

Live Music: Chandler Huntley Montage Big Sky, Alpenglow Lounge, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 2

to media@theoutlapartners.com by Oct. 26.

FRIDAY, OCT. 28

Haunted Peaks: Geocache Mystery begins Town Center, All Day

Haunted Peaks: Window Display Competition begins Town Center, All Day

Live Music: Cole Decker Montage Big Sky, Alpenglow Lounge, 7 p.m.

Haunted Peaks: Skull and Roses Ball with Dead Sky The Independent, 9 p.m.

Live Music: Aaron Young & Austin Gaskins Tips Up, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCT. 29

Haunted Peaks: 3rd Annual Haunted Run Town Center, 1 p.m.

Haunted Peaks: Haunted House Choppers, 12-6 p.m.

St. Joseph’s Mass Big Sky Chapel, 5 p.m.

Live Music: Zander Chovanes Montage Big Sky, Alpenglow Lounge, 7 p.m.

Haunted Peaks: Monster Mash BASE, 8 p.m.

Haunted Peaks: Dance Party The Independent, 8 p.m.

Live Music: DJ Large Human Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Costume Contest & DJ with 406 Agave Blue Buddha, 9 p.m.

SUNDAY, OCT. 30

St. Joseph’s Mass Big Sky Chapel, 8 a.m.

All Saints Big Sky Service Big Sky Chapel, 10 a.m.

Haunted Peaks: Yappy Hour The Rocks, 2 p.m.

Haunted Peaks: Dia de los Muertos Town Center, 4 p.m.

Costume Climb! BASE, 4 p.m.

Big Sky Christian Fellowship Service Big Sky Chapel, 4:30 p.m.

MONDAY, OCT. 31

All Levels Pottery Series BASE. 10 a.m.

Screening: Monday Night Football The Independent, 6 p.m.

All Levels Pottery Series BASE, 6 p.m.

Haunted Peaks: Downtown Trick Or Treat Town Center

Haunted Peaks: Halloween Costume Dance Party Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Live Music: DJ Take A Chance Tips Up, 9 p.m.

TUESDAY, NOV. 1 Studio Art Practice BASE, 1 p.m.

Belay Your Bunch! BASE, 5:30 p.m.

American Legion Post 99 Bingo Riverhouse BBQ & Events, 5:30 p.m.

All Levels Pottery Series BASE, 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 2

St. Joseph’s Mass Big Sky Chapel, 12 p.m.

Jumpstart to Oil Painting Class BASE, 5 p.m.

Trivia

The Independent, 7 p.m.

A more detailed version of this calendar is updated weekly on explorebigsky.com

Featured Event:

Haunted Peaks Festival

Spooky energy will fill the air in Big Sky from Oct. 28-31 for the 2022 Haunted Peaks Festival. This four-day event includes a mystery treasure hunt around town, costume competitions and parties, a Dia De Los Muertos celebration, a haunted house, and of course trick-or-treating, among other fun activities to help locals of all ages channel their Halloween spirit.

aa-montana.org

BUSINESS

MAKING IT IN BIG SKY: HIGHLINE PARTNERS

BY MIRA BRODY

BIG SKY – A frequent name seen in Explore Big Sky’s Best of Big Sky series, Highline Partners has been a custom home builder in Big Sky since owners Rob McRae and Todd Thesing teamed up and founded the business in 2007. They have since grown their team and are responsible for Big Sky’s unique skyline of impressive architecture and mountain home living.

As the area grows and changes, McRae asserts that getting involved in the community is the best way to steer change for the better. Explore Big Sky sat down with him to talk about this change, Highline’s role in the community, and the team he refers to as “family".

This series is part of a paid partnership with the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce. The following answers have been edited for brevity.

Explore Big Sky: Let’s start with a little background information on you—when did you first come to Big Sky and what brought you here?

Rob McRae: My wife and I moved to Bozeman in 2002 with the intention of attending grad school at Montana State University. I needed to work for a year to gain residency and got connected with my now-business partner Todd [Thesing] through a mutual friend who was working for a construction company [at] Yellowstone Club. I had been a carpenter off and on since high school and started working with him. The opportunity seemed very

interesting and grad school fell off the radar. We moved to Big Sky in 2004.

EBS: Tell me about the history of Highline Partners, when did the company get its start and when did you become involved? How has it grown over the years along with the community?

RM: Todd and I started working together in 2002 and decided to start Highline Partners in July of 2007. We slowly started hiring employees and were just getting our feet under us when the economy tanked. We survived the downturn and slowly began scaling up the company.

EBS: How big is your team, and what’s the best part about working with them?

RM: We employ approximately 40 people. Many of our employees have been with us for over 10 years and are like family. They have grown and diversified their skills as the business has developed and are all key members of the team.

EBS: Tell me about the different services you offer, and which are the most in demand right now?

RM: High end residential home construction and ranch property development is our main service.

EBS: What is the best part of working at Highline?

RM: Being able to work and live in this amazing mountain community. Work hard-play hard is our motto and our team certainly does both!

EBS: What is the best business advice you have ever received?

RM: It’s a quote that I think about often: “There’s no limit to what a man/woman can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”

EBS: Is there anything else that you’d like to tell the Big Sky Community?

RM: I would like to thank the Big Sky community for supporting Highline and my family for the past 20 years. I would also encourage people to get involved however they can within the community. The challenges of a growing town are apparent everywhere and, in my opinion, the best way to create positive change is through individual efforts.

Highline Partners has been responsible for Big Sky’s unique skyline of impressive architecture and mountain home living since 2007.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HIGHLINE PARTNERS

”

The challenges of a growing town are apparent everywhere and in my opinion, the best way to create positive change is through individuals efforts.

– Rob McRae, owner, Highline Partners

Shining a light on the future.

Making smarter decisions about renewable energy requires knowledge. NorthWestern Energy’s solar projects throughout the state of Montana provide clean energy to the power grid

– and they’re shaping the future of renewable energy, too. We’re working with local universities to better understand where solar energy belongs alongside a balanced energy mix. And that research is helping us build a brighter future for the next generation of Montanans.

story

ENVIRONMENT

MORE COOPERATION IS NEEDED TO PREVENT PREDATOR IMPACTS

BY YVONNE MARTINELL EBS CONTRIBUTOR

DELL—Our family has raised cattle in southwestern Montana since 1893, so we have weathered many changes.

Over the past several decades, Americans have changed the way they see predators. Once treated as pests, wolves and bears are now conserved as part of the natural landscape. As a result, we have more wolves amid our cattle and are seeing more grizzly bears show up where they’ve not been seen for decades.

Many people who live in Montana or come to visit enjoy hearing wolves and or seeing a bear. But for cattle producers, having these animals nearby can be very costly. In 2013, we lost 38 calves and 8 cows from our herd, in addition to our documented losses. They just disappeared.

Thankfully, there are effective tools that farmers and ranchers use to mitigate the impact wildlife have both on their bottom line and their sense of safety. But we need our elected officials in Helena and Washington D.C. to make sure these tools are funded and put in place.

We have seen these tools work. Every summer, we graze our stock on a mix of private ground and leased public range in the Centennial Valley. We have a hired hand who tends to sick animals, mends fences and the like. But one person can only do so much.

Since 2014, the Centennial Valley Association has hired range riders to help prevent losses amid the 12,000 head of cattle that graze the Centennial Valley. Range riders spend long days in the saddle, looking for signs of predators. They maintain remote trail cameras to record wildlife movements and keep look out for sick livestock and carcasses. Just having more people in the area can help deter predators.

The CVA range riders serve six ranches. We have seen the benefits in terms of reduced losses. One time, the CVA range rider found a calf of ours that was bitten, but not killed, by a bear. That calf could be doctored and salvaged.

Range riders also allow us to detect sick or dead livestock earlier. That helps determine if an animal was lost to a wolf or bear, as opposed to another cause such as eating poisonous plants like larkspur. This is good for both wildlife managers and ranchers to be able to accurately pinpoint the problem.

Range riders are just one tool in the toolbox that keep stock safe and predators behaving more naturally. Other preventative tools are guardian dogs, electric fencing and systems for securing garbage and removing livestock carcasses.

Sometimes, if grizzly bears or wolves kill livestock or threaten human safety, they must be killed. But an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Ranchers often invest their own money in these tools, depending on the needs of their individual operations. However, these tools are expensive and there is need to expand their use.

It seems only fair that society at large pitch in for these tools, since society at large wants and benefits from the wolves and bears. Livestock producers and conservationists alike are asking Gov. Gianforte and Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines to work together and develop reliable funding sources for these kinds of tools.

Ranchers know that if you degrade the resource, you won’t have it very long. We put a lot of time and effort taking care of Montana’s natural resources. We provide wildlife habitat, control weeds and conserve water.

For example, surface water is a scare and life-giving resource in the high dry valleys of Montana. Ranchers put a lot of time, money and effort into building and maintaining water tanks. These water sources benefit cattle, of course, but are magnets that benefit all sorts of birds and animals. These kinds of contributions are overlooked by the public at large.

If I could ask for one thing for Montana’s rangelands it would be more cooperation. We get more done when we work together. Montanans can resolve many problems when we work together. We do this with weed control and water conservation and should cooperate more when it comes to wildlife.

Working to put more wildlife conflict prevention tools in place in the working landscapes of Montana would be a great place to start.

Yvonne Martinell is a rancher and chairwoman of the Centennial Valley Association.

Grizzly boars take turns eating a bison carcass.

PHOTO BY JACOB W. FRANK / NPS

A grizzly near Swan Lake. PHOTO BY NEAL HERBERT / NPS

ENVIRONMENT

WILDERNESS ADVENTURES ROOM AT THE CAMPFIRE: BUILDING LIFE SKILLS IN THE OUTDOORS

BY MIRA BRODY

As a kid from central Illinois, 16-year-old Tom Holland was amazed the first time he found himself in the ocean of mountain peaks making up the Teton Range. The seemingly endless granite and wild, open spaces awoke in him a sense of adventure and he left that summer trip with Wilderness Adventures—a Jackson Hole, Wyoming-based outdoor education organization— armed with a new set of technical skills along with life skills he would carry with him into adulthood.

Holland went on to study business and early childhood education, and become the CEO of the American Camp Association—a nonprofit center for camp professionals—out of Indiana. But he kept in touch with Mike and Helen Cottingham, who had originally founded Wilderness Adventures in 1973. In 2016, when the Cottinghams were looking to pass the business along to its next owner, Tom and his wife Catherine rose to the challenge.

“To do what we do is a dream come true,” says Holland, now 42. “I get to go to campfires in the middle of the summer and see the impact of this thing; that’s incredibly magical. The outdoors is a place of solace and connection for kids and that isn’t going away. We feel so lucky and honored to carry this torch.”

Now in its 50th year, through day camps, overnight trips, gap semester programs and custom trips that reach across the U.S. and globe, Wilderness Adventures has inspired and changed the lives of over 40,000 alumni, providing youth with technical and life skills in what the Hollands believe is the most powerful classroom of all: the outdoors.

In a curriculum they call the Trail Map, kids of all ages learn the hard skills of the outdoors—how to pitch a tent, cook outdoors, pack proper supplies

and hike to remote locations—and along the way build invaluable soft skills such as teamwork, communication, creative and critical thinking and empathy.

Now, with a pandemic-affected generation navigating their school years, and often overstimulated by today’s technology and screens, Holland believes the experience of summer camp and outdoor education is more important than ever. It not only provides a reprieve from society but reaching kids early in life has a ripple effect— they grow into more thoughtful stewards for their communities.

“I just think kids need this experience now more than ever,” says Holland. “To be carefree, with role models guiding your experience, to be able to grow and get dirty. We want them to then take the energy and experience that they get and translate it to the rest of their lives.”

Holland runs his business on a philosophy: “There’s room at the campfire for everyone,” meaning socioeconomic or ethnic differences should never deem the outdoors inaccessible. Through their Wilderness Adventures Foundation, the organization aims to reach kids who otherwise may not have been able to experience reaching the peak of the Grand Teton, camping in the wilderness or sharing a campfire with newfound friends.

“Wilderness Adventures’ foundational goal is to ensure finances are never an issue and includes people of different racial and economic backgrounds,” says Holland. “We are trying to make sure our campfire is open to everybody. If you can start with kids, with that influence and commitment to the tenants of this community, I think we can be well equipped.”

Already firmly established in Jackson Hole, Wilderness Adventures looks next to grow their

five-day, K-8 Base Camp program into the Bozeman area by 2023, as they hope to reach and educate more youth in beautiful spaces.

“We think the community of Bozeman aligns with outdoor enthusiasm and the opportunity for kids seems just about right,” says Holland. “The program that’s worked for Jackson is something we’re excited to bring to Bozeman.”

Holland recalls the day the Wilderness Adventures brochure arrived in the mail when he was a kid back in the Midwest and how he mowed lawns all summer until he raised the tuition to attend, unaware how much it would change the course of his life.

“I didn’t know about the Tetons or mountains or anything like that,” says Holland. “What that trip did for me as a young adult was instill in me a confidence that I never felt before and that I never imagined. I had a story to tell.”

Today, thanks to Wilderness Adventures, 40,000 other youth in communities across the country have their stories as well.

This article was originally published in the summer 2022 issue of Mountain Outlaw.

Wilderness Adventures is a Jackson Hole, Wyoming-based outdoor education organization that provides students of all ages with unique life skills while exploring the outdoors. They will grow to serve the Bozeman area with their K-8 Base Camp programs by 2023. PHOTOS COURTESY OF WILDERNESS ADVENTURES

OPINION

HEALTH BUZZ HOLISTIC WINTER ENERGY SUPPORT

BY DR. KALEY BURNS EBS COLUMNIST

When it comes to generating energy, the low temperatures and fewer hours of daylight put our bodies to the test. The good news is there are a number of things we can do to naturally buffer ourselves against winter fatigue.

RISE AND SHINE THE OPTIMAL WAY

Resist the urge to hit snooze: As tempting as it is to roll over and keep sleeping, it won’t benefit you in the long run. When your alarm goes off in the morning, you’re likely near the end of your last REM cycle. Going back to sleep can make you wake up in the middle of a cycle, causing grogginess that can last all day. Skipping snooze will keep you on track to get the day started right.

Light it up: Letting the sun’s rays filter in first thing in the morning is a great way to get your biological clock synced with the start of the day. Allowing your body to wake with natural light is a smoother way to transition from sleep. If you need to be up before the sunrise, try an alarm with soothing sounds. You can also try sitting by a sunny window as you enjoy your breakfast.

Eat a protein-packed breakfast: Incorporate protein in the morning to kick your metabolism into gear and provide steady energy. Avoid eating sugary processed items as these will lead to a crash later on. Ideas: Eggs

cooked your way on whole grain toast with avocado, a high-quality protein smoothie or overnight chia pudding.

MID-DAY MOTIVATORS

Take an exercise break: The middle of the day is a great time to fight off low energy with a quick exercise break. Take a 20-minute walk to perk up and reset your brain. Bonus points if you can get outside and soak up some vitamin D. When studying a group of sleep-deprived adults, exercise scientists at the University of Georgia discovered that 10 minutes of stair walking in the morning had a greater energizing effect than 50mg of caffeine, the amount in a single shot of espresso.

Eat regular meals: Consistent nutrition is necessary in maintaining your energy, keeping your blood sugar steady and preventing a crash or feeling "hangry". Proteins and complex carbs are the key to maintaining energy levels, therefore, aim for protein-based choices such as grilled chicken lettuce wraps or a turkey and bean chili. Complete the meal with healthy fats such as avocado slices or a handful of almonds.

Avoid fast food for lunch: While fast food is tempting, the sugar and saturated fats won’t do the job of providing you with steady energy and can lead to mood swings later in the day

AFTERNOON SLUMP BREAKERS

Hydrate but skip the sugar: When the afternoon sleepies set in, a soda craving becomes hard to fight. Staying hydrated helps to stave off cravings and keeps you from feeling zapped. If you want something fizzy, go for a seltzer without added sugar. My personal

favorite is LMNT electrolytes to add flavor, support energy and keep you away from a sugar crash.

Snack right: Look for a snack with substance. Try making a trail mix with a variety of seeds and nuts mixed with dark chocolate bits and dried fruit. Other good options include hard boiled eggs with avocado or veggies and hummus. You’ll satisfy the craving for something sweet or salty while delivering healthy fats and fiber to your body.

Stretch: A good stretch can do wonders to your energy and release built up tension. It’s also an easy practice to do right from your office chair in under five minutes. Toss in neck and shoulder rolls to increase your level of tension reduction.

Adding supplements to your daily habits could benefit your energy levels. High quality, nutritional supplements are great additions to incorporate into any wellness routine, though it is vital you do the necessary research and meet with your healthcare professional prior to starting new therapies.

Try putting some of these lifestyle changes into practice and find the energy boost you need this winter.

Dr. Kaley Burns is the founder, owner and naturopathic doctor at Big Sky Natural Health. She embraces a natural approach to health and aims to similarly inspire and guide others on their health journey. Dr. Burns has advanced training application of regenerative and intravenous injection therapy. She also serves as the vice president and CE liaison of the Montana Association of Naturopathic Physicians.

NATURAL. SUSTAINABLE. HEALTHY.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE HUMMOCKY TOPOGRAPHY

BY PAUL SWENSON EBS COLUMNIST

As you have probably surmised after reading the last several columns, I am kind of a rock head. Not kind of, but really. I grew up a rockhound, collecting fossils and petrified wood, agates, panning for gold, and whatever piqued my interest at the time. I went to school and studied geology and geophysics, which added a layer of understanding to the landscape that I enjoy sharing with you.

There is a field of geology called geomorphology: geo-earth, morph-shape, ology-study. So quite literally, the study of the shape of the landscape and the causes that formed it. My former students from Lone Peak High School will recognize this term from geomorphology: Hummocky Topography. It’s fun to say, and easy to recognize once you learn what to look for.

The word “hummock” originated in the British Isles sometime in the mid 1500s. It was a word used by sailors to describe small, conical sand hills along the shoreline. The word is now used to indicate a small hill less that 45 feet tall, sometimes referred to as a “hillock.” So if one finds a collection of these small hills arranged randomly across the countryside, the term hummocky topography is used.

There are many places one can find hummocky topography in the Big Sky region, and all are caused by one of two processes: glacial deposits or landslide debris.

As glaciers advance and retreat, they leave the solid material they erode behind in deposits called glacial moraines. This material can be seen spread around all over Big Sky, especially in Beehive Basin, Middle Basin, Bear Basin, and the bowl on Lone Mountain. If the material at the terminus of these glaciers has not been reworked by streams, you will find hummocky topography.

Driving the last half mile to the Beehive Basin trailhead, the road cuts through a terminal moraine and the landscape is full of hummocks and the undrained depressions between them which form marshy areas.

The other major cause in our area are landslides. Landslides are usually caused by a combination of weak rock layers, overly steepened slopes, water, and some type of seismic event. The geology of our region has all these ingredients. In the last two columns you read about the Thermopolis Shale (the weak rock) and the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff (a cap rock which causes overly steepened shale slopes). Add to that some water from several years of wet winters and summers and a tremor from an earthquake, and landslides can be a result.

Landslides have features that stand out when you look at them: crown, scarp, body and toe. The crown is the very top of the slide, the scarp is the steep hillside or cliff where the material has moved away from the crown, the main body is all the material that moved and the toe is the terminus of the slide where is has flowed out onto a valley floor or plane.

It is the material of the main body that loses its structure during the slide’s motion and displays the random hummocky topography associated with a landslide. One such slide can be identified at the “Hummocks” trail system. The crown is the ridge top along Skywood to Mitchner Road, the scarp is the cliff of Huckleberry Ridge tuff, and the main body is what one hikes along on the trails with its undulating surface, marshes and ponds.

Another great example is the “Blowout” along Taylor Fork. The road had to be constructed up and over the toe and body of a large slide that came from the south and ran across the valley floor. How long ago is unknown, but there is a large fault line that extends from Ennis to Reynold’s Pass to the south that had a major event about a thousand years ago, so that would be my bet.

And finally, the best slide around—the Earthquake Lake slide. If you have not been to visit this spectacle of nature, it’s an hour drive from Big Sky along the Madison River below Hebgen Lake. In 1959, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the region from the Yellowstone National Park boundary west to the Madison Valley some twenty miles away. The mountain that fell into the river that night to form Earthquake Lake had been over steepened by erosion from the river. The slide claimed 28 lives and they’re memorialized on a plaque at the visitor center.

Hopefully you’ll look at our region with a new level of understanding and some new vocabulary that’s fun to say and fun to see.

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 reactivated (2014) landslide in Albino Creek drainage in Taylor Fork. PHOTO BY PAUL SWENSON

Hummocky topography on a landslide under Black Butte in Yellowstone National Park. PHOTO BY PAUL SWENSON

An aerial photo of the “Blowout” landslide in Taylor Fork. PHOTO BY PAUL SWENSON

WRITERS ON THE RANGE

MISTOOK A DOG FOR A WOLF—AND FIRED

BY AMANDA WIGHT WRITERS ON THE RANGE

The story of a Montana woman who recently killed and skinned a domestic dog, then proudly posted photos on her social media pages, has sparked a flood of public outrage.

It should. The woman allegedly mistook the dog for a wolf, saying she was excited to share that she had “smoked a wolf pup.” When others pointed out that she had actually killed a dog, likely a husky and not a young wolf, she doubled down on her actions, saying that if she were in that situation again, she still would have pulled the trigger.

The photos are gut wrenching. In one, the woman holds up the dead dog’s head and smiles. In another, she poses next to the dog’s skinned body, seemingly prepared as a trophy rug for a wall or floor display.

According to media outlets, the husky and at least 11 others had been abandoned in the Doris Creek area of Flathead National Forest in Montana. The local sheriff’s office reported that several of the dogs tested positive for parvovirus, a highly contagious disease transmissible to dogs, foxes, coyotes and wolves. An investigation is ongoing.

The woman who killed the husky defended her actions by saying that she hadn’t killed anybody’s pet. Somehow, that’s not an excuse.

But the context here points to a larger and troubling reality about the status and persecution of wolves in the West. They are killed every day during trophy-hunting seasons in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. In Montana, trophy hunters can kill up to 20 wolves each and in Idaho there’s no limit at all.

This is how the killing is carried out in 2022: Wolves are chased down with packs of radio-collared dogs, shot at night with the aid of night-vision goggles, or captured in steel jawed leghold traps and strangling wire neck snares.

In Idaho, even mothers and pups in their dens can be killed year-round. They’re slaughtered by the hundreds each year—both legally and by poachers and lawbreakers who live by the “shoot, shovel and shut up” code of killing wildlife.

The killing of a husky under these circumstances is a tragedy, one born of a trigger-happy mindset about killing wolves, and now, it would seem, any canid that might be mistaken for one. In that sense, it’s part of the larger tragedy that threatens America’s wolf populations, one that we could prevent by restoring federal protections for them.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering whether or not to relist wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains under the federal Endangered Species Act.

If authorities can identify and punish anyone responsible for the abandonment of the dogs, or find a way to hold the woman who killed the husky accountable, they certainly should do so. As companions at home and in the field, dogs are special, and a society that fails to protect them is not one to be envied. But we can also think about how we treat wolves in light of this incident.

In the West, we know that wolves are ecologically important as well as a huge magnet for ecotourism. Their presence is worth literally billions of tourist dollars annually to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

It’s the height of folly to destroy their populations, and Western states with their disturbing and vicious policies are not merely out of step with majority opinion concerning the trophy killing of wolves. They are also divorced from everything we know about the value of wolves to the region’s ecological balance.

Killing wolves out of some misplaced zeal threatens to undo decades of progress toward recovery. That is why it is vital for the federal government to restore protections to wolves in the Northern Rockies now.

Amanda Wight is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, a nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. She is a program manager of wildlife protection for the Humane Society of the United States.

A member of the Wapiti Lake Wolf Pack is silhouetted by a nearby hot spring. PHOTO BY JACOB W. FRANK / NPS

EVERY DROP COUNTS WASTEWATER REUSE AND WATER RESILIENCY

BY MARNE HAYES EBS COLUMNIST

Water supply or threats to water supply have been topping the headlines lately, not just here in Big Sky, but in many places across the west, and the country.

Concerns include water shortages, compromised water, depleted water systems, and threats to municipal and regional water sources from drought and other factors. In addressing challenges that come with less rainfall, decreased snowpack, shorter and earlier spring runoff and increased scarcity of natural groundwater sources, water reuse is a big part of the solution.

A resilient water supply depends on a combination of water conservation and strategic water reuse. Reuse also takes into consideration groundwater recharge, or the relationship of snowpack and precipitation to recharging our aquifers. But more and more, reuse is becoming a leading conventional solution, and with good reason.

In many areas of the U.S. and internationally, water reuse (also commonly known as water recycling or water reclamation) is well-established as the practice of reclaiming water from a variety of sources, treating it to a high quality, and reusing it for beneficial purposes that solve a variety of water source issues. It can provide alternate sources for potable and non-potable drinking water supplies, enhance water reliability, sustainability and resilience, as well as supplement streamflow.

Unfortunately, water reuse still faces barriers, even though it presents major opportunities to enhance sustainability and efficient uses of water resources

that support both the quality and quantity of existing water supplies.

Wastewater recycling is nothing new, and more frequently, communities across the world are considering this as a more efficient and sustainable method of handling their water supplies and sources. Big Sky is among those communities currently practicing reuse, with irrigation of golf courses and public spaces coming from highly treated wastewater, and future plans to augment snowmaking through treated wastewater sources, bolstering the snowpack and providing solutions to our wastewater discharge challenges.

With significant pressure on our water supply, the Big Sky Water and Sewer Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade is among the most significant steps forward in addressing capacity and reuse, and one that once up and running will be capable of treating roughly 910,000 gallons of municipal wastewater per day—a 50% increase from our current capacity. The upgrades will produce effluent that contains 90% less bacteria, 99% less nitrogen, and 99% less phosphorus; much to the benefit of the Gallatin River Watershed.

The new facility will also allow for more beneficial reuse options like groundwater discharge, increased snowmaking, and exploring direct potable reuse (also known as DPR). Future opportunities that reuse water and apply creative discharge handling of our community wastewater offer different options of recycling water that augment the natural water cycle and which will benefit the overall hydrologic system.

Innovative ways of managing wastewater are used many places around the globe and are very much at play here in our own community. With a recent permit issued to the Yellowstone Club from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality,

we have expanded our ability to reuse as much wastewater as possible. These and future additional snowmaking capabilities will give the community an even greater outlet for reused water, improving snowpack and contributing to groundwater reserves.

Reclaiming water and applying treatments that allow for beneficial uses like irrigation, groundwater recharge, snowmaking and direct potable reuse are among the leading ways to stretch water resiliency. Creative methods like these diversify community water supply portfolios to meet current and future needs that are on track to exhaust our traditional water supply systems.

Undoubtedly, water reuse and conservation go hand in hand as water source solutions. Conservation methods like the installation of low-flow plumbing fixtures and limits on irrigation-dependent landscaping are just a few methods already at play in many places like Big Sky. Newer methods like reusing water for snowmaking are gaining speed and support as well, largely because of the potential added value of reducing nutrient pollution and bolstering snowpack, adding to overall benefits to our community water supply.

The bottom line is that there is a pressing need to identify sources of water for a variety of community uses, making sure that there is enough to replenish our rivers and streams. Existing supplies are stretched and increasingly compromised by key elements related to drought, climate change, population growth; there’s just not enough water, and in turn, we are forced to think more creatively and strategically about how we replenish the sources to serve the uses that are key to a community’s daily life.

Marne Hayes is the communications manager for the Gallatin River Task Force.

The Gallatin River winds through Gallatin Canyon this fall.

PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

NEW HIRES

BIG SKY NATURAL HEALTH EXPANDS TEAM

BIG SKY–Led by Dr. Kaley Burns, ND, Big Sky Natural Health is excited to announce that it’s expanding its team. Burns has been practicing in Big Sky since 2019 and offers IV therapy, nutritional counseling, women’s health services, holistic family medicine and more.

Dr. Burns is proud to bring on three new employees, Trish Cooper, L.A.C., Candace VonBuren, and Emily Porter, RN.

Trish Cooper joins the acupuncture team at Big Sky Natural Health. Her academic experience began at Michigan State University where she studied biochemistry and molecular biology for three and a half years before switching her focus to kinesiology. The study of anatomy and the mechanics of human

movement gave her a passion for understanding the human body. In 2015, she graduated with a degree in kinesiology and a specialization in Health Promotion from Michigan State University. One of the main focuses during her academic career has been investigating acupuncture’s potential role in mitigating the negative effects of mild traumatic brain injuries, and its use in treating acute and chronic pain.

Candace VonBuren is the owner and colon hydro therapist at Big Sky Cleansing Center, and now a partner with Big Sky Natural Health. She has a positive, vibrant energy and is passionate about living a life that focuses on healing and nurturing her energetic, physical, and spiritual health, as she strongly believes that they are all intertwined. She is

a certified member of the International Association of Colon Hydrotherapy and LIBBE device certified through Libbe Colonic School. She is also a certified health coach from the Dr. Sears Wellness. With 20 years of experience in colonics, she is extremely vibrant and passionate about cleansing and detox and excited to share her knowledge with her clients.

Emily Porter, RN started her nursing career at Bozeman Health in 2013 on the medical floor and working in pediatrics. She then began working in the PCU until she transferred to Big Sky Medical Center to work in the Emergency Dept. She continues to provide care as the Team Lead at BSMC and supplements this with IV therapy work at Big Sky Natural Health. Emily has a passion for supporting whole health in her community.

THE START TO HUNTING SEASON

BY GUS HAMMOND EBS CONTRIBUTOR

A fair chase. The critical component when hunting for wild game in the wilderness of Montana. Hunting may feel like a hobby or reward when the task has been accomplished, but that’s not how it began. As humans, we used to hunt to survive, not for a trophy to hang on our walls. While many people invest in this idea of the harvest, there is only one correct approach.

Rifle season started on Oct. 8, so take an orange vest when you go on your evening stroll for the next couple of months. Antelope season also began on Oct. 8, and regular rifle season begins on Oct. 22. This is a big time of year for hunting in Montana.

“About one in four hunters that purchased a general elk license in Montana are likely to harvest an elk, but you can really increase your personal odds if you put some time in the field both before and after the hunt,” said the Chief of Game Management Bureau, Brian Wakeling.

There you have it; that’s the odds of successfully harvesting an elk during the regular season.

While this is all exciting news, precautionary actions always need to be taken when hunting. A fair chase is the most crucial part of hunting. A fair chase asks the question: does the animal have an opportunity to escape? It begs the question of ethics when hunting. For example, it would not be fair or ethical to see an antelope from one's truck, hop out, and shoot. Not only is it unethical, but it’s also illegal.

Wakeling also said, “One of the things I like to remind hunters of that touches on ethics is their behavior on Facebook or on the road home. We all like to share photos of our hunts with our friends, but think about whether the photo you are about to share is in good taste.”

Regular rifle season has begun. Still, there are many differences when comparing hunting for different species. There is a clear difference when hunting an antelope compared to an elk. Nonetheless, the goal is the same. It’s all about the stalk of the animal. When stalking an antelope, you may consider the factors of distance when shooting, wind speed, and many other variables. Compared to hunting an elk, you may consider the elements of weather, snow tracks, or even noise. Every hunt has a story to tell.

Hunting season has begun. Stay safe, ethical, and enjoy the harvest.

ILLUSTRATION BY CY WHITLING

BY JULIA BARTON

LK

192 Audubon Way Located in the Parklands at the Village Downtown Listed at $2,199,000

This masterfully crafted new construction home offers over 3,600 square feet of fine-living space adjacent to the Indreland Audubon Wetland Preserve, providing nearly 40 acres of protected wetland for a variety of wildlife species right out your backdoor! The main floor open floor plan is complete with the kitchen, dining room, office, guest bath as well as a powder room and your primary bedroom suite. Enjoy the natural light and excellent quality finishes built for entertaining. Step outside to your spacious patio and enjoy those unobstructed Bridger mountain views. The upstairs is complete with an open foyer, two comfortably sized bedrooms, an ensuite guest room, additional family room. The unobstructed views of the Bridger Mountains, the ease of access to coffee shops, breweries, downtown shopping, fine dining restaurants, and endless recreational opportunities make this Bozeman single-family lot one of the finest opportunities on the market!

Listed by Ethan Stokes

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