Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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The Bureau of Land Management held a “scoping” meeting in Glasgow April 12 to ask for public comment on an environmental assessment being conducted by BLM. The assessment is on a permit request by the American Prairie Foundation Inc. (commonly called the American Prairie Reserve or APR) to remove interior fencing on BLM grazing leases and to permit bison grazing year round. The meeting was well attended by farmers, ranchers, and local government representatives who mostly attempted to express their concerns of the proposal. According to BLM... Full story
Dear Editor, The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is asking for the public’s help in determining what it should analyze as it considers proposed changes to several grazing leases. American Prairie Reserve (APR) controls private properties tied to 18 BLM grazing allotments in Fergus, Petroleum, Phillips and Valley counties. They have submitted a proposal asking the BLM to modify their grazing permits. Note that Page 2 of their proposal lists “other terms and conditions of APR proposed action.” Item 2 of this says, “Split BLM East Dry Fork al...
I want to inform all of our readers that it is the intent of the Glasgow Courier to take the Bureau of Land Management to task over their decision making process for the American Prairie Reserve’s request to remove interior fencing and graze bison year-round. The story you see this week will not be the end of our questioning of how the BLM is making its decision. The public comment in this paper and other forums around the Hi-Line speak for themselves that this issue has been charged with fear, polarization and muddied by bureaucratic p... Full story
Millions of Americans need bentonite every day, but many don’t even know it. To supply that demand, bentonite mining started in Valley County on Nov. 13, on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management Glasgow Field Office. According to BLM Geologist Craig Towery, mobilizing of equipment for the mining has started. Throughout the next couple of weeks, there will be an increase in traffic in the area as the equipment comes and goes during mining operations. BLM officials would like the public to be extra cautious when driving in and around t... Full story
Remember to attend the soil health workshop Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. at the Pioneer Museum. Mark Henning and Terry Heck of NRCS—Miles City will be talking about how to manage soil and cropland/rangeland productivity during drought, with an eye towards future outlook if drought continues. The following are the main topics: Historical perspective of drought, current conditions as it relates to forage production, mitigation: manage carbon to manage drought, grazing management with soil health, and a drought contingency plan. This free workshop is s... Full story
Charles Morgan Carlson, 81, passed away in Billings on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, from heart disease. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, May 26, 2018, in Fort Peck, Mont. He was born at his parent’s house on May 4, 1936, in Mountain Iron, Minn., to Dorothy (Morgan) Carlson (Johnson) and Waldemar Carlson. He grew up in Mountain Iron and graduated from Mountain Iron High in 1954. He was elected to the National Honor Society and was an outstanding football player. He also spent a lot of time trapping, fishing and deer hunting. He work... Full story
Editor's Note: The following letter arrived in my inbox on June 28. The delay was unintentional. I was struck by a paragraph in the Wednesday, May 10, 2017 Glasgow Courier (Pg. 2A A Regular Guy’s Money Problems). “With the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument suddenly in danger of being privatized, we need a representative in Congress who values our public lands. He has spoken out against land grabs and trusts Montana farmers and ranchers to know what’s best for our land.” I find this paragraph striking, because sentence one is in diametrica...
The Lodgepole Complex fire continues to devour range land, homes, and farms in Garfield and Petroleum Counties, approximately 52 miles northeast of Jordan. At press time, the fires had consumed more than 250,000 acres and 16 homes across four different close burning fires, dubbed the Bridge Coulee, Barker, South Breaks and Square Butte fires, which make up the Lodgepole Complex fires. The fire had started just some six days prior on July 19. A release on the fire said that, "Firefighters were... Full story
With the continued dry conditions and lack of rain, the Fort Peck Pines Recreational Area is seeing an increase in local, state and federal firefighters being dispatched to remove the overabundance of vegetation. For the second year in a row, volunteers are using chainsaws, mowers and wood chippers to reduce the risk of wildfires in the area. Crews and engines are also being pre-positioned in areas of high concern to assist if a wildfire does ignite. While crews are in the area, they are taking full advantage, helping their community reduce... Full story
On June 26, Senator Jon Tester announced 55 Montana counties, including Valley County, will receive $31.8 million in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) for 2017. PILT payments help local governments carry out vital services such as firefighting and police protection, construction of public schools and roads, and search-and-rescue operations. The payments are made annually for tax exempt Federal lands administered by various organizations, such as the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Valley... Full story
Greg Gianforte came to town for a campaign event at Farm Equipment Sales on Hwy. 2 in Glasgow on May 8. Gianforte is the Republican candidate to fill Montana's at-large congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat was vacated earlier this year by Ryan Zinke, following his confirmation as Secretary of the Interior. The aspiring congressman arrived with Senator Mike Lang and House Speaker Austin Knudsen (HD36). The latter provided a brief wrap-up of the legislative... Full story
As the 65th MT Legislative Session opened for business last week, the usual calls for budget cuts were exceedingly shrill. What made matters worse this year was the loss of revenue due to the demise of the coal and oil and gas industries in Montana. We knew this day of reckoning was coming, so now the budget knives are being sharpened and the fun has begun. I have a suggestion. In the last legislative session the Governor proposed (and the legislature dutifully passed) $10 million to assist sage grouse populations. This was in addition to the...
Rep. Ryan Zinke announced Dec. 15 that he has accepted the offer to serve as the incoming Secretary of the Interior. In remarks announcing Zinke’s nomination, President-elect Donald Trump praised the Montana native’s positions, ranging from regulations and forest management to energy development and public land use. Trump stated, “America is the most beautiful country in the world and he is going to help keep it that way with smart management of our federal lands.” Zinke accepted the nomination by quoting the Yellowstone Archway at Gardine... Full story
On Sowing Notions I get the Glasgow Courier here in Casper, and I read your “Green Spaces in Rural Places” faithfully. I tried your pie crust (that didn’t need to be rolled out) made in the first apple pie recipe with crumb topping. It turned out exactly as you said. It was a very flaky crust and it cooked over into a baking sheet just like you said. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your contributions. I am enjoying it here. We have a little garden in containers and have enjoyed tomatoes, green peppers, strawberries, plus some...
In an ongoing effort to curb fire hazards at the Pines Recreational Area members of the Pines Community Project, along with Long Run Fire Department Chief Bob Hanson, hosted a meeting on Sept. 27. Approximately 20-30 people were in attendance. The preventative measure was the brainchild of Hanson and Fire Warden Dan Carney, hatched to mitigate the abundance of fire fuels. In the meeting, Hanson outlined what had been accomplished by local firefighters in conjunction with the Department of... Full story
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with John Fahlgren, one of three candidates for Valley County Commissioner, to talk about his experiences, and to provide his opinion on certain key issues facing the county. Fahlgren held a position with The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which provided him the opportunity to collaborate with past county commissioners quite regularly. Fahlgren stated: “In my experience with BLM I had worked with the commissioners here in Glasgow, and it has always been an interesting position. The way the c... Full story
I attended a social gathering several years ago in the Bitterroot Valley. As the hostess stood nearby, I admired the mountains framed by the tall windows in her home. “The view out my window is the most stunning in the state!” she said. “It’s why we moved here!” I told her I had an ocean view out my window and she looked puzzled. “I thought you lived in eastern Montana?” “I do!” I replied. My genetic roots run deep in the high plains of northern and southeastern Montana. In the early 1900s, when my homesteader grandparents stepped off the E...
Kudos go out to Representative Ryan Zinke for his calling out of the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management about the potential “change-of-use” permit in regards to the 3.5 million acres the APR wants for their free-ranging bison If you read the article by Heather Swift in last weeks Courier (Zinke Challenges BLM, DOI on Bison 3/16/16) you will have noticed that both department heads said they didn’t know of any such proposal in the works. Yikes!! If that’s true then I would suggest firing Interior Secretary Sally Jewell...
Remember the spotted owl? As I recall this bird was going extinct if we didn’t shut down the logging industry in the Pacific Northwest. It was shut down causing untold economic, social and, with the recent forest fires, ecologic damage. Did it save the owl? Has anyone heard anything lately? The last I heard its relative, the barred owl, was moving in and replacing the spotted owl. Remember the chant of the bureaucrats and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) that we had to save the spotted owl’s habitat. At that time their habitat was def...
During two separate House Natural Resources Committee hearings recently, Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze admitted to Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke that they knew nothing about the potential change-in-use permit for free-range bison that could impact up to three million acres in Montana. Director Kornze thanked Zinke for “educating” him on the issue. On March 1, after Rep. Zinke explained the issue to Secretary Jewell, she claimed knowing nothing about the three-million acre pro...
Republican Michael Burns is relatively new to Glasgow. Having grown up in Texas, the 27-year-old candidate for House District 33 migrated northward to be near his parents, who have resided here in town since 2011. The candidate sat down with the Courier recently over a plate of wings at the Cottonwood to discuss his personal history, road to politics, and life on the Hi-Line as an conductor for BNSF. After graduating with a degree in pre-law from University of North Texas in Denton, Burns...
In January, Malta's Casey James Knudsen announced he would run for Montana's 33rd House District Seat and though he has always been interested in politics, he never thought he'd be a candidate at this point in his life. "I always thought about running, but I always thought it would be later in life," Knudsen said. "But you have to take the opportunity when it presents itself. You never know when there will be another open seat." The "open seat" Knudsen references came when Mike Lang, R-Malta,...
Montana has a rising wave of conservationists from near and far choking the interests of our state’s historical and economical foundation. Squeezing slowly, our governor, the American Prairie Reserve and Bureau of Land Management have tightened their grip, choosing the health of bison population over the well-being of one our state’s most important contributors, our farmers and ranchers. The BLM’s recent prefatory approval given to the APR regarding grazing permits for bison is a scary foreshadowing of further decline of the use of priva... Full story
I appreciate this opportunity to address some apparent confusion regarding American Prairie Reserve’s request to the Bureau of Land Management concerning a potential change-of-use on our Flat Creek BLM allotment. Specifically, we asked that bison be allowed to graze year-round versus part of the year. This request is similar to year-round requests other local livestock producers have been granted. We also asked to remove interior fences on the Flat Creek allotment. There are a number of reasons why we are confident that year-round grazing w...
Over 100 Phillips County residents showed up at the Malta High School Auditorium last Wednesday in Malta to hear U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., speak, before he was asked a handful of questions, most pertaining to a recent decision by the Bureau of Land Management to allow the American Prairie Reserve to graze bison on the Flat Creek Allotment in Phillips County. "Today we are here about the BLM and I'm sure about bison," Zinke told the crowd after a 10-minute introduction. "The local BLM is...
