Bozeman, Montana - Bridger Bowl is proud to achieve carbon neutrality for their direct emissions through the purchase of carbon offsets from Native, a Public Benefit Corporation and the Northern Great Plains Improved Grazing Project. 
 
As part of its long-standing commitment to minimizing its environmental impact, Bridger Bowl set an ambitious goal to achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2035. Given Bridger’s deep roots in the community, Sustainability Director Bonnie Hickey prioritized a local partnership. “That Native’s fully vetted project helps improve Montana ranch lands and bring them to full potential was very appealing.”
 
A process called regenerative grazing uses grasses’ ability to capture carbon from the air and store it in the soil. The partnership between Native and the Western Sustainability Exchange recruits and educates ranchers, then measures and verifies their progress in capturing carbon in the soil. 
 
Bridger Bowl is helping to expand regenerative grazing practices in the Northern Great Plains by supporting this effort. “We, at Native, are proud to support Bridger Bowl in their thoughtful and local climate action. By offsetting their direct emissions through their backing of the Northern Great Plains Improved Grazing Project, they are supporting ranchers and carbon sequestration right in their backyard” said Jenna Pugliese, Director of Client Strategy at Native, a Public Benefit Corporation.
 
In the meantime, Bridger Bowl is striving to reduce its direct fossil fuel usage by actions such as using all Tier III snow groomers, transitioning their snowmobile fleet to four strokes, planning grooming routes for maximum efficiency and adding engine heaters to reduce or eliminate idling time. As Bridger works to move farther away from fossil fuel use in the coming years, capturing carbon in the soil helps offset their energy use in the meantime.
 
 “We’re excited that Native can help Bridger Bowl manage our operational footprint,” said Hickey. “In addition to tourism and recreation, ranching is a huge economic driver in the state’s economy. Restoring and protecting that ecosystem while sequestering carbon makes sense.”
 
Bridger’s new effort builds on years of efficient operations, conservation, and energy reduction. This partnership denotes another significant step in protecting their operations, the community they serve, and the planet. 

Read more about the project:
https://native.eco/project/northern-great-plains-regenerative-grazing-project-hb/

Independent film producer and British American Charlie Burt has launched an art focused website to feature his photographic work. The website, Charlie Burt Visuals, contains a library of Burt’s photography for the viewing interest of the public. In the past, Burt sold his art to private collectors and in galleries. However, as his film career demanded more time, Burt took a step back from the art market to focus on his production company, Egerton Crescent Productions, which quickly grew to an award winning enterprise.

Charlie Burt earned a degree in film and photography from Montana State University where he studied under Guggenheim Fellow, Ian van Coller, and alternative process master, Christina Z. Anderson. In conjunction, Burt and his business partner built his film production company, ECP, which has produced award winning films at festivals such as Cannes, Sundance, and TIFF, with content now available on Amazon, Shudder, and Canal+.

Burt’s photography authentically shows the world we live in. His work attempts to replicate the natural appearance of his subject regardless of what the photograph depicts with every step of his process, right down to never manipulating objects and using only existing light. His first works were created to share the world with loved ones who were unable to travel; this mission to relay an unaltered replication of his journey destinations is the cornerstone of his style. 

While Burt has published his photography online, he is only creating one-off prints. Most artists who work with a medium that can create multiple copies such as photographic prints do so, however Burt prefers to treat his art similar to a painting which cannot be replicated. A printed photograph by Charlie Burt will be the only edition offered to the open market or as an artist proof on loan from Burt. These rare prints are available for sale on his website.

Burt also offers what he calls the “random polaroid” as an original Charlie Burt piece at a more obtainable price for the entry level collector. Each of these are also one-off and are selected at the artist’s discretion.
 
The goal of Charlie Burt Visuals is to share Burt’s personal creative pursuit and to provide an opportunity to acquire a piece of his artistic journey.

Macon Reed’s new psychedelic installation contends with our contemporary pandemic experience through the long lens of history.
 
Tinworks Art is pleased to announce These Are Not Fables, an original commission from artist Macon Reed that offers a series of altars for reflection on a variety of pandemic themes and our experience in the larger context of plagues across human history. 
 
Reed’s ambitious handmade installation, These are Not Fables asks how our understanding of this past year serves as a conduit between our past and future. Inside the 32-foot long structure Reed has constructed a series of six altars, each focusing on an aspect of experiencing a pandemic. From the bubonic plague of the middle ages to the 1918 influenza epidemic and the emergence of AIDS in the 1980s, Reed draws parallels to our most recent encounter with a little understood virus. Esoteric coping strategies, tools for single people longing for touch, DIY medical technologies, and an urgent grappling with mortality connect us to our predecessors’ struggles to understand and bear witness to an incomprehensible toll taken by a tiny powerful force.

Reed frequently creates interactive environments – like Eulogy for the Dyke Bar (2015-2020) and A Pressing Conference (2017- 2019)  –  that act as spaces for gathering and remembrance. Her current work is focused on creating rituals to help us mourn and to internalize the lessons of this supposedly ‘unprecedented’ time. These are Not Fables culminates with a rotating Tower card, one of the major arcana of the Tarot. Depending on its position – upright or reversed – the Tower card can suggest calamity or a new beginning. Reed presents the spinning card, suspended over two chalices, less as a tool of divination than as two paths unfolding before the visitor who must choose which direction to take.

 
Reed’s new piece will be exhibited as part of the Tinworks Art summer exhibition, “The Pursuit of Happiness,” July 29 – Sept 5, 2021 at the Story Mill in Bozeman Montana. “Reed’s installation is exemplary of our current artistic moment, poised somewhere at the crossroads of social practice and the physically distanced present. It looks back bittersweetly at the dream of relational art as pure conviviality or connectivity.” Co-curator Melissa Ragain said. “These Are Not Fables is a gallery of solitude, a catalog of the ways we make meaning when we’re grasping at straws.”

 
Macon Reed is an artist working in sculpture, installation, video, radio documentary, painting, and participatory projects. This is her first exhibition in Montana.  
 
For more information, visit www.tinworksart.org.
 

Raccoons are among the most common wild animal intruders that property owners across the U.S. have to deal with on a regular basis. For this reason, it’s important to read up on these creatures, to figure out what they want, why they’re coming to your home, and how you can protect your Montana home from those pesky raccoons. This is what we’re going to be talking about in this article.

In the lines below, we’ll talk about some common tips that work well for protecting your home against raccoons, from calling a professional wildlife removal service like Complete Wildlife Removal, to trapping the animal on your own, if necessary.

So, why should you call a professional raccoon removal service?

It might seem premature to call a professional if there are no raccoons actually on your property, but you’d be surprised how useful this one thing can actually be. By calling a professional wildlife removal service like pestcontrolraccoon.com, you’re benefiting from a professional inspection of your property. This way, you get a trained eye to assess the situation and figure out any potential weaknesses, such as attraction points, potential entryways, and so on. It’s important to catch these things before they’ve been there a few months, the time in which raccoons (or any other wild animals) have made a home on your property.

Clean up your act.
The number one reason why raccoons are attracted to human dwellings is, naturally, food. These creatures are attracted by the many readily available sources of food in and around your home, and so it’s a smart decision to minimize these attraction points.

How can you do that?

First, take a look at your trash. Raccoons are attracted by properties with easy to topple or open trash cans, as these provide them with easy access to a hoard of leftovers. So if you want to deter raccoons from approaching, a good first step would be to invest in sealable trash cans that won’t spill if toppled or prodded.

Similarly, you’ll want to pick up any fallen fruit in your backyard, as well as carry inside any pet food bowls before you go to bed at night. You’ll also want to be careful about leaving food plates and containers around the house, particularly if you have a habit of leaving your doors or windows open.

Use a motion-activated deterrent.
Another worthwhile option you should be considering is investing in a motion-activated deterrent. These work with either sound or light, and are, as the name suggests, activated by movement. Since raccoons are mostly active at night, it’s likely that you won’t be there to spot them moving, which is why you’ll need something to keep an eye on things when you can’t.

A motion-activated deterrent will emit lights or high-pitched noises (which won’t bother you or your family) to scare off bothersome raccoons while you’re sleeping. While these can be an efficient prevention mechanism, wild animals may, in time, learn how to avoid the deterrents and still access your property.

Consider a live trap.
This isn’t exactly a prevention method, but rather supposing that the prevention methods have failed. We all know how bothersome raccoons can be, just like any other unwanted wild intruder, but that shouldn’t mean that you resort to violence and cruelty to get the animal off your property.

If you’re having trouble with a raccoon on your property, we suggest looking into humane raccoon removal. This basically refers to options that will trap and remove the animal, without actually harming it. If you’re a DIY enthusiast or confident in your skills, this could mean using a live trap. A live trap is typically a cage that lures the raccoon inside using a bit of traditional bait and then traps it inside by permanently shutting a door behind it. The cage then allows you to transport the raccoon to a safe location where it can’t bother anyone, but where you can release it unharmed.

If that sounds like too much trouble for you, you can always call a professional raccoon removal service. But here, as well, look for a company that specializes in humane, non-lethal removal methods - it’s only fair!

DIVIDE – A 12-year-old boy from Butte was injured by an otter while floating on the Big Hole River west of Divide on Friday. Two boys were floating on inner tubes about a half mile upstream from the Powerhouse Fishing Access Site when they observed several otters downstream. They tried to keep their distance from the otters, but one of the otters approached and attacked one of the boys. Two adults who were camping nearby helped drive the otters away and bring the boys to safety. Fortunately, the boy was able to receive prompt treatment for injuries that were not life threatening. The other boy was not injured. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks staff have signed several fishing access sites in the area advising recreationists of the incident. No further management action is planned at this time. While attacks from otters are rare, otters can be protective of their young. They give birth to their young in April and can later be seen with their young in the water during the summer. They may also be protective of food resources, especially when those resources are scarce. Otters are members of the weasel family.  FWP advises recreationists to give all wildlife plenty of space. In drought conditions, low water levels can bring recreationists closer to water-dwelling wildlife. Keeping your distance can help avoid dangerous encounters, reduce stress for wildlife and promote healthy animal behavior.

The Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering at Montana State University is once again seeking sponsors for capstone projects that senior engineering students conduct each year.

Sponsors can be businesses, MSU faculty and staff, nonprofits, state and federal agencies and labs, or individuals — anyone who has an engineering or computer science challenge they would like help with, according to Craig Shankwitz, a capstone instructor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. Sponsors don’t need to be located in the Bozeman area.

“This is a great opportunity for people to tap into the engineering and computer science resources we have here at MSU,” Shankwitz said. “Our students have access to state-of-the-art facilities, and they’re able to tackle really significant projects with guidance from dozens of capstone faculty advisers who are experts in their fields.”

Examples of recent projects include an innovative wheelchair designed for a nonprofit that works internationally, a device to help MSU researchers simulate the microgravity on the International Space Station, and a new playground for a local school. Chemical and biological engineering majors have designed a process for removing contaminants from mining runoff, civil engineering majors have drawn up building site plans, industrial engineering have improved productivity for agricultural operations, and computer science majors have programmed a variety of software. Each spring, often more than 100 teams of students present their creations to the public at the Design Fair in Norm Asbjornson Hall.

“Capstone projects are the final bridge for students between their education and their professional careers,” Shankwitz said. “They’re drawing from everything they’ve learned and applying it to a real-world problem where they’re responsible for managing a budget, timeline and delivering a final product that meets the client’s needs.”

Sponsors work with capstone faculty advisers to define the project and determine a budget and timeline. Sponsors typically pay for supplies, but the students’ design services are usually offered free of charge. Students work with the sponsor to determine project details and specifications, then do research, consider alternatives and perform a thorough analysis before creating a final product or recommendation to deliver to the sponsor.

Anyone interested in sponsoring a project should contact one of the instructors listed below. To have a project considered for the upcoming academic year, sponsors should contact a capstone instructor before mid-August, if possible, Shankwitz said.

For more details about sponsorship and to see examples of recent projects, visit coe.montana.edu/capstone.

Instructors:

Mechanical Engineering: Craig Shankwitz, 406-823-9192, craig.shankwitz@montana.edu.

Electrical and Computer Engineering: Wataru Nakagawa, 406-994-5956, nakagawa@montana.edu.

Computer Science: Clemente Izurieta, 406-994-3720, clemente.izurieta@montana.edu. Daniel DeFrance, 406-994-1628, daniel.defrance@montana.edu.

Chemical and Biological Engineering: Brent Peyton, 406-994-7419, bpeyton@montana.edu.

Civil Engineering: Otto Stein, 406-994-6121, ottos@ce.montana.edu. Anders Larsson, 406-994-7187, andersl@montana.edu.

Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, Financial Engineering: William Schell, 406-994-5938, wschell@montana.edu.

Due to the extended drought in Montana, water availability in many areas has become severely limited. Reservoirs have dried up and are becoming covered in weeds. Montana State University Extension educators are cautioning livestock managers to evaluate weed feed and grazing land for nitrate toxicity during drought.

“Due to the severe drought, weeds have become prevalent across pastures and many producers are limited in their cattle movement this year,” said Custer County Extension Agent Mike Schuldt.

Although weeds can be high in protein and energy for livestock, caution should be used when cattle are grazing weedy areas or are fed weedy hay, according to Megan Van Emon, Extension Beef Cattle Specialist. Some weeds, including kochia, prostrate knotweed, Rocky Mountain Goosefoot and Lambs Quarter, accumulate nitrate during draught conditions. These weeds may be the only green feed available, and livestock often gravitate to green areas to graze. 

Recently, Schuldt and Van Emon investigated a weedy reservoir and collected samples for nitrates. When analyzed through a Nitrate Strip Test, the Rocky Mountain Goosefoot had approximately 50,000 ppm of nitrate and the Lambs Quarter and knotweed had approximately 10,000 ppm of nitrate. Van Emon said these levels are extremely high and should not be fed to livestock. Nitrate Strip Tests are available at MSU Extension county offices.

“These weeds were extremely worrisome due to their ability to accumulate nitrates, and this became more apparent after we watched a cow grazing in the area and eating the Rocky Mountain Goosefoot,” Van Emon said. “The producer indicated that these weeds are normally not present and when traveling through the pasture, the Goosefoot and Lambs Quarter were not observed anywhere other than the dried reservoir.”

Ideally, feed or grazing pasture for livestock should contain less than 1,500 ppm of nitrate, said Van Emon. As the concentration of nitrate increases, more risk is associated with providing those feeds to livestock. Van Emon recommends keeping livestock away from feed that has nitrate concentrations over 10,000 ppm.

“The recommendation to the producer was to remove the cattle from the area of concern or fence off the reservoir to reduce the risk of cattle grazing the weeds,” Schuldt said. “Nitrate concentrations at that level are concerning and nitrate toxicity symptoms and death can occur rapidly."

Symptoms of nitrate toxicity in livestock include labored breathing, muscle tremors, weakness and staggering gait. If these symptoms are observed, remove the nitrate-containing feed or move the livestock out of the pasture and contact a veterinarian for a treatment plan right away. When moving cattle from a high-nitrate feed area, move them slowly, as moving livestock too quickly can exacerbate the symptoms.

Join park staff in celebrating some of the Caverns’ most fascinating residents: bats 

WHITEHALL – Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park’s Bat Week begins Sunday, Aug. 8, kicking off a variety of daily events and speakers celebrating bats.  

Bat Week has been an annual event at the Caverns for 12 years, and park staff are looking forward to to sharing their passion and knowledge with visitors each night from Aug. 8 through 14.  

Every evening that week at 8 p.m., there will be a campground talk or walk for visitors that will focus on many different aspects of bats. While visitors wait for a tour, park staff will also have interactive bat programs happening on the porch of the park’s visitor center.  

Bat Week at the Caverns will include these presentations, some of which will be followed by bat-spotting walks:  
• Sunday, Aug. 8: The Misunderstood Bat, by Tom Forwood 
• Monday, Aug. 9: Bat Mythology, by Emily Dickerson 
• Tuesday, Aug. 10: River Bat Walk 
• Wednesday, Aug. 11: The Mystique of the Night, by Aubrey Enderle 
• Thursday, Aug. 12: Midnight Flight, by Zack Story 
• Friday, Aug. 13: The Mysterious Montana Bat Walk, by Matt Bell 
• Saturday, Aug. 14: The Evolution of Bats, by Ramona Radonich 

Also keep an eye out on the Caverns’ social media channels for “Bat Facts,” a short video series where all members of the park staff will be sharing one of their favorite bat facts. 

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park is about 15 miles southeast of Whitehall, along Montana Highway 2. For more information about the park, please visit stateparks.mt.gov/lewis-and-clark-caverns or call 406-287-3541. 

Follow the performers around the Tinworks Art exhibition at Story Mill in the immersive new theatre production Strange Mating Calls, a co-production between Nervous Theatre and Bozeman Actors Theatre. This world premiere theatre piece reimagines Pier Paolo Pasolini's controversial 1968 film Teorema. The adaptation is created by the company of actors and directed by Connor Berkompas.

A mysterious visitor descends upon an upper-class home and seduces each member of the household, radically disrupting the family structure. Pasolini’s original story begs the question, what happens when we are suddenly forced to really look at ourselves- our identities, our impact on the world around us, our repressed desires... all at once?

“Our production subtly interpolates the audience into the show,” says performer Danielle Sather, a board member at Bozeman Actors Theatre. “There will be very little possibility for passive consumption of the piece, which makes it a really exciting collaborative experience with the community!”

Director Connor Berkompas says of the adaptation process, “this is the first time we’re using a film as our source material. Pasolini’s sparse screenplay contains very little dialogue, and we wanted to embrace that. We’ve been exploring how compelling behavior and theatricality can exist in silence.”

Nervous Theatre is a nomadic theatre company dedicated to producing new works and radically reimagined classics. Winner of Bozeman Magazine’s Readers Choice Award for ‘Best Touring Production’ and hailed as ‘Ambitious and Fabulous’ by the San Diego Reader, Nervous Theatre was last seen in Bozeman with their critically acclaimed production of Mommy’s Dead and They Buried Her in Moscow. For Strange Mating Calls, Nervous Theatre is teaming up with Bozeman Actors Theatre, a staple of Bozeman’s performing arts community. 

Strange Mating Calls will be presented at the Tinworks Art exhibition in Bozeman’s Story Mill warehouse, August 5-7 and 19-21. All performances begin at 7:30pm, doors open at 7pm. Due to the immersive staging of this performance, there will be no late seating.

Tickets for Strange Mating Calls are available at two pricing options, $15 for a General ticket or $30 for a “Support the Arts” ticket. To purchase tickets to this event, go to www.bozemanactorstheatre.org. For more information about the show, please visitwww.nervoustheatre.com.