The City of Bozeman has rolled out “How do YOU engage?” a community wide survey to gather input from Bozeman area residents about their preferred methods of communication and engagement. The survey will be open until the end of March and is available online at www.bozeman.net/engage. To attract a diverse audience of respondents the survey is available in both English and Spanish and can be printed and delivered to City Hall (either via mail or in person.)

Community Engagement is one of the Bozeman City Commission’s strategic plan priorities for 2021. The City Commission recently reviewed a draft of the city’s new community engagement initiative and will review the final draft later this spring. As a result of the work, the city will formalize and improve how the city engages with the public on city projects.


Melody Mileur, Communications Coordinator says, “The city’s work in engagement emphasizes the importance of a two-way exchange of information, ideas, and expertise between staff and community members. This survey helps us better understand how we can make that experience easier and more accessible for all.”

Dani Hess, Neighborhoods Program Manager adds, “The community engagement initiative and our ongoing work in diversity, equity, and inclusion are closely woven together. A major goal for each effort is to work with new and existing partners to diversify the voices we are hearing from and reduce barriers to participation for folks most impacted by city projects and policy."

The results from the community engagement survey will influence the final draft of the community engagement initiative. In addition to the survey, city staff are conducting small one on one meetings with key stakeholders across the community on how the city can improve its efforts in engagement.
 
More information about the initiative as well as links to the survey and printable options are available on the city’s website at www.bozeman.net/engage

HRDC’s Gallatin Valley Food Bank has been chosen to receive a donation of 500 hams from the Hormel® Cure 81® Hams for Hunger® program, in partnership with Albertsons and Safeway.

On Wednesday, March 10 at 10:00 am, Albertsons and Safeway will present the 500 hams to the organization at the Gallatin Valley Food Bank. HRDC and Albertsons/Safeway invite and encourage members of the press to attend. The hams will be distributed to customers as part of the organization’s emergency food box service.

“This generous donation of 500 hams from Hormel, Albertsons, and Safeway to our Gallatin Valley Food Bank will provide our customers with a tasty meat which can be enjoyed hot or cold,” says Jon Horn, HRDC’s Gallatin Valley Food Bank Operations Manager. “We are so grateful to receive this donation by Hormel's Cure 81 Hams for Hunger program and Albertsons/Safeway. Thank you for your support and commitment to giving back to our community.”

“Albertsons and Safeway are committed to our partnership with local food banks to help end food insecurity,” said Teresa Whitney, VP, Merchandising and Marketing with Albertsons Companies Intermountain Division. “We are grateful for the wonderful relationships we have with vendor partners, such as Hormel Foods. By working together, we can combine our efforts towards the same goal to battle hunger relief and to help support local families with their basic needs.”

“Hormel Foods is proud to partner with Albertsons and Safeway to support hunger-relief efforts in the communities served by the company’s Albertsons and Safeway stores,” said Kelsey Tynan, Hormel® Cure 81® brand manager at Hormel Foods. “The Hormel® Cure 81® Hams for Hunger® program highlights our long-standing relationship with Albertsons and Safeway, and we are honored to work together and make such a substantial contribution for those in need.”

Hormel Foods will donate more than 55,000 hams (an estimated retail value of $1.1 million or an equivalent of more than 1 million meals**) to charities nationwide through the Hormel® Cure 81® Hams for Hunger® program this year. ** Based on a 3-ounce portion and average boneless ham weight.

For more information about HRDC’s initiatives to address hunger, visit thehrdc.org/food- nutrition/.

Camp Big Sky is the popular youth day program designed to encourage kids to connect and experience something new and different daily. Camp provides a variety of enriching programming including, but not limited to, naturalist hikes, STEM projects, reading, creative ventures, interactive games and sports. Our campers range in age from entering 1st to entering 6th grade and are split into two camps- Pioneers for 1st-3rd graders and Explorers for 4-6th graders.

THE DREAM JOB
Camp Big Sky is looking for fun and energetic camp counselors who have experience working with children in a childcare setting. Spend your summer outside in the sun enjoying all of the classic summer camp fun. We spend our days doing themed activities and playing outside. Our campers love guided activities as much as they enjoy free-play at our various community park locations including playing in the creek and fort-building in the woods. Camp Big Sky is a wonderful opportunity to connect to the community and the next generation of excited outdoor enthusiasts. Come join our team!

To Apply:
 E-mail a cover letter and resume to Leisha Folley, Finance & Operations Director: leisha@bscomt.org. Deadline for applications is May 1st or until filled.

About Big Sky Community Organization:
The Big Sky Community Organization engages and leads people to recreational and enrichment opportunities through thoughtful development of partnerships, programs and places. To find out more about the Big Sky Community Organization visit www.bscomt.org

Montana State University Extension recently published six new MontGuides covering a variety of topics to provide unbiased information for Montanans.

As part of their outreach efforts, MSU Extension specialists and agents write MontGuides with information gathered during their research and outreach work throughout the year. The fact sheets are designed for all Montanans, including agricultural producers, home gardeners, families, landowners and other groups.

New and existing MontGuides are located online at store.msuextension.org, where they can be downloaded for free or printed copies can be ordered. For more information, call the MSU Extension Distribution Center at 406-994-3273 or email orderpubs@montana.edu.

The new MontGuides include the following:
Growing Cold-Hardy Berries and Small Fruits in Montana
This eight-page MontGuide highlights currants, gooseberries, dwarf sour cherries, aronia and haskaps (or honeyberries), which are hardy fruits that can be grown almost anywhere in Montana. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/Products/Growing-Cold-Hardy-Berries-and-Small-Fruits-in-Montana-MT202101AG__MT202101AG.aspx.

Animal Unit Month (AUM) Lease Rates
This two-page MontGuide is intended for livestock producers and landowners who are interested in simple ways to determine rental rates for grazing lands, including rangelands, forest lands, and dryland and irrigated seeded pastures. The document provides an overview and examples of how to compute AUM rental rates for Montana grazing lands. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/Products/Animal-Unit-Month-(AUM)-Lease-Rates-MT202103AG__MT202103AG.aspx.

Stigma Free Addictions Terminology for Montanans
This four-page MontGuide addresses terms used surrounding addiction, which is an umbrella term for both substance use, such as alcohol use and drug use, and behavioral addictions, such as gambling or sex addiction. It gives an overview of substance use in Montana and identifies language that can cause stigmas toward people with substance use issues. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/Products/Stigma-Free-Addictions-Terminology-for-Montanans-MT202013HR__MT202013HR.aspx.

Transfer on Death Deeds in Montana
This eight-page MontGuide explains transfer on death deeds, which allow Montanans to leave real property to a designated beneficiary upon their death without going through a probate process. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/publications/FamilyFinancialManagement/MT202010HR.pdf.

Quitclaim Deeds in Montana
This four-page MontGuide explains quitclaim deeds, including what they are, when they are used, what the risks are and what some of the unintended tax consequences might be. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/Products/Quitclaim-Deeds-in-Montana-MT202102HR__MT202102HR.aspx.

Fire-Resistant Landscaping Considerations for Montana’s Wildland Urban Interface
This four-page MontGuide describes the wildland-urban interface and how many plants have developed fire-resilient adaptations. It also addresses how to create fire-resistant landscapes, which is an important component in reducing wildfire risk. The MontGuide is available at store.msuextension.org/Products/Fire-Resistant-Landscaping-Considerations-for-Montana’s-Wildland-Urban-Interface-(WUI)-MT202104AG__MT202104AG.aspx.

A new podcast series inspired by famed Montana author Ivan Doig and offered by the Montana State University Library is now available to the public.

The podcast series, called “The Wind from Eden: Montana Weather Stories,” explores how weather shaped the history, culture and literature of central Montana. The episodes include interviews with residents of Meagher and Pondera counties and use the writings of Doig as a literary lens through which to view these conditions.

The project was funded with a grant from Humanities Montana. MSU Library partnered with Jeff Rice, who edited, produced and hosted the series. Rice is an independent radio producer whose stories have appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” “Here and Now” and “The Best of NPR.” He is also the program director at the library’s Acoustic Atlas, a collection of natural sound recordings from Montana and the western U.S.  

The episodes range from five to 15 minutes in length and explore the history of ranching in the region known informally as “Doig Country,” touching on the fierce weather conditions during the early to mid-20th century. The first five episodes address the weather-related themes of wind, extreme cold, isolation, spring rebirth and the celebration of summer.

“For Montanans along the Rocky Mountain Front, weather was a factor during every season,” said Rice. “The area’s brutal winters made travel difficult and often separated families. By contrast, warm or sweltering summers were a period of celebration but brought challenges such as thunderstorms, fire and hazards for livestock.”

To enhance the interviews, Rice also spoke with meteorologists, historians and literary scholars. Doig’s widow, Carol Doig, was an adviser to the series.

“We’re pleased to work with Jeff on the podcast series,” said Kenning Arlitsch, dean of MSU Library. “By capturing these stories, we are able to preserve historic information about Montana’s rapidly changing ranching culture.”

The podcast is available at ivandoig.montana.edu/projects/sounds/, all major podcasting platforms and Public Radio Exchange (PRX), allowing for potential broadcast on radio programs throughout Montana and beyond. Audio from the podcasts is also included in MSU Library’s Ivan Doig Writer’s Quest Traveling Trunks, a learning experience designed to introduce students to the works of Doig and available for loan to 7th through 12th grade teachers throughout Montana.

Doig, who died in 2015, grew up in White Sulphur Springs and Dupuyer and set the majority of his 16 books in the Big Sky State. His first book, “This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind,” a poetic memoir published in 1979, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Doig then turned to writing fiction that perennially hit bestseller lists. Carol Doig donated his archive to MSU Library in 2015.

The Ivan Doig Archive can be accessed at ivandoig.montana.edu/.

In its essence, plagiarism is a form of theft. If you are adding someone’s ideas or words to your content pretending they are your own, it can be considered as stealing intellectual property. That’s why plagiarism is absolutely unethical.

Types of plagiarism
There are different types of plagiarism, some of which are listed below.

Direct
Direct deliberate plagiarism can be defined as the word-for-word transcription of someone else’s piece of writing without providing any attribution or quotation marks.

Self Plagiarism
Self-plagiarism occurs when an individual uses parts of his/her previous works. It also applies to publishing the same content on different platforms without pointing that out.

Mosaic
Mosaic plagiarism means borrowing someone else’s phrases without quotation marks. It also occurs when one uses the same structure and meaning of another person’s content.

Accidental
If one unintentionally paraphrases someone’s content without attribution, it’s called accidental plagiarism. It’s important to note that lack of intent does not free you from responsibility for plagiarism.

Plagiarism checker to ensure original content
Even if you are not going to use someone else’s ideas, chances are you will do it unintentionally. Even though accidental plagiarism is quite rare, it still may occur. Hence, you need to take care of checking your text for uniqueness. You can do it with the help of an online plagiarism checker for college students or some SEO tools for content writers. It’s very important not to use plagiarized content in your blog, so you shouldn’t neglect this step. Below you can read the five reasons why it’s vital to publish only unique posts.

1. Moral issues
As it was mentioned above, plagiarism literally means stealing someone else’s work. If you are using the content created by another person who was fully dedicated to its creation, you can not be viewed as a trustworthy writer. Such dishonest actions are a form of lying. By pretending that a piece was written by yourself, you are misleading your readers. They may mistakenly give you the recognition that was actually deserved by another person, which is completely unfair and unethical. So if you don’t want to act in an immoral way, publish the content created by yourself only.

2. Low ranking
SEO specialists argue that plagiarized content negatively affects the search engine ranking of your website. As Google is aimed at offering valuable top-quality content and avoiding spam, it tries to prevent information overload. Google tries not to show multiple or very similar versions of the same pages, so it simply hides content copies. As you see, using plagiarized content is pointless for your website because of Google policy. What’s more, search engines may even punish website owners who publish someone else’s pieces. This means that they may lower the ranking of your website if crawlers detect duplicate content there.

3. Destroyed reputation
Copying someone’s work can damage your reputation. In fact, plagiarizing makes an individual guilty of stealing content. This means that there is no reason for readers to trust the author. Blog visitors cannot view the source containing unoriginal content as credible. Naturally, it gets impossible for them to believe someone who steals intellectual property. So if you don’t want to disrupt your image, never use works created by others. Remember that it’s extremely difficult to recover a damaged reputation and make your readers come back.

4. Losing visitors
Website visitors appreciate original content. If you post the articles that were previously published by other bloggers, you will never have a loyal audience. Just think, why people should prefer your blog if there is nothing new for them. Users always seek innovative ideas and fresh thoughts, so they return to resources that can offer what they need. Hence, you should be creative to persuade your visitors to stay on your website for some time. If they find extraordinary materials on your pages, they will keep reading your blog with great interest.

5. Ruined career
Plagiarism can harm your career. Professionals can’t completely rely on someone’s knowledge and skills. They need to use their own experience and share their own views on particular issues instead. People want to gather different opinions and then compare them. Most of them find it right to make judgments based on an analysis of a few controversial ideas. If someone reveals that you are giving someone else’s point of view pretending it’s yours, this will make you look untrustworthy in the eyes of your readers and eventually ruin your writing career.

Final thoughts
There are various negative consequences of using plagiarized content, some of which are mentioned above. Therefore, you should always check your content for uniqueness in order to avoid undesired outcomes.

Author’s BIO
Robert Everett is a content writer and academic tutor. Robert writes articles mainly for educational platforms and study blogs. He believes that content must be not only engaging but also 100% original to bring value to the readers. 


Invasive zebra mussels found another avenue for potential infestation of Montana waters. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks was notified Wednesday that zebra mussels were detected in aquarium moss balls sold at a pet store in Washington state. FWP immediately checked pet stores around Montana and found invasive mussels in moss balls at multiple locations.  

It appears these moss balls were imported from Ukraine to a distributor in California and were shipped to pet stores nationwide. The facility that imports the moss balls has been quarantined and all shipments of moss balls have been stopped.  

A moss ball is a species of green algae that is formed into a ball and is 2 to 5 inches in diameter. Moss balls are purchased for home aquariums to help absorb harmful nutrients in the water and limit the growth of undesirable algae. 

All of the mussels detected in Montana so far have been dead shells. However, live mussels were found on moss balls in Oregon and Idaho. 

FWP is working closely with other states and federal agencies to address this nation-wide issue.   

If you have recently purchased moss balls, remove them from the water, place them in a plastic bag, and put them in the freezer overnight. Additional guidance for addressing potential mussels in aquariums and how to treat tank water will be available soon. Please don’t dispose of your aquarium tank water in your household drain.  

This is another reminder to never dump aquarium tank pets, plants, or water into Montana’s waterways.  

• It is illegal to release fish and other aquarium pets into natural waterways. If you can’t keep your pet, find someone else who can adopt it, turn it in to a pet store or humane society, or euthanize it. 

• Aquarium plants can impact native aquatic plant and animal species. Let unwanted plants dry and then dispose in the garbage.  

• Aquarium water can harbor pathogens and diseases. Dispose of tank water on the ground away from waterways.  

Visit Don’t Let It Loose  https://www.dontletitloose.com/ 

If you have any questions call the Aquatic Invasive species hotline: 406-444-2440. 

There are now THREE Sweet Pea contests: T-Shirt, Poster AND the new Sweet Pea Coffee Mug Design. The deadline for all is Thursday, April 29 - so start creating! Winners of the T-Shirt contest will receive $1000 for adult category and $250 for children's category. The winner of the poster contest also receives $1000! The winner of the Coffee Mug contest will win $1000 AND an initial order of 50 mugs! Submit your entries digitally (Coffee Mug sample must also be delivered to Sweet Pea office.)

Sweet Pea's mission is to promote and cultivate the arts and the Festival not only brings Art to Bozeman but allows us to award grants and sponsorship to other arts organizations in town. Over the years we have given over $350,000 to support arts in our community. Sweet Pea - "Where Art & Community Meet."

Avalanche danger is high across Montana, with the addition of new snow and weather systems moving across the state. People recreating outdoors are advised to use caution and stay up to date on the avalanche dangers in their area.

There are three regional Avalanche Centers in Montana. Their work provides quality and timely forecasts, education and materials to meet a growing user base both of local recreationist and visitors from outside Montana.

For statewide and regional avalanche forecasts, please visit:

• Nationwide: Avalanche.org
• Southcentral Montana: Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center
• Northwest Montana: Flathead Avalanche Center
• Southwest Montana: Missoula National Forest Avalanche Center

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks provides funding for all three avalanche centers in Montana through Recreational Trails Program (RTP) funding. This can include supporting innovative approaches like the free community avalanche awareness and safety classes in Cooke City, Montana:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ODQX3SusLk