With support from a $4,000 grant from the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation, the Bozeman Masters Swim Club will be offering free swim lessons for adults, beginning in April.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than a third of adults in the United States can’t swim the length of a pool, which puts them at risk of being one of the ten people who drown every day in this country. Swimming skills can save lives, both by preventing drowning, and by providing people with the skills needed to make swimming for fitness part of a long-term healthy lifestyle.

The Bozeman Masters Swim Club has joined U.S. Masters Swimming’s Adult Learn-to-Swim initiative to make more adults safer around water. To kick things off, the club will be offering four 30-minute adult learn-to-swim lessons during the Bozeman Parks and Recreation’s Free Water Safety Event this Saturday, April 1 at the Bozeman Swim Center. These lessons will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For adults who want or need more than 30 minutes, the club is also offering multiple-lesson sessions in April and May. All lessons will be taught by certified instructors, and there will be no more than three pupils for every instructor.

To reserve a spot or learn more about the program, please contact Sue Harkin at 406-600-9296 or suzetteharkin@gmail.com

About the Bozeman Masters Swim Club
The Bozeman Masters Swim Club has been an official U.S. Masters Swimming club since 2004. The volunteer-run, nonprofit program welcomes adult swimmers of all ages, abilities, and motivations, and the club’s membership represents a diverse cross-section of the Bozeman community. The club has three Level 2 USMS-Certified Masters Coaches who cater to the diverse needs of the membership, offering structured, full-body workouts to enhance fitness, core strength, aerobic conditioning, physical endurance, and stroke technique. For more information, visit http://www.bozemanmasters.org/.

About the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation
The Swimming Saves Lives Foundation, the charitable arm of U.S. Masters Swimming, raises awareness about the problem of adult drowning, and is a resource for adult learn-to-swim lesson providers. The foundation solicits charitable contributions and provides grants to programs and instructors that teach adult swim lessons. For more information, go to http://www.usms.org/giving/.

Registration is now open for Bozeman’s spring hunter education course. Online registration is required, and students under 18 years of age must have the consent of a parent or guardian.
 
The class will take place Apr. 10 through Apr. 14 at Chief Joseph Middle School (4255 Kimberwicke Street) from 7-9 p.m.  Students will complete a field day on Saturday, Apr. 15 at the Logan Range. A morning or afternoon time for the field day will be assigned to students in class.

Students may register by for this course going to FWP’s website at fwp.mt.gov, clicking on Education, then Hunter Education, then “Find a Class or Field Course.” Students must print, sign and bring the Student Agreement Form the first night of class. If the student is under 18 years old, a parent/guardian must sign the agreement. After online registration, classroom materials must be picked up at FWP’s regional office in Bozeman (1400 S. 19th Ave.).

Classroom hunter education courses in Montana are free to students. Students must be at least 10 years old to register.

The Bozeman Public Library is hosting a photography reception with The Camera Club of Bozeman! This event is Friday, April 7, 6-7:30pm and will display photography from local artists involved with the club. The Camera Club of Bozeman includes amateurs, professionals, and everyone in between!  The display will be up in the Library’s Atrium Gallery April 1 – 30.

Established in 1949, the Bozeman Camera Club and is a local, non-profit, photography club. They primarily focus on digital photography and have over 50 members “dedicated to enjoying and improving photography through education with the association of other members who share a wide range of interests and experiences and enjoy sharing their knowledge with others interested in learning.” Reasons to be a part of the club include: a supportive environment to share images, education on the technical aspects of photography, and general camaraderie.

Open year round to new members who love to use a camera, The Bozeman Camera Club is for anyone from novice to working professional. Annual dues are $15 and meetings are open to the public. This club can be found meeting every 4th Thursday at 7pm in the Willson School Board Room.

The exhibition will be on display during Library hours.  A percentage of sales will go to the Bozeman Public Library Foundation to ensure continuation of cultural programs at the Library for public benefit.  For more information about the exhibit or opening reception, please call Sarah DeOpsomer at 582-2425 or email sarah@bozemanlibraryfoundation.org.

Registration is now open for Montana State University's Youth Writing Camp, to be held on the MSU campus July 10-13.

The program, hosted by the Yellowstone Writing Project, is a multi-day, creative writing workshop complete with walking field trips, writing games, guidance and feedback throughout the writing process. Participating students will write in multiple genres, sharing their writing within a supportive community of peers and certified educators.

The camp, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, is open to students entering grades 5-12 in the fall. It is led by teachers and junior counselors from the Yellowstone Writing Project. Based in MSU’s Department of English, the Yellowstone Writing Project is comprised of teachers who write and writers who teach.

An evening reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 13, will allow parents to join their campers, along with the entire team, to celebrate the students’ creative writing.
 
Early registration is available for $150 per camper until April 26. After the 26th, the cost will be $175 and will remain open until the camp is filled. All campers will be provided a journal, extra writing utensils and a T-shirt as part of the registration cost.
 
For more information or to register, visit http://eu.montana.edu/YWP or contact Nicole Soll, MSU Extended University, at (406) 994-6683 or nicole.soll1@montana.edu.

A collaborative project of the Montana State University Library and Yellowstone National Park that catalogs and makes available the sounds of Yellowstone National Park was featured earlier this week in a story that appeared on the Huffington Post.

MSU’s Acoustic Atlas project was featured in “The Sounds Of Yellowstone National Park Remind Us Why It’s Worth Preserving.” The story, which was written by Chris McGonigal and Nick Offenberg, appeared on the online national news outlet on March 1.

“For 145 years, Yellowstone ― which stretches from Wyoming to parts of Montana and Idaho ― has been the inspiration for countless works of art and awe-inspiring photo shoots,” the authors wrote. “But one thing visitors might take for granted are the soundscapes they hear when visiting these treasured national parks.”

That’s where the Acoustic Atlas project comes in. In 2013, MSU, through its Acoustic Atlas project, partnered with Yellowstone National Park to make a collection of public domain sounds from all around the park available online. Those sounds, along with a developing podcast series highlighting America’s first national park, are known as the Yellowstone Collection.

The audio collection aims to create new ways to experience the animals, landscapes and people of the area, by offering a freely accessible online archive of natural sounds, interviews and radio stories focused on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The Acoustic Atlas was founded in 2013 and includes recordings from throughout the western United States. The Yellowstone Collection builds on its mission to document the sounds of regional ecosystems.

MSU Library Dean Kenning Arlitsch said the Yellowstone Collection of the Acoustic Atlas has been well-received by the thousands of people who have visited the website.

“The sounds in this collection can help people re-live their experiences with wild places, and they can help paint a more complete picture for people who haven’t yet been to those places,” Arlitsch said. “Our partnership with Yellowstone National Park helps tell that story to people all over the world.”

The Huffington Post story is available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/yellowstone-national-park-sounds_us_58ac5e14e4b0a855d1d9ecca. To listen to sounds of Yellowstone through the Acoustic Atlas project, visit https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/soundlibrary.htm. The complete MSU Acoustic Atlas is available at http://acousticatlas.org/.

The official music video for Chris Shiflett’s “West Coast Town” is premiering today at Vice’s Noisey. Watch/share HERE. Of the video, the site praises, “…it immediately puts you in the mood for a good-ass time.”

“West Coast Town” is the title track from Shiflett’s upcoming solo album, which will be released on April 14 on SideOneDummy Records and is now available for pre-order. Already receiving acclaim, Rolling Stoneasserts, “….flawlessly blends blue-collar country punk with a catchy Bakersfield bounce. Borrowing the rowdy swagger of Prison Bound-era Social Distortion and the SoCal sheen of Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam, Shiflett crafts a sound that is both geographically grounded and wholly his own.”

Working with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb and Grammy Award-winning engineer/mixer Matt Ross-Spang, the 10-track album was recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A during the summer of 2016. In addition to Shiflett on electric guitar and Cobb on acoustic guitar and percussion, the album features an all-star collection of studio musicians, including Robby Turner (Waylon Jennings, Chris Stapleton) on pedal steel, Chris Powell (Brent Cobb, Jamey Johnson) on drums and percussion, Adam Gardner (Southern Family) on bass and Michael Webb (Southern Family) on keyboards.

Of making the album, Shiflett comments, “After being a fan of Dave Cobb’s work for years, recording with him and his crew was everything I’d hoped it would be. His input on and arrangements of my songs took them into places I wouldn’t have imagined. Plus the speed that he creates at was inspiring.”

In celebration of the album release, Shiflett will embark on a series of special shows this spring, including dates in L.A., New York and Nashville. The performances will feature special opening guest Brian Whelan, who co-wrote four songs from the new album. See below for complete details.

West Coast Town is Shiflett’s third solo album and follow’s 2013’s All Hat and No Cattle, which features covers of nine classic honky-tonk songs by artists such as Don Rich, Waylon Jennings, Faron Young, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Of the album, American Songwriter asserts, “The guitar sounds are predictably killer, but Shiflett really lets loose on the vocals,” while Paste Magazine praises, “Shiflett’s vocal performances are nearly always impressive and interesting, and he never tries too hard to imitate or stray away from the styles of the original artists; rather, he is able to appropriately insert himself into these songs in a way that feels quite natural.”

Born in Santa Barbara and now based in Los Angeles, Shiflett is widely known as the guitarist for Foo Fighters as well as for his previous work with Dead Peasants and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. In addition to music, Shiflett is the creator and host of the weekly podcast, “Walking the Floor with Chris Shiflett,” which features one-on-one interviews with a wide range of musical guests, writers, athletes, and artists. Past guests include Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, Mike Ness, Steve Earle, John Doe, Sturgill Simpson, Mickey Raphael and more.

For more information, please contact Asha Goodman 615.320.7753, Amy Lipsky 615.320.7753 or Carla Sacks 212.741.1000 at Sacks & Co.
WEST COAST TOWN TRACK LIST
1. Sticks & Stones (Chris Shiflett)
2. West Coast Town (Chris Shiflett)
3. Goodnight Little Rock (Chris Shiflett)
4. Room 102 (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)
5. The Girl’s Already Gone (Chris Shiflett)
6. Blow Out The Candles (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)
7. I’m Still Drunk (Chris Shiflett)
8. Cherry (Chris Shiflett)
9. Tonight’s Not Over (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)
10. Still Better Days (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)

CHRIS SHIFLETT TOUR DATES
*with special guest Brian Whelan  

March 21 /// Portland, OR /// Hawthorne Lounge*
March 22 /// Seattle, WA /// Sunset Tavern*
March 24 /// Spokane, WA /// The Big Dipper*
March 26 /// Missoula, MT /// Missoula Winery*
March 27 /// Bozeman, MT /// The Eagles Ballroom*
March 28 /// Ketchum, ID /// Whiskey Jacques*
March 30 /// Pioneertown, CA /// Pappy and Harriets Pioneertown Palace*
March 31 /// Flagstaff, AZ /// Museum Club*
April 2 /// Los Angeles, CA /// RESIDENT*
April 3 /// San Diego, CA /// Casbah*
April 6 /// New York, NY /// Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2*
April 9 /// Nashville, TN /// The High Watt*  
April 10 /// Atlanta, GA /// Eddie’s Attic*

Get in front of a hungry audience!

Stephanie Davison, citizenship and international programs coordinator for Montana 4-H, which is housed on the Montana State University campus, and her team of volunteers including Janet Loomis and Linda Stewart, won the 2016 Outstanding Quality Program award and the Diversity in Hosting award at the States’ 4-H International Coordinators’ Conference in Seattle.

The team was recognized for their professionalism and consistency in matching host families and youth for international exchange. Davison has achieved 100 percent on-time placement of delegates in each of her 12 years helming the program.
 
States’ 4-H International is a global citizenship program that has partnered with 4-H since 1972 to facilitate cultural exchange opportunities among youth and their families in 28 countries on six continents.
 
For information on becoming a host family or participating in an outbound program, contact Davison at (406) 994-3502 or sdavison@montana.edu.

A Montana State University paleontologist is part of a team that discovered a new iguana-like lizard that roamed the earth 75 million years ago, alongside dinosaurs such as tyrannosaurs and bird-like troodons.

David Varricchio, associate professor of paleontology in MSU’s Department of Earth Sciences in the College of Letters and Science, led the expedition on Montana’s Egg Mountain that unearthed two nearly complete fossils of a Late Cretaceous iguanomorph found in a nesting site.

Named Magnuviator ovimonsensis, which means “mighty traveler from Egg Mountain,” the specimens are the oldest, most complete iguanian fossils discovered in the Americas.

Former MSU paleontologist Jack Horner christened Egg Mountain, which is located in the Two Medicine Formation near Choteau, after he and his crew discovered fossil eggs and clutches there beginning in 1979. The fossils represented the first dinosaur eggs from North America.

In 2010, Varricchio received funding from the National Science Foundation that made it possible for him to return to Egg Mountain and excavate.

“We began excavating there in 2010, continuing through 2016,” Varricchio said. “This was the first concentrated effort at Egg Mountain in 25 years. The lizard specimens were discovered during these new excavation efforts.”

Some lizard material had been found at the site before, Varricchio said, but nothing as remarkable as the nearly complete and fully articulated skeletons.  

“In the field, we knew we had some special specimens, as articulated lizards are exceptionally rare in the Cretaceous,” he said. “But, it wasn’t until Dave DeMar really examined the specimens that we knew it was a new species.”

David DeMar, postdoctoral research associate in the University of Washington biology department and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, is lead author of the discovery paper.

“It is incredibly rare to find one complete fossil skeleton from a relatively small creature like this lizard," DeMar said. "But, in fact, we had two specimens, both from the same site at Egg Mountain in Montana.”

The paper, “A new Late Cretaceous iguanomorph from North America and the origin of New World Pleurodonta,” was published Jan. 25 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. It details the findings from the four-year study of Magnuviator ovimonsensis, including its appearance and the importance of the discovery.

“It is not particularly distinctive; it would look fairly unremarkable next to modern lizards,” Varricchio said. “For the time, though, it is a relatively big lizard at about eight inches long. It’s somewhat chunky with a high number of small teeth and may have fed on insects.”

Despite its non-distinctive appearance, Varricchio said, the specimens provide new morphological information that will help paleontologists determine some evolutionary and biogeographic pathways.

“For example, Magnuviator belongs to the iguanomorphs, a large group of lizards that includes iguanas and horned lizards,” he said. “The specimen is about 20 million years older than the next oldest specimen from North America. It also provides a better picture of the Egg Mountain ecosystem during that time.”

Because the specimens were so well preserved, Varricchio said, the scientists may be able to answer a number of questions about the lizard.

“We can ask questions about ‘what it did for a living,’” he said. “From its preservation we suspect it may have burrowed, and we will be able to test this given the near-complete skeleton we have. Very few lizards are known from anything more than jaw fragments for the Cretaceous of North America, so these are excellent specimens.”

Mary Hubbard, head of the Department of Earth Sciences, said Varricchio’s work greatly benefits MSU and the science of paleontology through his important discoveries.

“The Department of Earth Sciences at MSU is proud to have Dr. David Varricchio and his students who have the expertise and are able to do the fieldwork in the extensive Cretaceous rock units of Montana that is necessary for making these sorts of discoveries,” Hubbard said.