The Salvation Army, Family Promise and Love, Inc urgently need more donations to assist the more than 350 students in Gallatin County through the “Tools for School” campaign, which provides back to school supplies for children in need. Donations are far below this time last year, and the organizations’ need the community’s help to give students the supplies they need.  

School supplies needed include: backpacks, crayons, markers, colored pencils, #2 pencils, erasers, highlighters, scissors, glue, 2” binders, notebooks, rulers and other standard school supplies. 

There are many ways to donate:
• Drop off school supplies at barrels located at local churches, Staples and Office Depot through August 13.
• Purchase supplies online and have them shipped directly to The Salvation Army: http://salarmy.us/bozemanregistryforgood.
•  Call The Salvation Army at 406-586-5813 or Love INC at 406-587-3008. 

Because of COVID-19, the non-profits will drop off school supplies at the front doors of backpack recipients’ homes the week of August 22, rather than the traditional in-person event.  

Families can pre-register to receive supplies through Friday, August 14. To register, call Love INC at 406-587-3008 or register online at https://loveincgc.org/tools-4-school-sign-up/. Children in grade K-12 are eligible to receive a backpack and school supplies. 

“When kids go to school with everything they need, they are more confident and perform better,” says Lieutenant Jenn Larson, Administrator for The Salvation Army in Bozeman. “We’re excited to provide this opportunity for children of Gallatin County, so we can eliminate some of the barriers that keep kids from thriving.” 

For more information about The Salvation Army, please visit bozeman.salvationarmy.org

Montana State Parks is seeking public comment on 25 grant applications for Snowmobile Trail Grooming funds for the 2020-2021 winter season. Public comment will be accepted through Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, at 5 p.m.

The Montana Snowmobile Program, as administered by Montana State Parks, was established in the early 1970s and is an essential component of both motorized and non-motorized winter recreational activities in the state. Montana’s groomed trails provide important access and recreational opportunities for users such as snowmobiles, cross-country skiers, snowboarders, dogsleds, fat-tire bikes, and snowshoers.

Funding is provided annually to 25 local snowmobile clubs who conduct the grooming of over 4,000 miles of designated snowmobile trails throughout the state. The Montana Snowmobile Program is funded through a percentage of the state gas tax paid by snowmobile users, snowmobile registration fees, non-resident snowmobile temporary use permits, and resident groomed trail passes. The program is separate from Montana State Parks funding sources and revenues. There is $410,000 available for the upcoming season.

A list of the proposed 2020/2021 winter season snowmobile grooming grant awards is available at stateparks.mt.gov under “Recreation Activities & Grants.” Public comments are accepted through Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, at 5 p.m.

To comment online visit: stateparks.mt.gov and click on “Public Notices” or by email at snowmobilegrants@mt.gov. Comments may be sent by mail to Montana State Parks, Snowmobile Program, 1420 East 6th Avenue, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701.

For more information about the Montana Snowmobile Program click here. Or contact Seth McArthur, Montana Snowmobile Program Manager at 406-444-3753.
Visit Montana State Parks and enjoy camping, hiking, fishing, swimming, boating and more and discover some of the greatest natural and cultural treasures on earth.

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(Whitehall, MT) – Montana State Parks (stateparks.mt.gov) announces adjusted hours of operation and cavern tours at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, beginning Aug. 20, as the season begins to wind down.

As of Aug. 20, the visitor centers will be open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, with Paradise Tours every hour from 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Tours will continue to be limited and offered by reservation only. To make a reservation, contact the park by phone at 406-287-3541. Tours are often fully booked a week in advance. Visitors can reserve spots up to two weeks in advance of their desired tour dates.

For the weekends of Aug. 22 and 23, Aug. 29 and 30, and Sept. 5 and 6, advance reservations will also be available for additional tours at 5:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. daily to help accommodate more visitors on the weekends. After Sept. 6, tours will be offered daily, every hour from 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. until Sept. 30.

“We’re glad to continue serving the public and sharing this spectacular resource,” said Park Manager Rhea Armstrong. “The passion our guides feel for the Caverns comes across on every tour. Though we have had modified operations this year, our standard of service and safety has not changed.”

The Paradise Tour is about a mile of walking and 1.5 hours. It features the largest and most decorated room in the cave system. Masks are required, and staff cleans the handrails with bleach during each tour.

For more information about these or other events at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, call (406) 287-3541.

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park, 25 Lewis & Clark Caverns Rd, Whitehall, MT

http://stateparks.mt.gov/lewis-and-clark-caverns/

From the exit 274 on I-90, we are 13 miles south on Highway 287 and 5 miles west on MT 2.

From the Cardwell exit 256 on I-90 we are 7 miles east along MT 2.

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park features one of the most decorative limestone caverns in the Northwest filled with spectacular stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and helictites. The park also features camping, trails to hike or bike, a state-of-the-art visitor center, interpretive displays, a gift shop, food and beverage concessions, amphitheater, and interpretive events presented during the summer months.

Visit Montana State Parks (stateparks.mt.gov) and enjoy camping, hiking, fishing, swimming, boating and more and discover some of the greatest natural and cultural treasures on earth.

Several rivers in southwest Montana will close to fishing during the afternoon each day due to a seasonal rise in water temperatures.

“Hoot-owl” restrictions prohibit fishing during the hottest times of the day. A hoot-owl restriction prohibiting fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight each day will go into effect on Aug. 6 for the following waterbodies:

• The lower Gallatin River from the Highway 84 bridge near Four Corners to the Missouri River.
• The lower Ruby River from Duncan District Road to the Beaverhead River.
• The Big Hole River from the North Fork of the Big Hole River to Dickie Bridge west of Wise River, and from Maidenrock Fishing Access Site to the Beaverhead River, in accordance with the Big Hole Watershed Committee Drought Plan.
• The lower Beaverhead River from Anderson Lane to the Jefferson River.
• The entire Jefferson River, in accordance with the Jefferson River Drought Plan.

Each of these areas have met their respective established requirements for hoot-owl restrictions, which include water temperatures exceeding 73 degrees for at least three consecutive days.

Restrictions of this nature are designed to protect fish such as Arctic grayling and trout, which all become more susceptible to disease and mortality when conditions such as high temperatures combine with additional stressors.

The restrictions for each river will be lifted when peak water temperatures stay below 70 degrees for three consecutive days, but no later than Sept. 15.

A permanent yearly hoot-owl restriction also went into effect this year for the lower Madison River from the Warm Springs Boat Launch to the Jefferson River. That restriction will be in effect every year from July 15 through Aug. 15.

At its meeting on Aug. 13, the Fish and Wildlife Commission will hear two petitions regarding River Recreation on the Madison River.

The Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana (FOAM) and the George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited (GGTU) along with the Anaconda Sportsmen Association (ASA) will present their petitions directly to the commission. Both petitions are requesting rulemaking to address recreation on the Madison River. Following the presentation of the petitions, FWP staff will answer questions but will not represent any support or opposition to the petitions.

Pursuant to 2-4-315, Montana Code Annotated, the commission must either deny the petition or initiate rulemaking on the petition. If the commission chooses to propose rule language other than what is contained in the petition, the commission must deny the petition and then propose rule language. If the commission chooses portions of the petitions to adopt or deny, it must be clearly indicated on the record.

FWP recommends the commission propose rule language regarding management of recreational use on the Madison River for public comment, whether based on these petitions or not. 

Shortly after the canceled June Commission meeting on this topic two petitions were received and the decision was made to dedicate the August 13 meeting to just the required petition process, rather than FWP staff presenting an EA.  If the Commission moves forward with any proposed rulemaking, an appropriately focused EA would accompany that process.  This would include ample opportunity for the diverse public interests and perspectives to review and weigh in, ultimately helping to assemble an effective and enduring solution.   

Both petitions are available on the commission page of the FWP website, fwp.mt.gov.

The meeting will be held using the video conferencing platform Zoom. Details on how to access the meeting will be posted on fwp.mt.gov closer to the meeting date. The meeting will also be audio streamed online at fwp.mt.gov. The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. The full agenda is available on the FWP website.

A study by two Montana State University psychology professors published in a Journal of the American Medical Association publication found that teenagers’ attachment to their communities as well as their beliefs about the coronavirus are key factors in predicting how adolescents respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a study of 770 U.S. teens queried during the early weeks of the pandemic, Benjamin Oosterhoff and Cara Palmer, professors in the Department of Psychology in the MSU College of Letters and Science, found that adolescents’ beliefs about the severity of COVID-19 and the extent to which they value helping others is connected with how they are responding to the pandemic. The more attached adolescents are to their communities -- through feelings of social responsibility and trust in others - -the more they respond with healthy behaviors, such as social distancing and disinfecting. The researchers said these findings have implications for how parents, teachers and policy makers may improve behavioral health practices among young people and suggest that cultivating stronger social responsibility and social trust might play a key factor in curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Oosterhoff and Palmer’s findings were published in the June 29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, a rapid publication of a study that analyzed data gathered in March.
 
The psychologists said findings from their article, titled “Attitudes and Psychological Factors Associated with News Monitoring, Social Distancing, Disinfecting and Hoarding Behaviors Among U.S. Adolescents During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic,” may be helpful in finding effective interventions to improve how teenagers adhere to public health guidance.

“The bigger picture here is the importance that community attachments play in the way (adolescents) respond to large scale negative events,” Oosterhoff said. “If we want to prepare for this and respond in better way — if we want fewer people to die — we need to start taking community attachments more seriously all of the time and cultivate social trust and responsibility (in teen populations).”

While science and research are often slow processes, several factors allowed the two psychologists to rapidly launch and complete their research, then publish it in the prestigious JAMA journal.
 
“We were able to get the study up and running right away and launched it one week after COVID was declared a national emergency. Warning signs of the severity of the virus were present weeks before the declaration, which provided added time to prepare,” Oosterhoff said. “It was a perfect storm of our past experiences and thinking, as well as new methods we had developed in our lab, that allowed us to turn it around so quickly.”

It helped that Oosterhoff and Palmer are married, so they were able to collaborate 10-12 hours a day during the quarantine to observe, plan and launch the study. They have worked together on other similar projects, including a study that they conducted when they were working in Houston when Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017.

“We both had previous studies about how a terrible event can impact teens and how that carries with them in their life,” Oosterhoff said. “We felt like something similar was happening again with COVID.”
 
Coincidentally, for the past year Oosterhoff and Palmer had worked to develop research tools that use social media to collect data from their target population. The couple previously found success buying relatively low-cost ads seeking participants on Instagram. Oosterhoff said that technique proved effective for their COVID survey, especially since schools were closing and eliminating a common route of interviewing students in a classroom.

For two days starting March 20, the researchers surveyed 770 adolescents March 20-22, ages 13-18, from every state in the country. They later surveyed the same group weekly for seven weeks, resulting in additional data, and the researchers plan to continue with follow-ups.
 
“One thing we need to do as scientists was stay on it and put our findings in a broader context, even beyond what it means to respond to COVID-19,” he said. “In the process we learned valuable information about how to respond to disaster like this again.”
 
Oosterhoff said after they had preliminary results, he and Palmer reached out to JAMA Pediatrics to see if they would consider COVID-19 research. The editors responded within 30 minutes that they were interested and expedited peer review for the research, given the fast progression of the pandemic.
 
“Many journals were providing (an) expedited review for COVID research at the time. JAMA had not announced anything yet, so we thought we would ask,” Oosterhoff said.
 
Oosterhoff credited the Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity based at MSU with support and guidance.
 
“I was excited by their project idea and let them re-allocate funds from their CAIRHE-supported project, which allowed them to quickly pivot their work and get the survey out early,” said Alex Adams, director of CAIRHE.
 
And while the publication of their work in a major journal was rewarding, Oosterhoff and Palmer’s most significant collaboration came just a week after publication. That was when their first child, a daughter, was born.
 
Oosterhoff said he and Palmer plan to continue their research as the pandemic continues. For instance, he speculates that adolescents, who generally are socially active, will find it harder to engage in healthy practices such as social distancing as the pandemic becomes more drawn out. And he would like to test his theory that youth who are committed to giving back and volunteering, those who have a strong commitments to their communities, will be the ones to continue to take the pandemic seriously and behave in constructive ways, such as socially distancing and wearing masks.

“There’s a lot more to study, but this is a good start that we hope to build upon,” he said.

A grizzly bear was euthanized after a recent cattle depredation in south Park County.
 
The adult male bear was captured shortly after it killed a cow on private land on Wednesday. In consultation with federal partners at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Wildlife Services, the decision was made to euthanize the bear due to this depredation and past depredations in the area.
 
Relocating bears safely is difficult at this time of year because of many factors, including high bear densities, heavy recreation use and other land uses in nearby areas.
 
This is the second management removal of a grizzly bear this year within the demographic monitoring area of Montana’s portion of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The first grizzly bear removed in this area in 2020 was captured and transferred to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone after gaining access to food at campgrounds in the Rainbow Point area.

Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Management authority for grizzlies rests with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, working closely in Montana with FWP, Wildlife Services, the U.S. Forest Service and Tribal lands. This collaboration happens through the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.

Several grizzly bear recovery areas exist in or near Montana, including the Selkirk, Cabinet-Yaak, Northern Continental Divide, Bitterroot and Greater Yellowstone ecosystems.
 
Grizzly bear populations continue to become denser and more widespread in Montana, increasing the likelihood that residents and recreationists will encounter them in new places each year. Being prepared for such encounters is more important than ever, both to keep people and property safe and to cultivate healthy bear behavior.

For more information on avoiding negative encounters with bears, visit igbconline.org/bear-safety.

Skunks are small and agile creatures characterized by their black and white markings. Skunks are known for their ability to spray their unpleasant scent in defense when they feel threatened. Skunks are also known to be more active during spring and summer, This is also when skunk spraying dramatically increases, whether it be kids or pets. Skunk activity is unlike other mammals like tree squirrels who are active throughout the year.  

Why are skunks more active in spring and summer?

Mating Season
The reason for the sudden increase of skunk sightings is that springtime is the mating season for skunks. Other times of the year, skunks are dormant. Specifically in colder weather. Not only this, but reduced visibility due to decreased sunlight hours in the winter means it would be challenging to spot skunks in winter months.

As the weather becomes warmer, skunks emerge in search of mates. Males will become much more active as they search for females to have their offspring. You are also likely to see females flee from unwanted males and move around as they avoid them to find a safe space.

To Forage
Skunks emerge in the spring in search of food as their supply lessens in the passed colder weather, skunks eat grub, insects, and small animals. This is why they spend their time near woodlands and parks.

Birth of Their Litter in Summer
As skunks mate in the spring, they often give birth during the summer. This also helps explain the increased sightings and activity in the warmer months. Skunks are known to have relatively large litters and can have as many as seven pups. After the skunks give birth, the parents are often seen foraging in local areas to bring food back to their pups. Skunk pups are not dependent on their parents for long. After approximately two months, young skunks will venture out individually and begin to forage for themselves.

Increased Visits to Urban and Rural Areas
You are also likely to spot skunks as they often prefer urban areas where people tend to live and visit regularly. Urban areas offer ideal shelter for skunks inside garages, sheds, and deck spaces that protect them from poor weather conditions and predators. These areas allow them to forage for food as they are known to rummage through trash cans. This may cause skunks to be pests in and around people’s homes. Click here to learn more about taking care of skunks as pests.

Visits to rural spots, forests, and lakes often dramatically increases in the summer so this may also be why people often comment they have seen skunks in spring and summer.

Increased Sunlight
You are more likely to see skunks at nighttime in the spring and summer months as they are most active at night. Due to increased sunlight and longer days, you are also more likely to be able to see skunks at nighttime in the summer and spring than you would naturally be able to see them in winter and autumn.

If skunks are becoming a nuisance to you this summer, please contact Wildlife X Team for your pest removal needs.

UPDATE: BZN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL GOES VIRTUAL!
Third Annual Event Features Films, Interviews on Online Platform

July 31, 2020 Bozeman, Montana: The Third Annual BZN International Film Festival will take place Thursday, August 27th –  September 5. Out of an abundance of caution we have decided to take the Festival to an online-only platform. The virtual event will include over 60 interviews with filmmakers, actors and community members, as well as all of 2020’s films and selected films from 2018 and 2019.

Our focus this year is on solution-based films that offer strategies to help heal ourselves, our families, businesses, the country and the world during this challenging time.    

Please visit bzn2020 for more information. Online pass pricing will be available next week; Montana residents will receive a discount! We would still appreciate your assistance in promoting this community-enriching event and would be happy to provide you with an online pass in exchange for coverage.