As part of ongoing efforts required under the Endangered Species Act to monitor the population of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone Ecosystem, the U.S. Geological Survey, in conjunction with Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, is working to inform the public that pre-baiting and scientific trapping operations are about to begin within the Gravelly and Madison Ranges of Montana.  Biologists, with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST), will begin work in southwest Montana beginning June 13th and will continue through July 31st.  Trapping operations can include a variety of activities, but all areas where work is being conducted will have major access points marked with warning signs.  It is critical that all members of the public heed these signs.

Monitoring of grizzly bear distribution and other activities are vital to ongoing recovery of grizzlies in the Yellowstone Ecosystem.  In order to attract bears, biologists utilize natural food sources such as fresh road–killed deer and elk.  Potential trapping sites are baited with these natural foods and if indications are that grizzly bears are in the area, culvert traps or foot snares will be used to capture the bears.  Once trapped, the bears are handled in accordance with strict protocols developed by the IGBST.

Whenever bear trapping activities are being conducted for scientific purposes, the area around the site will be posted with bright warning signs to inform the public of the activities occurring.  These signs are posted along the major access points to the trapping site.  It is important that the public heed these signs and do not venture into an area that has been posted.  For more information regarding grizzly bear trapping efforts call the IGBST hotline at 406-994-6675.

The Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University announced today that John Scannella has been named the John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology.  Scannella has been on staff at MOR since 2013 when he was named paleontology collections manager and following Horner's retirement in 2016 he was named interim curator of paleontology.

Scannella's research focuses on vertebrate evolution and ontogeny, ceratopsian dinosaurs, and Mesozoic ecosystems of North America. He earned his doctorate in earth sciences from Montana State University and bachelor's in geology from Rutgers University. 


"I am very excited to be the John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology at Museum of the Rockies," Scannella said. "Building on the incredible foundation that was created by Jack Horner and the museum's paleontology department the future of paleontology at MOR is going to be very exciting."

In his new role at the Museum of the Rockies, Scannella will have responsibility for setting the paleontology department's research agenda that includes conducting field research, curating the paleontology collection, developing exhibits and participating in education and outreach activities. His first original exhibition, Dinosaur Dynasties: The Evolution of Montana's Dinosaurs, will open at the Mifune Dinosaur Museum in Kumamoto, Japan, in July, and he will be returning to his Triceratops research site in Makoshika State Park later this summer. 

Sheldon McKamey, MOR's executive director, explained that Scannella was selected following an international search that started in March.

"We were searching for a paleontologist who would continue the caliber of research for which we've become known, who has the ability to inspire people of all ages to learn both formally and informally and generate support for the program," McKamey said.

A native of Queens, New York, Scannella, 38, met former curator of paleontology Jack Horner at a lecture in Trenton, New Jersey, in 2005 and came to MSU as a graduate student in 2006. His graduate research focused on the horned dinosaur Triceratops and its relatives. He has spent several field seasons as a MOR paleontology field crew chief working in the Hell Creek Formation of eastern Montana, where he collected specimens of some of the last non-avian dinosaurs that roamed western North America.

In 2010, Scannella and Horner proposed that the horned dinosaur Torosaurus is actually a fully mature Triceratops rather than a different genus of dinosaur. In 2014, he and his colleagues published the results of an extensive study "Evolutionary Trends in Triceratops from the Hell Creek Formation, Montana" in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. By examining Triceratops from different stratigraphic rock layers, the team discovered that Triceratops changed in appearance over time. This discovery was highlighted in Scannella's presentation at TEDxBozeman in the spring of 2015. 

"I remember being a child and hoping to one day visit the Museum of the Rockies to see its amazing dinosaurs and other fossils," Scannella said. "I can't wait to get started."

About Museum of the Rockies 
The Museum of the Rockies is a college-level division of Montana State University, a Smithsonian Affiliate, a repository for federal fossils, and an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution. It is recognized as one of the world's finest research and history museums and is renowned for displaying an extensive collection of dinosaur fossils, including a full-scale T. rex skeleton.

MOR offers changing exhibits from around the world, permanent indoor and outdoor regional history exhibits, planetarium shows, educational programs, insightful lectures, benefit events and a museum store.

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, MOR is one of just 1,081 museums to hold this distinction from the more than 30,000 museums nationwide. The museum is a member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers Travel Passport Program and a participant in the Montana Dinosaur Trail Passport Program.

Rod Zullo has taught sculpture workshops at Brookgreen Gardens annually in Pawleys Island, SC for sometime and has recently had the honor of having his garden size bronze, Ode to the West Wind II installed in the new Welcome Center.  The piece was purchased by The Friends of Brookgreen, and placed in honor of retiring president Robert Jewel.

Brookgeen Gardens is a National Historic Landmark, Wildlife Preserve, and Sculpture Gardens.  Exhibited within the gardens is the largest and most comprehensive collection of American figurative sculpture in the country, by sculptors who worked from the early nineteenth century to the present. The collection contains over 2,000 works by 425 artists and in the words of Wayne Craven, author of the book, Sculpture in America, it is "unequaled in its size, focus on figurative works, visibility of the sculpture to the visitor, and integration within a garden setting."

Rod Zullo shows at multiple galleries across the country, has been honored as a Fellow of the National Sculpture Society, and is happy to partner with Legacy Gallery in his hometown of Bozeman, Montana.

The Bair Museum in Martinsdale is displaying a selection of paintings up in the air starting May 26, 2017. Above and Beyond- Paintings as Kites showcases selected works by Bozeman painter (and MSU Art Professor Emeritus) Harold Schlotzhauer influenced by the history of Japanese kites and time the artist has spent in Japan with his family. Japan’s kites are among the most spectacular in the world, treasured as much for their aesthetics as for the pleasure they give as toys.

The history of kites is long and multi-cultural. The exact date and origin of the kite is not known but it is believed   they were flown in China more than two thousand years ago. Kites were first introduced into Japanese culture by Buddhist missionaries who travelled from China in the Nara Period, 649-794 AD, and they were used in Japan at that time in various ceremonies. In some of the earliest written histories kites were used in military operations, in fishing, and in scientific research in addition to being flown for recreation and in intensely competitive kite-combat between villages. Kites pre-date the first lighter-than-air balloon (1783) and the first powered aircraft (1903).

Schlotzhauer’s kite paintings are presented in a variety of shapes and sizes including some traditional shapes and some invented, but like most kites his original imagery is bold and colorful. Their brilliant patterns, bold motifs, and electric, linear energy are reminiscent of Japan’s spectacular Edo period kites, still considered today to be some of the most beautiful kites ever created.

To see Scholtzhauer’s kites this summer enter the Bair Museum and look up!

The Bair Museum, located in Martinsdale, is open 10am to 5pm seven days a week through Labor Day, Labor Day through October – Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.

The museum is located at 2751 Montana Hwy 294 in Martinsdale, Montana, between White Sulphur Springs and Harlowton. For more information visit www.bairfamilymuseum.org

  
Harold Schlotzhauer, Pipe Dream, 1997, Acrylic on Tyvek

Come and share your talents with visitors and neighbors alike! The Livingston Depot Museum is seeking volunteers to welcome visitors this museum season.  The Depot is often the first place visitors stop when touring our region. Help welcome them and share a piece of railroad history! Historical or railroad knowledge is not required, so come learn about your town and help others have fun.

Volunteering at the Depot is a great opportunity. Volunteering looks good on a resume and can be the perfect way to develop workplace confidence following a career break. Volunteering is also a great way to stay connected with our vibrant community during retirement.  Don’t forget, we also have opportunities for Park High School students to earn their required community service hours—why not have fun while you fulfill your requirements?

“There’s a kind of camaraderie in helping as a volunteer,” said Museum Director Diana Seider.  “It’s fun to share the experience of local history with visitors. It’s a good chance to make new friends and meet people visiting from far and wide. ”   

Seider said volunteers help out at the front desk greeting visitors and answering general questions, as well as in the gift shop.  Schedules can be flexible but usually involve just one 3.5-hour morning or afternoon shift a week.  Openings are currently available for both weekdays and weekends. 

Volunteers can also help with other occasions such as the Depot Foundation’s summer and winter events including the Festival of the Arts pie booth, Roundhouse Roundup outdoor barbecue, and Movies on the Lawn which features the 25th anniversary showing of “A River Runs Through It” this year.”  

General information is available on the Depot’s website at www.livingstondepot.org, and anyone interested in signing up is invited to reach the Depot at  (406) 222-2300.  

The Heart of the West Art Show & Auction returns to the Best Western Plus GranTree Inn August 10-12, 2017 with over 50 premier artists from all over the country exhibiting new paintings and sculptures in booths throughout the venue’s convention space.  Zoot Art Gallery, located at the Zoot Enterprises campus in Four Corners, will renew its major sponsorship of the show.  Live artist demonstration “Quick Finishes” on the Friday and Saturday of the show will benefit the Museum of the Rockies, followed by an exciting live auction of more than 100 lots of fine art of the American West.  In 2016 the auction had a 87% sale rate with total sales of about $147,000, most of which went to living, working artists.

“As artists ourselves, my mom and I have always found these in-person shows are essential to getting our work exposed to new areas and communities, and I felt that Bozeman was overdue for a major fine art show of this kind.  The community response to the August 2016 show was super encouraging,” says show director Morgan Cawdrey.  Cawdrey runs this family business with guidance from his father Steve Cawdrey and artist mother Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey.

Part of Zoot’s sponsorship will include displaying a preview of the juried auction artwork from June 29 – Aug. 8, open to public viewing from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday-Friday with an opening reception from 5 – 7 p.m. June 29 and major closing reception Aug. 8, 5 – 7 p.m. with live music, hors d’oeuvres and artist demonstrations.  "The Zoot Art Gallery is honored to be a sponsor of the Heart of the West for the second year,” says Darcy Barry, Marketing Operations Manager at Zoot.  “The show and auction bring together an incredible pool of talented Western artists and give attendees the chance to see all of the works of art in one place. For art collectors and enthusiasts, this event is not to be missed."

EVENTS:
    •    June 29 – Auction Artwork Preview Show Opening Reception 5-7 p.m.
    •    August 8 – Auction Artwork Preview Closing Reception 5-7 p.m.
    •    August 10 – Show open from noon – 9 p.m.
    •    August 11 – Show open from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.  Quick Finish event 4 – 6 p.m.; come before the downtown Art Walk!
    •    August 12 – Show open from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.  Quick Finish event 1:30-3:30 p.m.  Live Auction starting at 4 p.m.
    •    Featured exhibiting artists and schedule available at: www.HeartoftheWestArt.com

“A fantastic arts organization. A premier source for quality Western Art in America.”
– Kim Mackey, artist

“The Heart of the West Auctions, both online and in person, are my favorite art shows of the year!”
– David W. Mayer, artist

No snow? No problem.

Big Sky Resort is charging into the summer season with lots of fun, sun-filled activities: Take an aerial tram ride to Montana’s highest scenic overlook at 11,166 feet on a Lone Peak Expedition. There’s also golfing, ziplining, skeet shooting, downhill biking and the list goes on. The resort’s restaurants are open and mark your calendars with these events: Kids Adventure Games, Brewfest, Vine & Dine and the Rut Mountain Runs. Escape the sweltering heat this summer in the beautiful mountains of Big Sky Resort.

Big Sky Resort opens its hotels and its many basecamp activities May 29^th, weather and conditions dependent.

Big Sky Resort has one of the top five best bike parks in the Northwest, according to MTBparks.com. It’s the third consecutive year that Big Sky Resort’s downhill trails have ranked among the top in the Northwest. That’s because Big Sky continues to invest in its trails. This year, the resort is adding two new mountain biking trails totaling almost 4 miles. At the bottom of Soul Hole, a black diamond trail on the Swift Current chairlift, Big Sky Resort is adding a jump line with ten tabletops or hip jumps and two big redirect berms. The jumps are bigger than the ones on Snake Charmer, a popular flow trail constructed last year.

The other new downhill trail is a 3.4-mile blue square flow trail off Swift Current chairlift. This trail is to help those bikers transition from the easier runs off the Explorer Chairlift to the more challenging trails on the Swift Current chairlift. This new trail will also connect into the bottom of other downhill trails on the Swift Current Chairlift, allowing bikers to ride a flow trail all the way to the base area.

The bike rental shop is getting a facelift, this summer operating out of the resort’s newly renovated rental center. Big Sky is not only expanding its downhill bike fleet in size and number but also offering expanded maintenance and retail services. Plus, Big Sky Resort has several new electric mountain bikes for those who need a little more help on the steep uphill sections.   

Big Sky Resort also offers mountain biking lessons, guides and youth programs to improve those downhill biking skills. Big Sky Resort has biking trails for all ages and abilities.

For those looking for a less arduous exercise, there is ziplining, spa treatments, skeet shooting, archery or paint ball. Families can enjoy the mini golf, bungee trampoline, climbing wall or giant swing in the plaza. The activities at Big Sky Resort’s Basecamp to Yellowstone are endless.

Escape the summer heat at 11,166 feet. Big Sky Resort offers trips to the top of Lone Peak, Montana’s highest scenic overlook. The Lone Peak Expedition involves a chairlift ride, a safari vehicle and an aerial tram ride to experience majestic views of the Madison, Gallatin, Bridger, Absaroka and Beartooth Ranges. 

Big Sky Golf Course opened May 19^th with an updated fleet of golf carts and new sand in the bunkers. Also, check out the new golf boards to pick up the pace of the game and spice up your outing with these hip new modes of golf transportation.

Activities often stir up an appetite. Big Sky Resort offers a number of food options during the summer. Enjoy lunch on the deck at Everett’s 8800, a burger at the Montana Jack or enjoy a glass of wine and one of Andiamo’s signature Italian dishes.

Whether you’re looking for a family-fun getaway, a relaxing golf outing or an adventurous afternoon of mountain biking, Big Sky Resort is the place to live big this summer. Visit bigskyresort.com to book your summer activities.

Montana State University’s Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship is seeking local and regional businesses and non-profit organizations that are willing to offer students practical business experience in return for research, issue analysis or operational advice during the upcoming fall semester, which runs from Aug. 28 through Dec. 8.

Participating students will be enrolled in “BMGT 463—Entrepreneurial Experience” or “BMGT 475R – Management Experience.” Both are senior-level courses taught by Gary Bishop, associate teaching professor of management. Bishop said the entrepreneurial experience course is primarily focused on new start-up organizations or small, locally owned businesses. The management experience course focuses on more established businesses, as well as civic and non-profit organizations.

During the courses, students will help manage special consulting projects requested by area businesses and non-profit organizations. Past projects have included developing business, marketing and financial plans, identifying ways to improve businesses, suggesting solutions to problems, re-branding businesses, developing websites and social networking sites, market and competition analysis, sales analysis, feasibility studies, assisting with human resources and customer services issues, developing employee training and handbooks, and other business and management processes.

Businesses and organizations that wish to participate in the fall are invited to apply to the MSU Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Applications are due by Aug. 4.

In addition, the college has an internship program known as Student Entrepreneurs in Action. As part of the program, local businesses and organizations may apply to host a college intern from the program to work with the business or organization for 10 to 20 hours per week. In some instances, the student may work with the business or organization at no cost.

Application materials for both programs may be obtained by contacting Linda Ward at 994-1995 or lward@montana.edu or Gary Bishop at 994-7017 or gbishop@montana.edu. More information also is available online at http://www.montana.edu/business/e-center/for-companies.html.

The Bair Family Museum is proud to present a major exhibition of the Bair Collection’s Curtis photogravures entitled, The Shadow Catcher: Edward Sheriff Curtis, from May 26 – October 29, 2017, in the Montana Projects and Curtis Galleries. The selection of over 40 original photogravures is drawn from Volumes I-5, The North American Indian series.

 Photo credit: Sioux Chiefs, Vol. 3, Plate 78, Bair Collection

Over the winter Bair Museum staff worked to install LED lighting in the exhibit spaces. Eliminating damaging UV light sources has provided additional exhibition space to showcase a larger selection of the museum’s 180-plus Curtis collection. John Andrew & Son of Boston, under Curtis’s direction, printed the photogravures, circa 1906-1908, on delicate, almost transparent, Japanese tissue paper. This summer’s exhibit includes images representing the following tribes: the Apache, Jicarillas, Navajo, Pima, Papago, Qahatika, Mojave, Yuma, Maricopa, Walapai, Havasupai, Apache-Mojave (Yavapai), Teton Sioux, Yanktonai, Assiniboin, Apsaroke (Crows), Mandan, Arikara, and the Atsina.

The photographer and self-trained ethnographer Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952) met Charles Bair in Montana in the early 1900s. They became friends and their families would socialize in the winter months at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, where Curtis had a studio and gallery, as did Charlie Russell and Joseph Henry Sharp. Between 1901 and 1930 Curtis photographed over 80 tribes. To provide the funding for his planned series documenting all Native American tribes in North America, Curtis originally intended to sell subscriptions only to those who pre-purchased the 20 volume series. Due to the project’s enormous scope and escalating costs, Curtis immediately ran into financial difficulties, and Charlie Bair likely offered to purchase the first five volumes to help out his friend.  Even with the support of President Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote the foreword for the first volume of The North American Indian series, as well as financial backing from financier J. Pierpont Morgan, the project took over thirty years to complete and eventually bankrupted Curtis and ruined his life and his health.

Located in Martinsdale, the Bair Museum features several galleries where visitors can enjoy the family’s eclectic collection of Native American objects, Western and European paintings, and Navajo weavings. Tours of the Bair family home showcase Marguerite and Alberta Bair’s stunning collection of English silver and European antiques. This summer the museum also features work by Bozeman painter Harold Schlotzhauer in Above and Beyond- Paintings as Kites, in the museum’s lobby. Beginning Memorial Day weekend, the Charles M. Bair Family Museum will be open seven days a week through Labor Day from 10 am to 5 pm. The museum is located at 2751 Montana Hwy 294 in Martinsdale, Montana, between White Sulphur Springs and Harlowton. For more information visit www.bairfamilymuseum.org

The Sandbox Project is one of many the Bozeman Kiwanis Club provides to give back to the community through various outreach programs.  The sandboxes are made possible by the club with support from community donations to purchase materials. Other projects include: Eliminate, which through Kiwanis International has made great strides to eliminate maternal neonatal tetanus. Local support is also provided for Eagle Mount Camp Braveheart, Big Sky Cancer Kids Spaghetti Feed, Hope for the Holidays, Kids in Crisis Backpacks, Fix-Up Festival, playground equipment, park pavilions, Thrive, and others.  For more information about the Bozeman Kiwanis Club please go to http://bozemankiwanisclub.portalbuzz.com/ or “Bozeman Kiwanis” on Facebook.