Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts is working hard to bring back The Bite of Bozeman. However, vendor participation is needed for this beloved event to return to Downtown Bozeman. Sweet Pea Festival must receive a substantial number of vendor commitments by July 2, 2023, for The Bite of Bozeman to take place. With enough vendors, The Bite of Bozeman will be held rain or shine on historic Main Street in downtown Bozeman Wednesday, August 2, 2023, from 5:00PM-8:00PM, and will feature local food, live music, and the fun of dining in the middle of Main Street.

What’s different about this year’s planned The Bite of Bozeman? Vendors will be offering small “bites” of their most popular dishes for the price of $5 per bite. The smaller offerings will expedite service, thereby allowing patrons to visit multiple vendors to sample a variety of food from some of Bozeman’s best restaurants. Vendors may also include additional menu offerings at prices they establish. Also new this year, The Bite of Bozeman will include a competition. Each vendor will display a unique QR Code. Patrons can scan the QR Code to cast their vote for “The People’s Choice Best Bite of Bozeman.” Winning vendors will get bragging rights and receive a one-year, quarterly advertisement in Distinctly Montana. The Bite of Bozeman is a free, family-friendly event open to the public.

If you are a food vendor and would like to be part of this iconic event, please apply via the Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts website: https://sweetpeafestival.org/sweetpea-events/.  For more information contact Sweet Pea Festival of Arts at (406) 586-4003. 

ABOUT SWEET PEA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS:

The Sweet Pea Festival is a three-day festival of the arts held in Bozeman, Montana, since 1978. Festival dates are always the first full weekend in August with other events, such as Chalk on the Walk starting off the festivities of Sweet Pea Week.  The Festival includes everything from music, theatre and dance to children’s activities, an Artist Marketplace with artists from Bozeman and around the country, and adult painting workshops. The Sweet Pea Festival is committed to its mission statement of “promoting and cultivating the arts.”

Hundreds of volunteers run and organize this annual event, a testament to the community’s desire for its ongoing success. All monies raised above what is needed to operate the Festival are given back to the community in the form of grants for the arts, art education, and special projects in the Bozeman area.``

HELENA – Going fishing soon? Don’t forget your camera. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wants to feature your fun on the next fishing regulations booklet. Winners will see their work on the front and back cover of the 2024 fishing regulation booklet.

Think beyond the brag board. We’re looking for unique or unusual photos, perhaps a state record fish or a fish never previously seen on the cover. Help FWP show what diverse fish can be found in Montana.

Photo contest:

• Photo must be vertical (portrait) mode, or suitable for tight vertical cropping to fit the available space on the regs cover.
• Photo must be a minimum resolution and size of 6 inches tall at 300 pixels-per-inch.
• FWP will feature your name on the front cover as credit. Please specify how you would like to be credited.
• Please include a short description of the photo, so we can provide some caption information.
• Ownership of the photo is retained by the photographer, who may use his/her image for other purposes.
• Please do not send photos of fish that have been mounted.
• Photo must be taken in Montana.

Art contest

• Kids 12 and younger are invited to submit a colored drawing of a fish that lives in Montana.

Please send in your best photo and drawing today! Email to fwpphotocontest@mt.gov. Deadline is Oct. 15.

Winners will receive their photo on the cover, a subscription to Montana Outdoors Magazine and a Montana Outdoors t-shirt.​

Go fish!

ENNIS – A hunter killed a grizzly bear in self-defense last week in the Madison Range southeast of Ennis.

The person was hunting black bears in a remote parcel of private land in the backcountry on June 5 when he was charged by a grizzly bear. The hunter shot and killed the bear with a pistol and was not injured.

The hunter notified Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks the same day. Officials from FWP, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest conducted a field investigation with help from the landowner and confirmed the bear mortality. The investigation is ongoing.

The bear’s behavior appeared to be defensive in the surprise, close encounter with the hunter. The 15-year-old female grizzly had previously been captured for research purposes in 2013 and had no known history of conflict with people. No cubs were seen with the bear. The bear died outside the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear recovery zone, and inside the demographic monitoring area.

Be bear aware

Montana is bear country. Grizzly bear populations continue to become denser and more widespread in Montana, increasing the likelihood that residents and recreationists will encounter them in more places each year.

Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts. Here are some precautions to help residents, recreationists and people who work outdoors avoid negative bear encounters:

• Carry bear spray and be prepared to use it immediately.
• Travel in groups whenever possible and make casual noise, which can help alert bears to your presence.
• Stay away from animal carcasses, which often attract bears.
• Follow food storage orders from the applicable land management agency.
• If you encounter a bear, never approach it. Leave the area when it is safe to do so.
• Keep garbage, bird feeders, pet food and other attractants put away in a secure building. Keep garbage in a secure building until the day it is collected. Certified bear-resistant garbage containers are available in many areas.
• Never feed wildlife. Bears that become food conditioned lose their natural foraging behavior and pose threats to human safety. It is illegal to feed bears in Montana.

Hunting in places that have or may have grizzly bears—which includes areas of Montana west of Billings—requires special precautions:

• Carry bear spray and be prepared to use it immediately.
• Look for bear sign and be cautious around creeks and areas with limited visibility.
• Hunt with a group of people. Making localized noise can alert bears to your presence.
• Be aware that elk calls and cover scents can attract bears.
• Bring the equipment and people needed to help field dress game and remove the meat from the kill site as soon as possible.
• If you need to leave part of the meat in the field during processing, hang it at least 10 feet off the ground and at least 150 yards from the gut pile. Leave it where it can be observed from a distance of at least 200 yards.
• Upon your return, observe the meat with binoculars. If it has been disturbed or if a bear is in the area, leave and call FWP.

Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are 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, the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Survey, Wildlife Services, and Native American tribes. This collaboration happens through the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.

For more information and resources on bear safety, visit fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management/bear.

Celebrating the 33rd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed 33 years ago on July 26, 1990.
 
In honor of this historic civil rights law, the City of Bozeman is celebrating this anniversary throughout the month of July!
 
The City is welcoming the disability community to participate in four Community Chats throughout the month. If you are someone who identifies as having a disability, these chats are for you! You will have the opportunity to participate in engaging dialogue with City staff where you can share what it is like living with a disability in Bozeman through your stories and lived experiences. You’ll also have the opportunity to share your thoughts on what inclusivity in Bozeman means to you and provide suggestions on how we as a community can shape Bozeman into a city where we all thrive and feel a sense of belonging.

 
This month-long celebration is a part of a larger Belonging in Bozeman plan. You can learn more about this plan and sign up to participate in a Community Chat at: engage.bozeman.net/belonging.

BOZEMAN — The Science Math Resource Center at Montana State University, a STEM outreach center housed in the Department of Education, is offering free citizen science kits to 10 Montana programs that serve middle school students. Applications are due Friday, June 23, and kits will be sent to successful applicants immediately afterward. Programs are asked to use the materials by Sept. 30 and fill out a short post-program survey.

Each kit includes a video tutorial, instructor's guide and physical materials to complete two citizen science projects from instructions online: one on Alzheimer's disease and another on relationships between the eye and the brain. Programs may keep all the supplies for future use. No prior experience teaching STEM content is necessary.

Citizen science is the practice of people of any age volunteering to contribute data and observations that help professional scientists solve real-world challenges. The activities in the kit are connected to two national online citizen science projects: StallCatchers, which helps accelerate Alzheimer’s research, and Eyewire, which is helping scientists create a detailed map of neurons in the brain.

The kits are supported by the MSU Outreach and Engagement Council as part of its seed grant program to promote engagement with external partners, improve quality of life and benefit the public. MSU student Chloe Moreland, a senior from Snoqualmie, Washington pursuing degrees in cell biology and neuroscience and English, created the kits.

To apply, visit www.montana.edu/smrc/citizenscience.html.

A parcel of land owned by Bozeman Health near the hospital campus growing new varieties of peas, chickpeas and durum wheat for MSU's Foundation Seed Program. MSU photo by Marcus "Doc" Cravens

BOZEMAN — A property in the Gallatin Valley with a long history of agricultural use will enter a new chapter as Montana State University’s Montana Agricultural Experiment Station leases it to grow seed for crop varieties developed by the university’s plant breeding programs for Montana producers.

The roughly 317-acres of farmable land within the Highland Glen area, bordered by Kagy and Highland boulevards and Bozeman Trail Road, will be planted this spring with new varieties of peas, chickpeas and durum wheat as part of MSU’s Foundation Seed Program.

The property, which is owned by Bozeman Health, is a significant addition to the other 1,200 acres of Gallatin Valley farmland that MAES owns or leases for foundation seed production and agricultural research, according to David Gettel, MAES farm operations manager. The new lease is for five years with the option to be extended.

“It’s not often you get access to a good piece of farmland this close to town, so this is a great opportunity for us,” Gettel said.

MSU’s Foundation Seed Program grows the first generation of seed for crop varieties that the university’s researchers breed for the needs of Montana growers facing climate, pest and soil challenges across the state. This year MAES is growing 22 of its 27 new varieties in-house, with the others grown by MAES Research Centers or contracted to local growers.

“Our breeding programs keep putting out new varieties every year, and we need the acreage to be able to get the seed out to Montana farmers,” Gettel said. The property is also conveniently situated between the MSU campus and the Fort Ellis Research Farm, which will make it easier for staff traveling to cultivate and monitor the fields, he added.

Over the past decade, MAES has added two new breeding programs — for durum wheat and pulses, which include green and yellow peas, chickpeas and lentils — to its existing programs for barley, winter and spring wheat. Foundation seed is the first generation of seed that is then distributed to seed growers, who in turn produce seed for commodity growers.

“We’re the first step in the multiplication and purification process,” said Doug Holen, manager of the foundation seed program. “The need for the university to have more land is really a sign of the success of our breeding programs and the demand from Montana growers.”

Roughly one-third of the Highland Glen property will be in foundation seed production, with another third in a rotation crop such as barley and the final third kept fallow. The rotation crop and fallow help prevent plant disease and ensure fertility to meet the high standards for seed production, Holen explained.

The property was previously farmed by the Kraft family, who leased it from the health system starting in the 1960s. The Bozeman Health board had purchased the 500 acres encompassing the farmland in 1956, to ensure essential health services would be available to the communities of southwest Montana, and relocated the hospital to a portion of the property in 1986.

Vaughn Kraft grew up farming the land with his dad, earned a bachelor’s in industrial arts from MSU in 1967, and ran a machine shop in Belgrade before taking over the family farming operation full-time in the early 2000s.

“I’m glad to see this land stay in agriculture,” said Kraft, who will now focus on farming his 80 acres along South 19th Avenue. His family grew foundation seed on contract for MSU in the 1960s and ’70s and planted MSU-developed varieties of barley and other crops, so he understands the importance of the seed program, he said.

“I think, of all the options, this is probably the best,” said Kraft, who had gotten to know Gettel in recent years and helped facilitate the connection between MSU and Bozeman Health to transfer the lease. “I thought it would be a perfect fit.”

The health system is thankful for MSU’s partnership in maintaining this open space and for advancing a connection to the region’s agricultural roots, according to Denise Juneau, Bozeman Health chief government and community affairs officer. Bozeman Health's Highland Glen property also offers trails popular with hikers, bikers and cross-country skiers, and those user groups will continue to have the same access to those trails, she said.

“Bozeman Health is inspired by a desire to take outdoor active and healthy lifestyles and combine them with traditional services, including behavioral health, to increase health and wellness in a way that is accessible to all,” said Juneau. “Trails are critically important infrastructure for an outdoor, healthy life, and preserving agricultural use on this property maintains a natural setting for this active transportation system. As we gratefully honor our 60-plus years of collaboration with the Kraft family, we can think of no better partner to continue the stewardship of these farmlands than Montana State University.”

“I am excited about this new partnership with Bozeman Health as it will allow us to expand the MSU Foundation Seed Program to meet the high demand for our seeds in Montana,” said Sreekala Bajwa, dean of MSU's College of Agriculture and MSU vice president for agriculture. “This effort will help more crop producers across Montana grow MSU varieties, which are the best for the Montana environment and go on to feed people in many parts of the world.”

The property’s three large fields, separated by a coulee, will provide enough acreage for MSU to raise three or more foundation seed varieties per year and will also provide numerous research opportunities for soil science, precision agriculture and more, Gettel said.

“We hold ourselves to a high standard in terms of being stewards of the land,” Gettel said.

1. June 5 - July 5: E Main Rouse to Church
2. June 19 - August 1: Church from Main to Babcock, and Babcock from Rouse to Church
3. August 7 - August 21: N Bozeman from Main to Mendenhall
4. August 21 - September 21: E Main from Bozeman to Rouse

All DTNBZN and Community Events will operate a planned and construction will halt or be redirected during these times.

Due to short staffing, the Gallatin County Motor Vehicle Department offices in Bozeman and Belgrade will temporarily reduce office hours to enable staff to maintain current workload.

Beginning Wednesday, June 14, the offices will be open to the public for the following hours during the work week:

• Bozeman office (Gallatin County Courthouse at 311 W. Main St.) – 10 AM to 5 PM
• Belgrade office (312 W. Main St., St. B-8) – 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM

While the offices will be closed to the public for a couple hours a day, staff will be on hand during those hours as it will allow them to catch up on paperwork.

The Gallatin County Motor Vehicle Department is responsible for titling, registration and collection of fees associated with motor vehicles in the county. Drivers’ licenses are handled by the state in a separate office.

Like many employers across the county, our Motor Vehicle Department is short staffed. The offices have a total of 16 positions but are currently down four people with another position reducing to half time soon.

Our motor vehicle offices are the highest trafficked of our county government offices, with more and more customers as our population continues growing. These reduced hours will provide breathing room for our current staff to handle their increased workloads.

We encourage residents to check our website to find information on options like online or mail-in renewals to save them a trip to our offices. We also have a live webcam for the lobby of the Bozeman office so residents can better plan their trips to the courthouse. And we are also going restart some of the programs that were great time-savers for businesses, residents, and staff during the pandemic. We will be announcing programs on the website as soon as they are available.

The reduced public office hours will remain in place until more staff hired. We will keep the public updated.

For information on job openings in the Motor Vehicle Department, and all other county departments, please visit www.governmentjobs.com/careers/gallatinmt. There you can see detailed job descriptions and apply today!

BOZEMAN — Montana State University Extension and the Montana Department of Agriculture were recently announced as partners in a $30 million U.S. Department of Agriculture effort to establish a regional center to create opportunities for food producers and increase food security.

Co-led by Colorado State University and Oregon State University, the new Northwest and Rocky Mountain Food Business Center is part of a larger effort nationwide, for which the USDA announced $400 million in funding last September.

“This funding represents a great opportunity to both identify and fill gaps that need attention while leveraging the strengths that exist within Montana’s food supply chains,” said Andy Fjeseth, bureau chief of the state of Montana’s Agricultural Finance, Trade and Development Bureau.

In total, the USDA will establish 12 regional food business centers to serve all areas of the country.

“Montana is lucky to have a robust technical assistance network within this space. I am excited to see how this funding can establish new partnerships and help move our food and ag industries forward,” Fjeseth said.

The Northwest and Rocky Mountain Food Business Center will support farm, ranch and food businesses, as well as broader food supply chain enterprises, through:

• Technical assistance programs, curricula and one-on-one business support.

• Direct investments in projects and professional development for regional food system leaders and innovators.

• Coordination via strategic sharing of resources and coordinated action across the region, and between USDA and regional stakeholders.

“We are incredibly excited for this project to get underway,” said Tommy Bass, MSU Extension livestock environment associate specialist. “Working with the Montana Department of Agriculture, USDA, local food NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and regional land-grant colleagues, I know we can make a significant impact to food supply chains across the region.”

The Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center will work with partners to target investments in communities across the region. It will focus on four areas: resilient animal protein supply chains; food entrepreneurs seeking to scale up; farms leveraging opportunities aligned with emerging climate-resilient markets; and right-sized infrastructure and investment.

The center will also serve as the hub for regional small- and mid-tier food and farm business development initiatives, supporting resilience across multiple industry sectors and creating a regional collaborative network. The center will also provide timely and relevant data and analysis for market access and development and serve as a gateway and navigator for USDA programs and funding as well as other third-party funding sources.

More information about the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Food Business Development Center can be found at NWRockyMountainRegionalFoodBusiness.com.

To kick off Montana Noxious Weed Awareness Week, the Gallatin County Weed District announces the opening of nominations for an annual award recognizing area landowners for their work in controlling noxious weeds in our area.

Gallatin County would like to honor landowners and managers who do an exceptional job of controlling noxious weeds. These stewards are not only caring for their own land but are helping to protect the wild lands and local agriculture that make our county such a wonderful place to live.

The Weed District would like to celebrate these individuals or groups who are a vital part of noxious weed management in our county with the Gallatin County Outstanding Noxious Weed Management Award.

Last year’s inaugural award went to employees at Bridger Bowl Ski Area for their contributions to noxious weed management and their dedication to promoting healthy plant communities in Gallatin County.

If you know of a person or a group who has shown exceptional leadership in the management of noxious weeds on private land in Gallatin County, please nominate them for this award. 

Nominations will be reviewed by the Gallatin County Weed Board, who will pick the winner. The Gallatin County Commission and the Weed District will then recognize the winner at a public meeting in September.

To nominate someone, fill out this form or contact the Weed District to get a copy of the form. Nominations are due by July 31.

The Gallatin County Weed District is located at 903 N. Black Ave. in Bozeman. Staff can be reached at 406-582-3265 or weeddistrict@gallatin.mt.gov.

Information about the Outstanding Noxious Weed Management Award can also be found on our website.

More info on Montana Noxious Weed Awareness Week:

Montana Noxious Weed Awareness Week was established in 2021 as a way to highlight the invasive plants in our state that outcompete native grasses and wildflowers and can seriously impair wildlife habitat, agriculture and recreational opportunities.

Noxious Weed Awareness Week is observed the first full week of June. This year it will be celebrated June 4-10.