Explore Big Sky - August 24 to September 6, 2023

FAMILIES PREPARE FOR BACK TO SCHOOL LPHS

FOOTBALL: GEORGE HELMS TRANSFERS TO IMG ACADEMY IN FLORIDA

BIG SKY SUMMER CAMP ROUND-UP

HISTORIC RULING IN MONTANA CLIMATE CHANGE TRIAL

August 24 - September 6, 2023

Volume 14, Issue No. 17

Owned and published in Big Sky, Montana PUBLISHER

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EDITORIAL

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LEAD

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OPENING SHOT 9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FAMILIES PREPARE FOR BACK TO SCHOOL

As Big Sky students prepare to zip up their backpacks and walk into a new classroom on Monday, Aug. 28, EBS spoke with local educators to get an update on the coming school year. A whole host of new staff members are joining the Big Sky School District and Discovery Academy—BSSD welcomes a group of teachers thrilled to live and work in Big Sky, and Discovery is excited about the diverse backgrounds of its new staff.

BIG SKY SUMMER CAMP ROUND-UP

With so much to do in so little time, many Big Sky kids enrolled in local summer camps to learn in the outdoors and gain new experiences. From Camp Big Sky to ARTventure, Big Sky Soccer Camp to Big Sky Broadway, many kids had the opportunity to learn and grow outside the classroom and under the big sky this summer.

HISTORIC RULING IN MONTANA CLIMATE CHANGE TRIAL

In the nation’s first-ever constitutional climate change trial, Held v. Montana, Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Kathy Seeley ruled that the 16 youth plaintiffs have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment” and revoked two Montana statutes: House Bill 971 and Senate Bill 557, which made changes to the Montana Environmental Policy Act. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say this ruling sets a precedent for similar cases around the country, seeking to protect the environmental rights of future generations.

LPHS FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

The Big Horns have been hard at work as the summer winds down. Lone Peak High School Athletic Director John Hannahs shared excitement as the preseason wraps up for football, boys and girls soccer, and girls volleyball. Three of those four Big Horn teams reached the playoffs last season, but the volleyball and football teams will advance to stiffer competition in Montana Class B—both soccer teams already competed in that division.

ON THE COVER: CONTRIBUTORS

Jack Buban, Thom Bridge, Gabriella DiCenzo, Micah Drew, Marne Hayes, Rachel Hergett, Steve Korn, Brian Ladd, Joseph T. O’Connor, Benjamin Alva Polley, Ben Spiker, Paul Swenson

The Big Sky Softball League, a co-ed summer league for adult community members, will wrap up with its end-of-season tournament on Aug. 26-27. The season was marked by difficult weather, competitive parity with plenty of dramatic upsets, and above all, themes of community and sportsmanship between the 14 teams. Pictured here, Al Malinowski of the Hillbilly Huckers (right) shakes hands with Cole Schmidt of Milkies (left), moments after the Huckers earned their spot in the regular season championship against Lone Peak Cannabis.

PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

EDITORIAL POLICIES

EDITORIAL POLICY

Outlaw Partners, LLC is the sole owner of Explore Big Sky. EBS reserves the right to edit all submitted material. Printed material reflects the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the opinion of Outlaw Partners or its editors. EBS will not publish anything discriminatory or in bad taste.

EBS welcomes obituaries written by family members or from funeral homes. To place an obituary, please submit 500 words or less to media@theoutlawpartners.com.

FOOTBALL: GEORGE HELMS TRANSFERS TO IMG ACADEMY IN FLORIDA

George Helms, a football standout from Big Sky, has helped lead Big Sky’s youth and high school football programs since middle school. Following a breakout junior season—Helms scored 24 touchdowns including six kick and punt returns, and six interceptions—he received an offer to play at IMG Academy, a private school in Florida specializing in elite high school athletics. The decision was difficult, but Helms and his family decided to test his potential on a bigger stage with hopes of playing college football. Helms enrolled at IMG for his senior football season, but reflected with EBS about his years growing up in Big Sky.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters to the editor allow EBS readers to express views and share how they would like to effect change. These are not Thank You notes. Letters should be 250 words or less, respectful, ethical, accurate, and proofread for grammar and content. We reserve the right to edit letters and will not publish individual grievances about specific businesses or letters that are abusive, malicious or potentially libelous. Include: full name, address, phone number and title. Submit to media@outlaw.partners.

ADVERTISING DEADLINE

For the September 7th August 30th, 2023

CORRECTIONS

Please report errors to media@outlaw.partners.

OUTLAW PARTNERS & EXPLORE BIG SKY P.O. Box 160250, Big Sky, MT 59716 (406) 995-2055 • media@theoutlawpartners.com

© 2023 Explore Big Sky unauthorized reproduction prohibited

As part of the roadwork on Montana Highway 64 (Lone Mountain Trail) funded by a federal TIGER Grant, a new traffic signal was recently installed in Big Sky at Little Coyote Road. It’s only the second stoplight along Big Sky’s main road and will not be activated until early October. Almost directly underneath the traffic signal, a pedestrian tunnel will allow people to move safely from the paved bike path to Little Coyote Road. These are just two of the dozen improvements being made to Big Sky’s main highway. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

6

TIGER Grant Update

Where are the projects now?

Thank you Big Sky for your patience and kindness to those who are working on this vital community project.

LITTLE COYOTE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE

Status: Bridge is installed and path construction remains

Percent complete: 95%

Remaining work: Railing adjustments and final cleanup

Anticipated completion: Bridge should be complete in August, but won’t be open for use until shared-use path paving is completed in September

7 LITTLE COYOTE SHARED-USE PATH

Status: Construction underway

Percent complete: 85%

Remaining work: Concrete and asphalt paving

Anticipated completion: Paving end of September

9

LITTLE COYOTE PEDESTRIAN TUNNEL

Status: Pedestrian tunnel in place, and backfilling and paving underway

Percent complete: 75%

Remaining work: Finish grading, guardrail, railing, seeding, etc

Anticipated completion: August

8

LITTLE COYOTE SIGNAL & TURN LANES

Status: Signal bases, electrical and stand up poles installed, and widening for turn lanes is underway

Percent complete: 30%

Remaining work: Concrete, signal, paving, pavement markings, and ADA ramps

Anticipated completion: Paving end of September, temporary pavement markings and signal turn-on anticipated for October, and chip seal and final markings in 2024

3

ANDESITE TO BIG PINE SHARED-USE PATH

Status: Construction of retaining walls underway

Percent complete: 30%

Remaining work: Path construction after walls are completed

Anticipated completion: Walls completed late August, path paving end of September, and railing, signage, seeding in October

4

LEFT-TURN LANES AT ANDESITE & BIG PINE DRIVE

Status: Not started | Percent complete: 0%

Anticipated time frame: Paving anticipated for end of September

5

TURN LANE AT HUNTLEY

Status: Widening underway, single lane closures, and flaggers

Percent complete: 20%

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2 1 11

SIGNAGE UPGRADES (CURVE WARNING, WILDLIFE, ETC.)

Status: Not started | Percent complete: 0%

Anticipated time frame: Complete fall of 2023

LEFT-TURN LANE AT BIG SKY RESORT ROAD

Status: Not started | Percent complete: 0%

Anticipated time frame: Work will take place in 2024

US 191 AREA

Status: Not started | Percent complete: 0%

Anticipated time frame: Work will take place in 2024

Remaining work: Finish building road base for widening and paving

Anticipated completion: Paving end of September

Thank you to all the partners who are improving this corridor for everyone who travels to and around Big Sky: Federal Highway Administration, Montana Department of Transportation, Big Sky Resort Area District, Gallatin County and Madison County Commissions, Sanderson Stewart, and Riverside Contracting.

Dates are estimates. Visit mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/mt64 for more project information.

LOCAL NEWS IN BRIEF

BIG SKY EVACUATION PLANS AND RESOURCES

Sgt. Daniel Haydon at the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office knows there isn’t a one-size fits all approach to preparing for wildfire in Gallatin County. Should a fire break out, weather, location and terrain all impact how emergency response is carried out, Sgt. Haydon, the patrol deputy to the Big Sky area, explained.

That’s why he emphasizes the importance for the Big Sky community to know about the resources available to them, and be prepared. As the county remains under a Red Flag Warning as of Aug. 18, Explore Big Sky sat down with Sgt. Haydon and discussed these resources.

Everbridge

Everbridge is a community notification system that allows the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office to direct notifications to specific communities. Residents should sign up for Everbridge in order to receive quick and clear notifications should an emergency occur.

For example, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s office can send out a notice to a small neighborhood to evacuate so that officials can swiftly address any potential fires that don’t threaten the broader community. readygallatin.com/public-warning/community-notification-system/

Emergency Supply Kit

An emergency supply kit in the case of wildfires allows the community to evacuate quickly and safely without having to worry about essentials. Sgt. Haydon recommends keeping a kit handy, near a door, and communicating with everyone in your household about its location and contains.

According to the Big Sky Wildfire Action Guide, the kit should include 3-5 days of clothing for family members, toiletries, medications for family and pets and important family and insurance documents.

bigskyfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2022HE-Big-SkyEvacuation-Guide-R3-SINGLES.pdf

Helpful evacuation tips

Depending on weather, location and terrain, evacuation could look different for areas of Big Sky. Some may be advised to shelter-inplace while the fire department addresses the situation, evacuate to Bozeman or West Yellowstone or evacuate to more protected areas of refuge, including the Big Sky Resort skier parking lot, Big Sky Golf Course, BASE community center and Lone Peak High School parking lot.

Other community resources

Fire Adapted Big Sky—Fire Adapted Big Sky is a collaboration of resources including current fire danger, homeowner guides and wildfire maps. fire-adapted-big-sky-wildfire-hub-bsfd.hub.arcgis.com/

Wildfire Action Guide—Produced by Fire Adapted Big Sky, the Wildfire Action Guide is full of resources should an emergency arise, including home protection tips, an evacuation map and step-by-step guide on how to evacuate yourself and your family safely.

BIG SKY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION PARTY TO CELEBRATE 25 YEARS

BIG SKY – On Aug. 30 the Big Sky Community Organization will host a 25th anniversary party from 5 to 7 p.m. at Len Hill Park. The party will include a roller derby, inflatable obstacle course, yard games, hot dogs and giveaways. Due to its timing, visitors can join in on the fun during the weekly Big Sky Farmers Market in Town Center.

“The success of this organization is due to the good will of this community,” Scott Prankatz, BSCO’s director of donor engagement said. “We want to do something that the whole community can access.”

The party will include a community input board where visitors can add suggestions or express what they want to see in recreation in Big Sky. The location is fitting—Len Hill Park was a successful preservation effort by BSCO; in 2018 they acquired the space and preserved it as a hub for community events and arts.

Access is an important theme for BSCO, which is why the anniversary event will be free and open to the public. There will be giveaways of BASE passes and displays of BSCO’s rich history in making Big Sky what it is today.

NEW TRAFFIC SIGNAL, GRAVEL DETOUR ALMOST HISTORY

BIG SKY—A new traffic signal was installed on Montana Highway 64 (Lone Mountain Trail) as part of the ongoing TIGER Grant road work. The signal will not be activated until early October.

Recent work paved over a gravel detour in place above a new pedestrian tunnel, nearing completion.

Representatives continue to encourage drivers to prepare for delays as crews work on widening highway 64 to build a left-turn lane at Huntley Drive.

As construction continues on the shared-use path between Big Pine Drive and Andesite Road, representatives said drivers can expect “minimal traffic impacts” but urged the public not to use the unfinished path.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that as of July 31, Phillip Dillavou, dba Family Meal by Phil, has, as a second delinquent offense within a 12-month period, failed to remit Resort Tax to the Big Sky Resort Area District (BSRAD) for 90+ days.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE GALLATIN RIVER

On Aug. 4, the Gallatin River Task Force hosted our 11th annual Hooked on the Gallatin fundraising event and celebration of the Gallatin River. The event brought together community supporters, lovers of the Gallatin, fly fishermen (and women), businesses, out of town guests and forever friends of the organization. It was a humbling and impressive gathering that would not have been nearly as successful without this tremendous show of support.

We hosted a star-studded panel with special guest Tom Skerritt and talked about the work that goes into protecting the river that means the world to our community. We enjoyed the company of friends and advocates, sharing information about our work and our dedication to the projects that protect our watershed. We emphasized the critical nature of community collaboration and partnerships and how our vision for a healthy Gallatin is not realized without all of us working together.

With community support and investments, we raised a tremendous amount of money for our projects and initiatives. We don’t say or take that lightly. We know that every dollar counts, and that every way in which we envision a healthier Gallatin doesn’t happen without the perfect balance of collaboration and commitment. With this support and funding, we will be able to move forward restoration projects on the Middle Fork and West Fork and further design work on future restoration along additional Gallatin River access points like Porcupine, Deer Creek and Portal Creek. All of these projects matter to the overall health of the Gallatin River.

Our gratitude is running deep on the heels of this event and we couldn’t be more appreciative of all the ways that this community continues to step up on behalf of the Gallatin River and our work. We get one event a year to take center stage and showcase who we are and what we do and invite our community to be a part of it, celebrating your own connections to the Gallatin and recognizing

your impact on our efforts. The rest of the year is spent putting all of the contributions and personal investment to work.

The celebration may have come to a close but the work goes on and we extend an enormous thank you to this community and all of our event sponsors for giving us the means to continue our work, for the river. To all of our sponsors, to all of the community support—we thank you.

While there are too many to list, a special thanks to: Outlaw Partners, American Rivers, Gallatin River Guides, Lone Mountain Ranch, Renee Kraus, Legacy Foundation, Matt Kidd, Simms, Sam and Tracy Byrne, Mizu, Natalie’s Estates Winery, and the Arneson Family.

With gratitude,

The Gallatin River Task Force

Boeschenstein · Gabby DiCenzo · Finley Timon · Luke Nitschke Taylor Jones · Luke Peinado · Giovani Dascoli · Brendan Mallory

BRIEFS FROM A BRIEF BSRAD MEETING

GOOD

NEWS FOR RIVERVIEW HOUSING PROJECT AND A PAIR OF ENVIRONMENTAL GRANTS

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—It was a short and sweet convention of the Big Sky Resort Area District board on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 9.

In about 30 minutes, the board approved opportunity fund requests from Big Sky SNO and a Big Sky landscaping partnership—just the second and third opportunity fund awarded in the short history of that program—and heard an update from Dave O’Connor, executive director of the Big Sky Community Housing Trust.

O’Connor told the board that RiverView construction remains on schedule and commended contractors for having nearly finished foundation work. Visible from Montana Highway 64 (Lone Mountain Trail), the new apartment complex broke ground in early May and O’Connor said that structures should appear in the next two weeks.

“Most of you drive by it often; progress report kind of matches what you’re seeing: foundations are nearing completion… By Labor Day, there are going to be a lot of buildings visible there,” O’Connor said.

The RiverView apartments are being constructed in collaboration with Lone Mountain Land Company and the housing trust. O’Connor explained that LMLC’s portion of RiverView—about three quarters of the project—will be constructed as modular units, but the housing trust is using panelized construction.

“It’s going to be an interesting case study of comparing two methods, side by side,” O’Connor said.

Board treasurer Steve Johnson commended the project for working around the TIGER Grant road work, but also expressed concern about the traffic impacts when LMLC’s modular units—currently stored between the Big Sky Events Arena and Big Sky Medical Center—are delivered by road.

O’Connor also announced that the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District approved the use of community housing water connection rights for a third building at the Powder Light workforce housing complex. The third building, to be constructed between the existing two, would feature entirely single-occupancy bedrooms—72 beds in total—and would be accessible to the entire Big Sky workforce through master leases from LMLC.

About three quarters of the existing Powder Light buildings, in a similar partnership with the housing trust, are controlled by LMLC and reserved for employees under the company’s umbrella. O’Connor said that the third building will be open to all businesses, with rooms allocated by a housing trust lottery.

He told EBS that’s a big step forward for community workforce housing at large, and that he applauds LMLC for recognizing the housing needs of independent businesses and “moving toward total community access.” He also said it’s worth noting that 1% of the gross rents received on Powder Light III will be remitted back to the Housing Trust to help defray its costs.

Opportunity fund enables two environmental initiatives

In July, the board approved BSRAD’s first-ever opportunity fund request. The fund was created recently using resort tax reserves and was intended to fund time-sensitive projects requiring less than $25,000, until the fund is depleted.

Amy Fonte, Big Sky SNO board member, requested $7,750 for zero-waste efforts including recycling and composting education and outreach at summer events in Big Sky.

Fonte said Big Sky SNO received matching funds and in-kind donations from Montana State University, the Big Sky Biggie and the Rut. Big Sky SNO brought volunteers and waste stations, partnering with YES Compost and 406 Recycling, to the Big Sky PBR and Wildlands Festival, as well as weekly events such as Music in the Mountains and will be helping facilitate zero-waste efforts at additional events throughout the remainder of the summer.

“So far, we have over 60 volunteers [for] over 220 hours, and we’ve reached over 40,000 people with another 30,000 through the remainder of events this summer,” Fonte said.

The board voted unanimously to approve that request.

Emily O’Connor and Jess Olsen represented the Gallatin River Task Force, requesting $25,000 for a Big Sky landscaping partnership. Funds would support a partnership between GRTF, Grow Wild, Big Sky SNO and the Big Sky Fire Department.

The project will help create cohesive and clear messaging on water-wise, fire-wise and native (non-invasive) landscape design, to be implemented by homeowners and HOAs. The partnership received $45,000 in matching funds from various local organizations and aims to have a website launched by the end of the year.

“The reason this partnership formed was we [all realized] we were messaging to the community

around landscaping practices and best management practices, and it was getting confusing for community members to have to go to every different single organization and try to put the recommendations together in a streamlined way,” Emily O’Connor explained.

“I am amazed at the proudly displayed landscaping including invasive species around here,” Johnson commented. “It just gags me. You want to just stop the car and rip them out.”

That request was also approved unanimously. Although board member Kevin Germain expressed clear support for both opportunity fund requests, he suggested the board take a close look at the rules of the opportunity fund to clarify language around each project’s required urgency.

“I am really concerned with this opportunity fund, every month it’s just going to be 25 thousand, 25 thousand, 25 thousand,” Germain said. “They’re great projects, but are we just gonna—is this what the opportunity fund was meant for?”

Board Chair Sarah Blechta pointed out that aside from time-sensitive opportunities, the opportunity fund was created so that small asks could avoid the “onerous” BSRAD funding application process.

BSRAD Executive Director Daniel Bierschwale said the board needs “to articulate up-front expectations for applicants, and stick to those.”

“We defined the up-front expectations pretty loosely a few months ago,” he said. “I think we should discuss it next week. We gotta begin to put a framework in place with clear expectations and then stick to it.”

Early in the meeting, Johnson pointed out that with annual collections “in the neighborhood of $20 million,” the Big Sky resort tax economy is approximately half a billion dollars.

“So just let that sink in. There’s a lot going on right now,” Johnson told the board.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BIG SKY RESORT AREA TAX DISTRICT.

LONE PEAK HIGH, OPHIR SCHOOL, AND DISCOVERY ACADEMY GEAR UP FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR

BY JEN CLANCEY

Classroom bulletin boards are up again with new names in Big Sky schools as the summer comes to an end. Big Sky School District begins classes on Monday, Aug. 28 and Discovery Academy kicks off the year one week later on Sept. 5.

This year, schools are welcoming new staff from various places and backgrounds. Brittany Shirley, lead learner and principal of Ophir Elementary School is excited to welcome new staff members who have been in orientation for the past week.

“Most of them have always had a dream to live in Big Sky,” Shirley said, explaining that on top of finding stellar teachers, Big Sky School District gets to bring people to the town who are passionate about the community and area. “It’s just a really good crew of people who are excited about making a difference. We have an incredible team.”

Six new staff members will join the team, with 195 students enrolled so far in the elementary school.

This is the second year of BSSD’s 4-K program, a kindergarten for four-year-olds at Ophir. Shirley explained that the 4-K program is being refined further this year.

“Our 5th graders did a lot of collaborative learning,” Shirley said. Fifth graders helped in the 4-K classroom, building relationships with students by assisting in activities and lessons.

As for challenges, Ophir Elementary is taking an “all hands on deck” approach to improving literacy in all grades.

“We’re working really hard as a team this year to make sure that all the kids get the foundational reading skills,” Shirley said. According to research from Brookings and other institutions, public schools across the country have seen negative impacts of COVID-19 on students’ academic progress.

Shirley said that her team at Ophir will continue to use scientifically based and rooted approaches to bridge the gap and get students back on track. Discovery Academy sees more students each year

Discovery Academy is a private school in Big Sky’s Town Center that takes a Montessori approach to learning. The school has grown from eight kids during its first year in 2014 to 80 students for this upcoming school year, 12 of which will start in January.

With the school’s growth, the academy has brought on nine new staff members, seven of whom are filling new positions. Discovery Academy recruits nationally, Scott Poloff, head of schools at Big Sky Discovery Academy explained, noting that teachers are coming from Alaska, Spain, Texas and other locations across the country.

“I feel like what they bring to the table are different perspectives and different experiences from parts of the U.S., or different parts of the world,” Poloff said. Aside from recruiting teachers that are in

tune with modern classroom teaching methods and technology, Poloff also believes that the varied backgrounds of teachers allows students to build better relationships.

“For us to have a high school math teacher who’s from a small town in Alaska… he brings that understanding of living in a winter climate, hunting, fishing, small town feel…there’s layers of things that he can talk to our kids about,” Poloff said.

New facilities to enhance Ophir Middle School and Lone Peak High School

Big Sky residents may have noticed the construction that’s been happening at BSSD. As construction crews complete the new science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (known as "S.T.E.A.M.") laboratory, middle and high school principal Dr. Marlo Mitchem is excited to see how the space enhances learning.

“I always look forward to seeing the students back in the building!” Mitchem said. “This year is exceptional because of our new facilities; we know the students are going to love their new learning environment.”

With a fresh new look comes new innovations to schedules and available courses.

“We have two primary goals as we start the year: Launch our new curriculum with our metal and wood shops and the CAD design and video editing lab in the new building,” Dr. Mitchem explained. “Two, successfully implement our new rotating schedule and flex time in the middle and high school. This new schedule will enhance the student experience in the classroom and will allow them to pursue their passions.”

Welcome new teachers and staff, to Big Sky! Discovery Academy new staff:

Maeve Clinton, School Counselor

Carly Wilbur, Early Childhood Classroom Teacher

Kaitlyn Batzloff, MS/HS - Science

Simon Estes, MS/HS Math

Kate Denniston, Elementary Classroom Teacher

Bailey Lesiak, Early Childhood Classroom

Noemi Duffy, K-12 Spanish

Evan Escue, Elementary/MS Math

Brodie Long, Early Childhood Classroom Teacher

Jennifer Howells, Early Childhood Classroom Teacher

New teachers at Ophir Elementary:

Christine Toy, Kindergarten

Ati Wimmer, Grade 1

Maggie Angell, Grade 1

Kenidid Campa, Grade 5

Susan Dahinden, 4K-12 librarian

Karen Schreiber, library/health enhancement (HE)

New Big Sky School District Middle and High School Staff:

Devin Doeblin, - Resource Teacher, Grades 6-12

Kate Beaudoin, - Middle and High School English

The Big Sky School District will open its 2023-24 school year on Monday, Aug. 28. OUTLAW PARTNERS PHOTO

Mural in Discovery Academy stairwell painted by 4th graders. PHOTO BY JEN CLANCEY

Library in one of Discovery Academy’s classrooms. Teachers in both Big Sky School District and Discovery Academy have been putting together rooms for new students. PHOTO BY JEN CLANCEY

WATER STORAGE A HOT LOCAL TOPIC

YELLOWSTONE CLUB PROPOSES SNOWMAKING AS TREATED WASTEWATER

STORAGE,

BSOA CONTINUES TO NEGOTIATE ON POND PROJECT AND WATER TANK

BY JACK REANEY

BIG SKY—Now under review: Twenty-six million gallons of treated wastewater and a million gallons of drinking water.

The Big Sky County Water and Sewer District held its regular board meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 15. The board discussed a request from the Yellowstone Club to amend the terms of a 2001 agreement that mandated the construction of storage ponds for 130 million gallons of treated wastewater. In addition, dissonance continues between the district and the Big Sky Owners Association—in recent months, both parties have swapped legal drafts to outline and protect their interests in an agreement which could allow for both the construction of a milliongallon community drinking water tank and the renovation of the Little Coyote Pond.

A lawsuit against the Yellowstone Club to prevent the club from using treated wastewater for snowmaking was recently dismissed by the 18th Judicial District Court of Gallatin County. The decision allows the YC to carry on with plans to begin making snow using recycling wastewater this coming winter.

The process has been adopted by numerous ski resorts in the U.S., Canada, Switzerland and Australia, according to a July press release from Lone Mountain Land Company. The club received a permit to make snow with recycled water in 2021. In a June 27 letter to GM Ron Edwards, YC Director of Environmental Operations Rich Chandler requested that this new form of manmade snow be counted toward the total amount of treated wastewater being stored on club property.

According to a 2001 agreement—between the water and sewer district and developers including the Yellowstone Club—developers are required to construct lined ponds for the storage of 130 million gallons of treated wastewater on the developers’ property. The Yellowstone Club was also required to build storage for 20.2 million gallons of treated wastewater for its own use.

Of the 150.2 million gallons needed in total treated wastewater storage, the YC is 23.7 million gallons shy of meeting that requirement. Chandler’s letter suggested that the club “use the mountain terrain as storage of treated wastewater” to reach that total.

Chandler listed benefits: snowmaking requires more stringent water testing than irrigation from storage ponds; increased snowpack depth supports aquifer recharge and keeps moisture in the mountains during fire season; snowmaking provides flexibility in case of pond repairs and avoids the risk of a pond breach.

“All references to the District’s right to store treated wastewater in storage ponds on Developer’s [sic] land shall be interpreted to include the right to store treated wastewater with Developer’s creation of snow from the District’s treated wastewater,” the letter states, asserting that the storage of treated wastewater in ponds is “comparable” to the storage of treated wastewater in the snowmaking process.

Edwards told EBS that the board came to consensus at the Aug. 15 meeting, agreeing to

create a legal “tolling agreement” to give both parties more time to reach an effective solution. The agreement will likely require a five-year period to study the impact of this new snowmaking process.

“Our problem is that we don’t have any real history with [reclaimed snowmaking] yet,” Edwards told EBS in a phone call. “They need to give us some performance history with the snowmaking to demonstrate that it’s going to work.”

Edwards said there will be more to come on this topic. For now, he said the tolling agreement creates a win-win for both parties.

Little Coyote Pond awaits agreement

This fall, the Big Sky Owners Association plans to renovate the Little Coyote Pond and restore the West Fork of the Gallatin River. However, the work cannot begin until a monthslong process to secure water rights from the district is resolved.

Although a light seemed to shine at the end of the tunnel during the district’s May meeting, negotiations are ongoing.

“That pond agreement has been back and forth,” Edwards told EBS. “They sent us a redlined version Friday evening before the meeting at about five o’clock. It was in the board packet, but nobody really had any time to react.”

District board member Dick Fast, who leads the district’s BSOA pond subcommittee, said at the Aug. 15 meeting that there’s a few sticking points in the legal document that the district still needs to work through.

In order for the district to transfer the fishery water rights to the BSOA for its pond project, the district hopes that BSOA will agree to confirm an easement along Crazy Horse Road for construction of an underground water line to a million-gallon water tank to be built on land owned by the district. Edwards said the BSOA is still clarifying legal terms on the staging area around the proposed tank, the tank height and a potential agreement to dismantle an existing tank nearby—the agreement might mandate the district to deconstruct that 1970-built tank if it ever becomes inactive for four consecutive years.

A BSOA covenant will also need to be amended to allow the water line easement. Edwards said it’s now up for vote among BSOA members living in the Sweetgrass Hills subdivision.

“That needs to pass,” Edwards told EBS of the amendment.

“[The water tank] sets us up for more storage for domestic demand and firefighting demand,” he explained. “We look at it as just a great community project, and we’re hopeful that the Sweetgrass owners see it that way.”

In a letter to the board, district Water Superintendent Jim Muscat wrote that the Sweetgrass Hills Owners Association held a meeting at BASE in early August to discuss the proposed amendment. BSOA Executive Director Suzan Scott facilitated the meeting.

“[Suzan] did a great job of explaining the proposed changes and the questions and comments I fielded were all very positive,” Muscat wrote to the board.

Edwards added that it’s rare that a community is able to proactively build an upgraded water tank while an existing tank remains in service. The construction of a new tank would not interrupt water service to the BSOA membership, Edwards said.

Water and sewer district tax relief

Edwards added a positive note from the district: In June, the district shared a restructuring of water and sewer fees including a 15% rate increase. Despite that rate increase, officials expected community members to pay less overall next year due to significantly lower taxes following the full repayment of a two-decade general obligation bond. With recent property appraisals that significantly increased many property values, the mill rate for local government services—including the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District—is set to decrease proportionally.

Last year, the district levied 35.95 mills, Edwards told EBS. This coming tax cycle, the district is levying 4.75 mills. That’s about half of the district’s estimated mill rate from before the release of property appraisals.

Despite the 15% rate increase for services used, district taxpayers can expect to spend less on water and sewer this year as taxes drop more than seven-fold.

Photographed in April, the existing water tank was built in 1970 and holds 250,000 gallons. District officials are hesitant to agree to dismantle the tank in case it continues to be used. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

The Big Sky County Water and Sewer District hopes to build a milliongallon water tank on Crazy Horse Road, but negotiations continue around details including an easement to be used to build a water line to the tank. ADOBE STOCK PHOTO

GROWING UP, BIG SKY

LOCAL CAMP OFFERINGS REACHED A NEW LEVEL THIS SUMMER FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES

BY LESLIE KILGORE

Big Sky kids had more choices than ever to stay busy over the past 10 weeks for a fun and wellrounded Montana summer. Day trips, overnight backpacking adventures, art classes, Broadway musicals, elite soccer training and various other programs for all ages and interests happened around town and in the wilderness. Here’s a few highlights of what kids got to experiance throughout the community this summer:

CAMP

BIG SKY

Camp Big Sky runs all summer and is separated by Pioneers, grades one through three, and Explorers, grades four through six. Held at both BASE community center and the yurts at the Community Park, it’s one of the most popular camps in the community. Run by the Big Sky Community Organization, days were filled this summer with biking, water activities, outdoor play, art projects and naturalist programs.

“Highlights of camp for me were being outside so much with all the kids, watching them make new friends, and bonding with counselors throughout the summer,” Carly Radimak, BSCO’s youth development manager, said.

ARTVENTURE

The Arts Council of Big Sky’s ARTventure program is offered throughout the school year at BASE and provides a variety of engaging art

classes and activities for kids in grades one through six. This summer, ARTventure also hosted several camps for kids to make art, play outside and learn about the natural world around them in Montana.

Camp Moonlight offers backpacking trips for sixth through 11th graders in Yellowstone National Park. PHOTO COURTESY OF CAMP MOONLIGHT

ARTVentures programs at BASE offer engaging art classes for children grades one through six both inside and outside.

PHOTO BY LESLIE KILGORE.

ALL SAINTS CAMP

All Saints in Big Sky offered local kids a week-long, free-of-charge camp at Big Sky Chapel. Adults and teens from the congregation along with Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp welcomed kids ages 5-11 for outdoor play, art projects, music and a performance and ice cream social to cap off the week.

“Each day campers enjoy singing, Bible study, crafts and group games,” All Saints Pastor Miriam Schmidt said. “It’s a wonderful way for community building and worship.”

BIG SKY BROADWAY

Big Sky Broadway brought lots of local kids to the stage at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center with the musical “Freaky Friday” for kids in grades 5-8, and “Finding Nemo Jr.” for grades 1-4. Over the course of two weeks, local kids put on a full length musical with lessons in acting, dancing and voice training, while also learning to create costumes, sets and work as stagehands to then perform for family and friends on the big stage at WMPAC.

“It was really fun to celebrate art with local kiddos,” Julie Edwards, studio and art education manager at BASE, said. “But the best part was seeing visiting families attend our camps too. Watching local students share their abilities and interests in art with kids not just from the Big Sky community was fun to see.”

BIG SKY SOCCER CAMP

Aspiring soccer players in Big Sky didn’t have to drive to Bozeman for extra coaching this summer, thanks to Jorge Meneses who started Big Sky Soccer Camp. Raised in Jackson, Wyoming and a graduate of Montana State University, Meneses started Big Sky Soccer Camp to provide more options to Big Sky kids for summer training and practice. Held Monday through Friday from July 10 through Aug. 11, athletes from ages three to 13 worked on improving their skills, strategy and physical fitness on the field.

“It was great to get to know kids in Big Sky while also helping them improve their skills and grow the soccer community here without having to go to Bozeman for more training,” Meneses said.

“Big Sky Broadway is at the core of our arts ecosystem,” WMPAC’s Executive and Artistic Director, John Zirkle said. “There’s nothing better than local kids singing their guts out on stage!”

CAMP MOONLIGHT

Located at the base of Lone Mountain at Moonlight Basin’s Ulery’s Lake, Camp Moonlight is offered to Moonlight members and Big Sky residents, ages five and up. Programs this summer ranged from a week of learning about the habitats of Montana wildlife, to a summer Olympics competition, to looking at art in nature. Camp Moonlight also offered three- and four-night backpacking trips for sixth through 11th-graders in Yellowstone National Park.

“It’s crucial that families have opportunities for their kids to play as hard as they work in a community like Big Sky,” Camp Moonlight Director Lex Hinchey said. “To be able to provide a fun, safe and experientially focused program for kids means we can play a role in helping them find leadership, teamwork, social awareness, courage and self-value that fits their size. If that can translate into skills they take with them to give back to Big Sky in the future, and they had fun along the way, then we’ve done our job.”

All Saints Camp hosts week-long, free summer camps for ages 5-11. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALL SAINTS CONGREGATION

Kids learning about Montana habitat in their own backyard. PHOTO COURTESY OF CAMP MOONLIGHT

Big Sky Broadway put kids on stage for summer performances such as "Finding Nemo." PHOTO COURTESY OF BIG SKY BROADWAY

REGIONAL JUDGE RULES IN FAVOR OF YOUTH PLAINTIFFS IN MONTANA CLIMATE LAWSUIT

BY MICAH DREW MONTANA FREE PRESS

A Montana district judge on Monday issued a ruling in the nation’s first constitutional climate change trial declaring the youth plaintiffs have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment” while revoking two Montana statutes. The state attorney general’s office said it will appeal the ruling.

The 103-page order by Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Kathy Seeley comes two months after the landmark Held v. Montana trial took place in Helena, and explicitly states that Montana’s greenhouse gas emissions are “proven to be a substantial factor in causing climate impacts to Montana’s environment, and harm and injury to the youth plaintiffs.” It also rolls back two laws enacted by Montana’s Republican-led Legislature this year, House Bill 971 and Senate Bill 557, which made changes to the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA).

“Plaintiffs have proven that as children and youth, they are disproportionately harmed by fossil fuel pollution and climate impacts,” the order states. “The Defendants have the authority under the statutes by which they operate to protect Montana’s environment and natural resources, protect the health and safety of Montana’s youth, and alleviate and avoid climate impacts by limiting fossil fuel activities that occur in Montana when the MEPA analysis shows that those activities are resulting in degradation or other harms which violate the Montana Constitution,” the order continues.

The lawsuit, the first of its kind to reach trial, was filed by 16 youth plaintiffs from across Montana who alleged the state violated their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by promoting the fossil fuel industry and exacerbating climate change.

“As youth, we are exposed to a lot of knowledge about climate change. We can’t keep passing it on to the next generation when we’re being told about all the impacts that are already happening,” Rikki Held, the suit’s lead plaintiff, told the Flathead Beacon before the trial. “In some ways, our generation feels a lot of pressure, kind of a burden, to make something happen because it’s our lives that are at risk.”

The complaint focused on a provision in MEPA that prohibits state agencies from considering greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts while conducting environmental reviews.

Seeley’s ruling declared that portion of MEPA unconstitutional, as well as a section enacted by SB 557 requiring groups challenging state permitting actions to post a bond before filing a lawsuit and to seek a preliminary injunction, a tough-to-meet legal standard that would immediately halt a project.

“We’re very pleased with the ruling,” Roger Sullivan, a Kalispell-based attorney for the plaintiffs, told the Beacon Monday. “It is stunning in its scope, and I think that the message from the judicial branch is very clear. The task will now be for the executive branch of our state government and the Legislature to abide by this order.”

In a statement, Julia Olson, executive director of the Oregon-based law firm Our Children’s Trust, which brought the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs, called the ruling a “huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy, and for our climate.”

“For the first time in U.S. history, a court ruled on the merits of a case that the government violated the constitutional rights of children through laws and actions that promote fossil fuels, ignore climate change, and disproportionately imperil young people,” Olson said in a prepared statement. “As fires rage in the West, fueled by fossil fuel pollution, today’s ruling in Montana is a game-changer that marks a turning point in this generation’s efforts to save the planet from the devastating effects of human-caused climate chaos.”

Olson said the ruling provides an evidentiary record and legal precedent that will influence future climaterelated lawsuits. The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law currently tracks 2,424 climate-change related legal cases in the world, 1,591 of which are filed in U.S. jurisdictions, including two upcoming Our Children’s Trust trials. Next summer, a youth-led climate case against the Hawaii Department of Transportation will proceed to trial, while a federal judge ruled earlier this summer that Juliana v. United States is also cleared for trial.

Attorneys with the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC), which served as co-counsel for the plaintiffs, said Seeley’s ruling “underscores the reality that Montana’s government is actively working to undermine our constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.”

“Judge Seeley’s decision comes at a time when we’re seeing the impacts of climate change accelerate — from low streamflows and lake levels to unprecedented heat waves, floods, and wildfires,” according to a prepared statement by Melissa Hornbein, senior attorney with WELC. “These are the climate realities the youth plaintiffs and expert witnesses told us about on the stand, while the state disclaimed any responsibility and dismissed them. We’re relieved that the court recognized that these youth plaintiffs are already feeling the impacts of the climate crisis, as well as the dangers threatening their future if the state doesn’t take meaningful action to address it.”

Much of the landmark trial that unfolded over seven days in June centered on the connection between Montana’s warming climate and the harm alleged by the plaintiffs, who testified that their constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment” has been violated by the state’s practice of promoting and permitting the fossil fuel industry, thereby contributing to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs spent five days of the trial calling on expert witnesses — including leading climate scientists, glaciologists, policy experts and mental health professionals — to describe the harms the plaintiffs say they have suffered because of Montana’s promotion and permitting of the fossil fuel industry. Ten of the young plaintiffs, ranging in age from 14 to 22, also took the stand to describe how their quality of life has been compromised by both the real-time effects of climate change and its impending impacts.

The state, meanwhile, disputed the evidence that burning fossil fuels contributes to climate change in a meaningful way, and denied that Montana’s increasingly severe wildland fire seasons and drought are linked to its legacy of supporting fossil-fuel burning projects reliant on coal, oil and gas.

The entirety of the state’s defense spanned less than one full day of trial, compared to the five days during which plaintiffs’ attorneys called witnesses. The defense called just one expert witness, an economist, whose testimony Seeley said “was not well-supported, contained errors, and was not given weight by the Court.”

Seeley’s ruling states that Montana’s constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment includes climate, and affirms the connection between greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and harm to Montana’s youth. The court also found that allowing the state to consider climate change in permitting questions “would provide the clear information needed to conform their decisionmaking to the best science and their constitutional duties and constraints and give them the necessary information to deny permits for fossil fuel activities when inconsistent with protecting Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.”

TWO MONTHS AFTER THE LANDMARK ENVIRONMENTAL TRIAL CONCLUDED, A JUDGE HAS RULED THE PLAINTIFFS HAVE A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO A CLEAN AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT. MONTANA’S ATTORNEY GENERAL WILL APPEAL THE RULING

Emily Flower, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, called the ruling “absurd” and described the trial as a “tax-payer funded publicity stunt” in a statement. “The State will appeal,” she said.

Youth plaintiffs in the climate change lawsuit Held vs. Montana arrive at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse on June 12, 2023, for the first day of hearings in the trial. THOM BRIDGE/INDEPENDENT RECORD

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DONORS MAKING A DIFFERENCE WILDLANDS FESTIVAL RAISES OVER $500,000 WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM NOTABLE BUSINESSES

BY LESLIE KILGORE

As the memories of another eventful summer in Big Sky begin to fade and the community prepares for another fall and winter season, it’s difficult not to continue celebrating the fundraising efforts benefitting river conservation and education during this year’s Wildlands Festival.

With funds that totaled $513,473 to preserve and protect the country’s vital waterways, the festival’s success this year came from a variety of outlets including over $250,000 in auction items donated by esteemed brands for the weekend’s events.

Through their generous partnerships, VOORMI, Hey Bear, MIZU, Baldface Lodge, Boundary Expeditions, Stern Pinball, Las Rosadas, Canyon Ranch, Madison RR, Peak Skis, Elevee, Stone Glacier, SIMMS, Aire and Montage Big Sky all stepped forward to make a local and national impact towards river conservation.

"Montage is honored to have contributed to the successful fundraising efforts towards river conservation during the Wildlands Festival weekend,” Victorio Gonzalez, general manager at Montage Big Sky said. “Taking an active role in serving and supporting the needs of our community is an essential part of our commitment to Big Sky.

The beneficiaries for this year’s festival included Gallatin River Task Force, Big Sky’s local nonprofit that leads efforts in river conservation for southwest Montana and, most notably, the Gallatin River, and American Rivers who announced earlier this year their goal to protect one million miles of rivers by 2030. Funds raised at the Wildlands Festival will

help these organizations work toward their goals in preserving and protecting rivers.

“Contributing to a great cause and a festival that supports communities is something we always look

to partake in,” Leena Jain, Canyon Ranch’s CEO, said.

In their efforts to support sustainability and end single-use plastics, Mizu water bottles chose Wildlands Festival to receive funds from their annual 1% For The Planet donation, and also contributed reusable customized drinkware for the event.

“Water is a foundation,” Stephanie Pogue, VP of Mizu said. “With funds from the Wildlands Festival supporting American Rivers and the Gallatin River Task Force, Mizu is proud to contribute towards protecting one million miles of rivers by 2030.”

Donors spanned the western region and continentals borders, including Baldface Lodge, a backcountry ski lodge nestled in the Selkirk Mountains in Nelson, BC.

“I’m stoked to support the work of the good folks at American Rivers,” said Jeff Pensiero of Baldface Lodge. “Nothing would make this Canadian angler happier than seeing more salmon finding their way back up here!”

As one of the largest and most attended events in Big Sky’s history, Outlaw Partners will continue the success of Wildlands Festival by partnering with artists, conservationists, notable brands and charitable organizations passionate about saving wild and open spaces around the country and beyond in events to come.

Actor and conservation advocate Tom Skerritt speaks during the Hooked on the Gallatin event during a panel discussing the future and importance of our local waterways. OUTLAW PARTNERS PHOTO

Wildlands Festival’s Hooked on the Gallatin charity dinner gathered over $250,000 in donations for attendees to bid on during the silent and

A BENEFIT FOR RIVER CONSERVATION

THANK YOU TO OUR WILDLANDS AUCTION DONORS!

LAS ROSADAS

MADISON DOUBLE R

CANYON RANCH

MONUMENT & POWDER MOUNTAIN RESORT

MONTAGE INTERNATIONAL

BOUNDARY EXPEDITIONS

BALDFACE

THE SNOW FAMILY

MONTANA STATE FOOTBALL

PEARL JAM

BILL LERCH FLY FISHING

JEFF MROZ

BIG SKY EVENTS

HEY BEAR

BURCH BARREL

CAROL COLLINS

OBOZ

FITFO

STONE GLACIER

BLUE BUDDHA

DAVE’S SUSHI

NATALIE’S ESTATE WINERY

LONE MOUNTAIN RANCH

JAKE MOSHER

PATTY BAUCHMANN

JENIFER MCCLELLAN

BIND GUITARS BY KMFH

YELLOWSTONE SCENIC TOURS

SIMMS

NANCY HAGEN

TROUTROUTES

YELLOW DOG FLY FISHING

ELEVEE CUSTOM CLOTHING

MAGGIE SHANE

JENELLE JOHNSON

TOM AND JULIE SKERRITT

BEN MILLER

BILL & KAREN BRACE

BIG SKY LANDSCAPING

MOUNTAIN HOT TUB

RYAN JOLLEY

GREG SCHEIBEL

PATRICK MCCLELLAN

GALLATIN RIVER GUIDES

BETSY MCFADDEN

BODE MILLER & PEAK SKIS

SHELLY BERMONT FINE JEWELRY

NANCY HAGEN

PHIL DILLAVOU

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CAROL COLLINS

JOHN SNISCAK

ELEMENT BOZEMAN

PLONK

SUMMIT AVIATION

ED SYPNIEWSKI

SCOTT SCHMIDT

ONWATER

CONFLUENCE CONSULTING

GEYSER WHITEWATER

EXPEDITIONS

BRIDGER BOWL SKI AREA

DANIEL ROBERTS & EAST SLOPE OUTDOORS

ANNIE MCCOY ART

ALPINE WATER

ROXY’S MARKET

RALPH OBERG

JIM KLUG

SPORTS

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW: NEW TEAM CAPTAINS AND SENIOR LEADERS

BY JEN CLANCEY

Lone Peak High School athletes have been preparing for another sports season this upcoming fall. EBS spoke to Big Sky School District Athletic Director John Hannahs to learn more about the teams and upcoming schedules.

The first practice for fall sports was on Aug. 11, though some teams have been practicing and training throughout the summer. “All of our coaches have been working a lot with our athletes this summer, in the weight room, the conditioning, and holding practices, they’ve done an outstanding job,” Hannahs said.

Soccer getting more competitive with each year

The first soccer games will be home on Aug. 25 against Polson High School with the boys playing at 4 p.m. and the girls playing at 6 p.m. The Polson game will be followed by another home game on

Friday, Aug. 26 against Big Fork High School. This season, numbers are high according to Hannahs. “We’ve become more competitive every single year we’ve offered the program,” Hannahs said.

The girls team has 22 players on the roster and will be led by captains Astrid McGuire and Chloe Unger. Captains Mason Dickerson, Beckett Johnson and Cash Beattie will lead the boys soccer team, with 20 players on the roster.

Football kicks off with players ‘eager’ to get on the field

Football kicks off their season with an away game against Manhattan Christian High School on Friday, Aug. 26 and will play their first home game on Sept. 8 against Drummond High School.

Seniors Juliusz Shipman, Charlie Distad, David Perdue and Aiden Germain are set to lead the Big Horns in the upcoming season.

Girls volleyball takes on a new ‘adventure’

The girls volleyball team will play their first match at West Yellowstone High School on Aug. 25 with JV starting at 5 p.m. and varsity to follow. Their first home game will be on Sept. 2 against Shields Valley. This year, the volleyball team will play in Class B, competing against high schools with more students.

“We’re excited to play kind of a new level of opponent and shake things up a little bit. It’s always a good sign when your programs grow along with your school,” Hannahs said. “It’s going to be kind of an adventure.”

The team will be led by Ella Meredith, Emerson Tatum, Dylan Klein and Vera Grabow—seniors on the team.

The Big Horns volleyball team reached the Class C Western Divisional tournament last season, and head coach Bailey Dowd was intentional to give playing time to young players. Those players will need to fill the roles of three recent graduates who helped lead last year’s team. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY

An impact player on three varsity teams in his freshman year, sophomore Ebe Grabow will add his athleticism to a team led by five seniors.

PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

Rising sophomore Cate Leydig scored eight goals in her freshman season, good for second on the team. The young core will look to improve and reach the Class A playoffs this season.

PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

BIG SKY FOOTBALL STANDOUT TAKES

TALENT TO IMG ACADEMY

GEORGE HELMS REFLECTS ON BROTHERHOOD IN BIG SKY AND THE TOUGH VDECISION TO TRANSFER

BY JACK REANEY

One of the most talented athletes in Lone Peak High School history, rising senior George Helms faced the most difficult decision of his life.

It began with a text message on Nov. 7, 2022. In the season that ended days earlier, Helms tore up the Montana Class C gridiron: he scored 24 Big Horn touchdowns and nabbed six interceptions, with a half-dozen punt and kick returns. He dominated on both sides of the ball in eight-man football and was named first team all-state.

Helms’ phone was sitting face-up on his desk during math class taught by coach James Miranda. The screen lit up. In an August phone call with EBS, Helms recalled the text bubble:

“What’s up George,” wrote the running back coach at IMG Academy, a private high school in Bradenton, Florida specializing in elite athletics. “Would you be interested in IMG? We looked at your film and we really liked it.”

Helms raised his hand and asked to use the restroom.

“I Immediately called my dad,” Helms recalled. “I said, ‘Dad, you’re not gonna believe who just reached out to me.’”

When the shock subsided, Helms saw what all this meant—if the coach was serious and IMG was a good fit, it would be a choice between Lone Peak High School or IMG Academy.

‘It created a brotherhood... It made us family.’

While sharing his story, Helms echoed the following sentiments: First, his decision to attend IMG Academy was painful. Second, he cherishes his memories from Big Sky and feels that he, in some sense, let his teammates down. But most importantly, he does not regret the decision he made.

“My goal since I was a kid was to be able to play college football,” he said. With the level of coaching, training, competition and exposure at IMG, he’s likely taking a step closer. But he’s lived in Big Sky his entire life and said it’s all he’s ever known.

Helms reflected on elementary school, when his classmates started tossing the pigskin on the football field.

“We all fell in love with it. That’s when our dream started, when we realized we can all be really good if we start now,” Helms remembered. He’s talking about a handful of former classmates, now Lone Peak seniors beginning their final campaign without him.

In fifth grade, Helms and those classmates would carpool to Bozeman three days a week to play tackle football. Their team went undefeated and won the district. Helms said his first taste of victory ignited a competitive spirit.

In eighth grade, his classmates recognized their potential in elevating the Ophir Miners youth

football program. Their chemistry carried the Miners to a one-loss season representing Big Sky.

“It created a brotherhood, essentially,” Helms said. “It made us family. Which is why it’s so hard for me to leave Big Sky for my senior year.”

That group of eighth graders rolled into basketball season and reached the district final. Helms recalls the championship game against Bozeman’s Monforton School in front of a packed home crowd—the entire high school attended.

“I can remember looking up to the high schoolers, and how I wanted to be just like them,” Helms said. “Really that eighth grade basketball game, that’s probably a memory I’ll have for the rest of my life.”

High school football arrived just months later. Helms started at tight end as a freshman. The team had 10 players—two substitutes in the eight-man format—and only one full-time coach.

“It was awesome,” Helms said. “We did not win a game. [The camaraderie] was exactly what you want a football team to look like. Or any team. We were all best friends.”

As they had before, Helms’ crew kept their sights high. The next summer, they began pushing kids to hit the weight room—but they kept it fun. They’d drive to the green bridge after lifting.

“We’re an athletic group, we’re all athletes,” Helms remembers them deciding. “Let’s step this up. We really just started being leaders, our class did.”

George Helms was a leader of Big Sky’s football program but chose to attend an elite sports academy in Florida for his senior year.

PHOTO BY JASON BACAJ

The work paid off and they won two games their sophomore season, with support from a revamped coaching staff.

One win came against Ennis High School, something Helms said had never happened before.

“Complete underdogs, people were saying we were gonna get smoked,” he recalled. It was homecoming week, Oct. 8, 2021, and the Big Horns stole a 38-36 overtime victory after Helms caught the gamewinning pass from quarterback and sophomore classmate Juliusz Shipman.

“That really sparked us all,” Helms said. “We finally saw what we can do.”

Driven by that spark, in the 2022 football season, the Big Horns reached the playoffs for the second time in school history. The team had a new head coach, Big Sky School District Superintendent Dustin Shipman, and a deeper team that had grown from 10 to 24 players in two years. On Sept. 19, 2022, they faced Cascade High School, ranked sixth in the state, and beat the undefeated Badgers, 47-42.

Helms rushed for over 260 yards, scored four touchdowns including two kick returns, and called it “probably the best game of football I’ve ever played.”

It was a big game for the team too—the Big Horns took the turf with a can’t-lose mentality.

“We had the whole town behind us, playing on a new field,” he said. “That’s really when our momentum kicked in.”

Momentum carried them to the Class C playoffs. The Big Horns drove 493 miles to face Culbertson High School near the North Dakota border. They lost the game, stifled by new competition and an early injury to the team’s only senior, Pierce Farr. But Helms will remember the 2022 team for its “indescribable chemistry.”

After 2022, Farr was the only player to graduate. The Big Horns have a lot to look forward to as the program continues to grow, which made Helms’ decision all the more difficult.

Down to the wire

At IMG Academy, Helms will move from eightman Montana Class C football to standard 11-man

football in Florida 6A. He’ll play home games in a 35,000-person stadium. Some of his teammates have division I offers. He might not score 24 touchdowns—he’s sharing the backfield with a West Virginia University commit—but he’s also starting at free safety for the IMG Academy Varsity White team, favored to win state.

“It’s like a whole ‘nother level,” Helms summarized. A couple weeks after the coach texted Helms in early November 2022, Helms visited IMG. He said the facilities were incredible.

Three weeks later, Helms decided to apply for the spring semester—IMG has a spring football season with training, intrasquad games, and one exhibition game against Puerto Rico’s national team.

Helms got teacher references, including his head football coach and superintendent, Dr. Shipman. He was accepted to IMG and decided to enroll.

“We are happy for George to be pursuing his education and athletic opportunities where he sees most appropriate for him,” coach Shipman wrote to EBS in August. “We wish him well as his future, both academically and athletically, unfolds.”

Helms arrived in Florida for the spring semester on Jan. 3, 2023, still undecided about the permanence of his decision, even when he returned home for the summer.

Coaches from both schools wanted to know his plan for senior year.

“I do want people to know that I did plan on returning to Lone Peak,” Helms said. “I went to a [football] team camp, I went to a basketball tournament with Lone Peak.”

Three weeks after indicating that he wanted to stay in Big Sky, he got a call from the IMG coach to let him know that his spot was still open. Helms weighed his options. He wondered what his future self would think, 20 years later.

“By no means was it an easy decision,” Helms said. “So many sleepless nights. I chose the decision that I believe fits me for my future. I just want people to know that, that I didn’t leave Big Sky for anything. I love the community, I love the kids there... And really it saddens me to leave. I just believe that this was a decision that sets me up best for my future.”

Helms said he did receive some community backlash. He doesn’t want people to think he was lying. He was conflicted, he explained.

“Life is full of choices, is what I’ve been told by many people,” Helms said. “This is certainly one of those choices I will remember for the rest of my life.”

He said there’s nothing like playing on a Friday night at the Big Horn Coliseum in Big Sky, and it’s something you dream about as a kid.

“I really just want to thank the community in Big Sky, for always supporting me and my class. Homecoming week, driving down the road and seeing our names on the windows... That’s something we never forget,” he said.

“I also want to thank coach Shipman,” Helms added. “He’s done an incredible thing in one year with our program... He’s brought everyone together in football and created relationships that will last forever... He’s really just created a bunch of young men.”

By deciding to chase a dream at IMG, Helms is gearing up to play college football. But if the right opportunity doesn’t line up, he might just focus on academics.

“Life isn’t football,” he explained. “There’s life beyond football, life beyond athletics. I have a whole future ahead of me, and I’m just trying to navigate the world.”

Helms added a note to his Big Horn teammates: “Beat Christian,” he said.

The Big Horns open their 2023 season on the road against Manhattan Christian High School this Friday, Aug. 26.

George Helms (7) takes the field in 2022. COURTESY OF GEORGE HELMS

At IMG, Helms takes handoffs from quarterback Ely Hamrick who spent middle school in Big Sky. The two are friends on and off the field, Helms said. COURTESY OF GEORGE HELMS

MAKING IT IN BIG SKY: BIGGERSTAFF CONSTRUCTION

BY GABRIELLA DICENZO CONTENT MARKETING INTERN

BIG SKY– Under the vast Montana sky, where alpine landscapes meet boundless opportunities, lies a tale of craftsmanship and commitment with Biggerstaff Construction. For this week’s Making it in Big Sky, Explore Big Sky spoke with Jerad Biggerstaff, whose roots run deep in the fabric of the town. The story of Biggerstaff Construction is woven with a legacy that began with Jerad’s father, Bob, and follows a passion for building quality homes that echoes in the valleys and peaks of our community.

This series is part of a paid partnership with the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce. The following answers have been edited for brevity.

Explore Big Sky: First, tell me a bit about yourself, when did you first come to Big Sky and what brought you here?

Jerad Biggerstaff: I am a Big Sky native and have been in Big Sky since 1980. I was elsewhere for college and some work opportunities, but my home has always been Big Sky. It's difficult to want to be anywhere else! I grew up in the much smaller Big Sky, greatly enjoying the outdoors, skiing and the ski team. I was a student at Ophir School, Bozeman High School and Montana State University. I am working with Biggerstaff Construction, which is a local construction company founded by my father,

Bob Biggerstaff. My family, including my wife Betsy and our three kids, Jens, Blake and Solveig, are living in Big Sky. They attend Ophir school, and Betsy is a pharmacist at the local pharmacy. We love being outside and enjoying all the outdoor activities and sports. Activities at the top of our list are alpine skiing, nordic skiing, trail running and hiking.

Bob, me and the other members of the Biggerstaff team have been a part of the building and local communities for many years and there's no plan to change that.

EBS: When was Biggerstaff Construction founded?

JB: Biggerstaff Construction was founded in 1979-1980. Bob Biggerstaff is the founder of the company. I started working full time with the company in 2008.

EBS: Did Bob see an unfilled need in the area?

JB: Bob started Biggerstaff Construction when there was a need for contractors, when Big Sky was much slower than it is today. He started his Big Sky career with some custom homes and the Arrowhead Condominiums at Big Sky Resort. The road to Mountain Village, at that time, was still a dirt road.

EBS: What services do you provide, and what is your service area?

JB: We are a general contractor. Our primary focus is custom homes and remodels, but we also build multi-family and commercial.

EBS: With development being such a demand right now, what sets you apart from other options?

JB: Being a long time local. Bob, me, and the other members of the Biggerstaff team have been a part of the building and local communities for many years and there's no plan to change that. Biggerstaff Construction's clients do not need to worry about their builder not being in town tomorrow. Strong communication, weekly meetings and a good project management platform allows us to work together, keep up to date on progress and minimize changes to schedule and budget.

EBS: What’s the best thing about working in Big Sky?

JB: A minute away from the outdoors, the best skiing and having small town friends and clients that share similar interests and love for the outdoors.

EBS: What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?

JB: Treat the local community well and the rest will follow.

The Biggerstaff Construction crew. PHOTO COURTESY OF JERAD BIGGERSTAFF

– Jerad Biggerstaff, Biggerstaff Construction

BY BEN SPIKER EBS CONTRIBUTOR PAID AD

Enjoying the ride of being a grandparent is mainly about fun and games (and candy, of course). But grandparents can be in a unique position to help teach children about money, saving and investing. The lessons they learn while they’re young may become so engrained they will help guide them well into their adult lives.

Begin with the three “buckets”

The next time you slip your grandkids some money (you know you do), consider employing this classic method for teaching the value of money and saving, especially if they’re very young.

The idea is simply to have them divide the money into three “buckets”—whether they’re literal or figurative is up to you:

1. Spending. The first bucket is for them to spend right away on whatever they want, like a toy or a special treat (with their parents’ permission, of course).

2. Saving. The second is for saving for something bigger and more expensive they’d like to have down the road. This can teach them about delaying

gratification and setting a savings goal. If you’re looking for a good excuse to set up a custodial savings account for them at a bank, this could fit the bill.

3. Giving. Finally, have them use part of the money to help them learn about giving back and supporting a cause they really believe in. Since young children often love animals, the local humane society may be a good place to start.

Introduce investing

When you think they’re ready, introduce them to the potential rewards and risks of investing. Help them understand the difference between owning a stock—taking an ownership position in a company that may pay a dividend—and a bond—lending money to a company or government entity in return for interest payments.

Discuss the value of not putting all their eggs in one basket or in other words, diversification. Explain that a portfolio that’s mainly stocks may have a greater return potential than one that’s primarily bonds but is also likely to experience greater volatility from market activity.

You could also encourage them to begin setting long-term investment goals. Although being able to afford retirement is motivating for adults, it may not resonate with them at this point. However, higher education, a new car or a fun trip just might work.

Making it real

Since they’ve already learned something about banking through that savings account you (hopefully) helped them open, as they get older, it could be a good time to help make investing real by assisting them with starting an online investment account and providing some start-up funds. Keep in mind you can give up to $17,000 ($34,000 for a couple) in 2023 to an individual without incurring gift tax implications.

After they’ve seen firsthand how investing works, explain that as they get older potentially accumulate assets and have a more complicated financial situation, they should consider working with a professional financial advisor to help them work toward their long-term goals and insure they can Enjoy the Ride of life!

Diversification cannot eliminate the risk of fluctuating prices and uncertain returns.

Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC. Shore to Summit Wealth Management is a separate entity from WFAFN. Shore to Summit Wealth Management is located at 105 E. Oak Street, Unit 1A Bozeman, MT 59715 # 406-219-2900. Wells Fargo advisors financial network is not a legal or tax advisor. Please consult with a tax advisor before taking action.

Clean your gear and watercraft. Remove mud, water, and vegetation after every trip. Use a brush and water, there is no need for chemicals.

Drain water from your boat and equipment at your access point. Pull the drain plug. Use a sponge for items that can’t be drained.

Dry your equipment thoroughly. The longer you allow waders and other equipment to dry out between trips, the better.

BIG SKY EVENTS CALENDAR

Thursday, August 24 - Wednesday, September 6

If your next event falls between Sep. 7 - Sept. 20, please submit it to media@theoutlawpartners.com by September 1.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 24

Al-Anon Meeting

Big Sky Chapel, 4 p.m.

Pop Up Jazz Concert with Bowdog Wilson Hotel Lobby Bar, 5 p.m.

Community Potluck

BASE, 5 p.m.

Music in the Mountains: Jesse Daniels Len Hill Park, 6 p.m.

AA Meeting

Big Sky Chapel, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 25

Storytime at the Library

Big Sky Community Library, 10 a.m.

All Ages Pick-up Volleyball BASE, 6 p.m.

Live Music: Mike Murray Duo Waypoint, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 26

AA Meeting

Big Sky Chapel, 7:30 a.m.

Big Sky Biggie

285 Simkins, 8 a.m.

St. Joseph Mass

Big Sky Chapel, 5 p.m.

Live Music: Sofia Talvik

The Waypoint, 8 p.m.

Live Music: Ian Thomas & the band of Drifters Tips Up, 9:45 p.m.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 27

St. Joseph Mass

Big Sky Chapel, 8 a.m.

All Saints Big Sky Service Big Sky Chapel, 10 a.m.

Sunday Morning Yoga with Erica BASE, 10 a.m.

Sunday Service Soldiers Chapel, 11 a.m.

Big Sky Christian Fellowship Service

Big Sky Chapel, 4:30 p.m.

MONDAY, AUGUST 28

Storytime BASE, 10:30 a.m.

NA Meeting

Big Sky Medical Center, 6:30 p.m.

Trivia

Tips Up, 9 p.m.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 29

Advanced Pick-Up Volleyball BASE, 7 a.m.

Free Community Yoga

The Wilson Plaza, 9 a.m.

Wine and Dine Tuesday Rainbow Ranch Lodge, 5 p.m.

On the Horizon Movie: Assault on El Cap

The Waypoint, 8 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30

Outdoor Mat Pilates/ Yoga with Wendy BASE, 11 a.m.

St. Joseph Mass 32 Marketplace unit 4 (Meadow Village), 12 p.m.

NA Meeting

Big Sky Medical Center, 12 p.m.

BSCO 25th Anniversary Party

Len Hill Park, 5 p.m.

15th Annual Big Sky Farmers Market

Big Sky Town Center, 5 p.m.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 31

Al- Anon Meeting

Big Sky Chapel, 4 p.m.

Artist-in-Residence: Kene Sperry

Montage Big Sky Living Room, 4:30 p.m.

Elementary School Thursdays: Afterschool Artventure Class Arts Council Studio at BASE, 4 p.m.

Music in the Mountains: Pinky and the Floyd Len Hill Park, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

Storytime at the Library

Big Sky Community Library, 10 a.m.

Evening Yoga Flow with Erica BASE, 5:30 p.m.

Karaoke Night

The Waypoint, 9 p.m.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

AA Meeting

Big Sky Chapel, 7:30 a.m.

Pickleball Open Play BASE, 9 a.m.

St. Joseph Mass

Big Sky Chapel, 5 p.m.

Live Music: Mint!

The Waypoint, 8 p.m.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

St. Joseph Mass Big Sky Chapel, 8 a.m.

All Saints Big Sky Service Big Sky Chapel, 10 a.m.

Sunday Service Soldiers Chapel, 11 a.m.

Big Sky Christian Fellowship Service Big Sky Chapel, 4:30 p.m.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

Storytime BASE, 10:30 a.m.

NA Meeting Big Sky Medical Center, 6:30 p.m.

Trivia Tips Up, 9 p.m.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

Free Community Yoga

The Wilson Plaza, 9 a.m.

Wine and Dine Tuesday Rainbow Ranch Lodge, 5 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6

St. Joseph Mass 32 Marketplace unit 4 (Meadow Village), 12 p.m.

15th Annual Big Sky Farmers Market Big Sky Town Center, 5 p.m.

Trivia Night The Waypoint, 8 p.m.

FEATURED EVENT: BIG SKY BIGGIE

Saturday Aug. 26, 8 A.M.

The Big Sky Biggies is back for its fifth year, pitting mountain bikers from all over against each other on a course that traverses Big Sky’s technical, rugged trail network, featuring a 30- and 60-mile course. With community at heart, the race raises money for local nonprofits such as Big Sky Community Organization and Southwest Montana Mountain Biking Association. Cheer on these lovers of type-two fun along the course. Learn more at bigskybiggie.com

OPINION

A LA CARTE THE FRUITS OF SUMMER

BY RACHEL HERGETT EBS COLUMNIST

I’ve never been a fan of the heat. When temperatures rise, I need shade and a breeze, a cool body of water in the immediate vicinity, or someone to fan me with palm leaves and feed me grapes (it’s a paid position—no forced labor here). I also find it very hard to work up an appetite. And you’re kidding me if you think I’m about to cook a meal inside.

So what does one turn to for sustenance when the sun’s rays are already baking everything around you? Something light and refreshing, of course… Namely, that king of summer fruits: the watermelon.

My mind goes back to reunions on the old family farm, where giant watermelons bobbed in a horse trough filled with icy water and anticipation tingled as I waited for someone to cut into a melon so I could feel the cool sweetness on my tongue. I see why Harry Styles likens new love to “Watermelon Sugar.”

And did I mention how good they are for you? According to an article touting “The Wonders of Watermelon” on the Mayo Clinic website, watermelon has more of the antioxidant lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable. Responsible for the red color of the melon, lycopene also lowers risk of cancer and heart disease. Delicious and nutritious, indeed.

To reap the health benefits while maximizing tastiness, one must first choose their melon. This is an art. The ideal is naturally sweet and bursting with watermelon juice. You may be tempted to find the most perfect, shiny melon with no blemishes. Problem is, some marks on the outer surface are actually clues pointing you to watermelon greatness. The first is the ground spot, discoloration in the place where the watermelon touched the ground as it grew. The ground spot yellows as the melon ripens, so you want your watermelon to have a yellow (not white) spot. Another blemish to look for is the webbing, light brown textured areas that begin to form when bees pollinate the plant. Also known as sugar marks, these indicate a sweeter melon.

You’re looking for a melon that is uniform in shape and with the blemishes mentioned above. If two are the same size, go with the heavier one. Shiny is also a no-go; watermelons dull as they ripen to perfection.

I also use sound as a means to make this choice. I am absolutely the person at the grocery store

tapping on all the available watermelons. It’s a simple technique that helps determine the water content and ripeness. Give it a quick rap with your knuckles like you’re knocking on a door. If it just sounds like a thud, this is not the melon for you. You’re looking for a watermelon that sounds hollow, hitting your ears with a deep, soothing tone.

Now you have your watermelon—what to do with it?

My favorite is pairing watermelon with a bit of cheese. Watermelon could substitute for tomatoes in a caprese salad, layered with mozzarella and basil and topped with a balsamic glaze. It is delightful with a bit of cotija, lime juice and Tajín (the chili lime spice from Mexico). And let’s not forget the dish that inspired me to start experimenting with watermelon combos: Watermelon feta salad. I make mine with lime, onions and copious amounts of mint.

A somewhat surprising pairing is watermelon and tomatoes. Try adding watermelon to a gazpacho, or create a salad of the pairing with fresh basil and your favorite vinaigrette.

If you have any left over, drinks are a solid choice. Blend watermelon into smoothies or your daiquiri mix. Boil it up with some sugar water and mint to make a simple syrup, something I tried last month when looking for something to amp up sparkling water and tequila. I now keep a jar of the syrup in my fridge for further drink-making adventures.

No matter how you slice them, watermelons are a tried and true summer fruit to help beat the heat. And at 92% water, they’re hydrating too.

Rachel Hergett is a foodie and cook from Montana. She is arts editor emeritus at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and has written for publications such as Food Network Magazine and Montana Quarterly. Rachel is also the host of the Magic Monday Show on KGLT-FM and teaches at Montana State University.

Watermelon is a refreshing treat, and healthy for you as well. PHOTO BY FLOH KEITGEN VIA UNSPLASH

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HOODIE

DISPATCHES FROM THE WILD TO DAM OR NOT TO DAM

BY BENJAMIN ALVA POLLEY EBS COLUMNIST

Imagine being a wild, free-flowing river plugged by a dam. Your freedom of movement is completely imprisoned. Around you, your health and those surrounding ecosystems who depend on you slowly wither away.

Nothing can fix or heal a dammed river except removing the blockage. Once the dam is removed, riffles and falls downstream slowly return. Different degrees of flood stages return. Logs, pebbles, gravel and other food sources held up by the dam’s creation are free—the gravel beds on the river bottom return, allowing salmon and trout to spawn. Alders, cottonwoods and willows return on the banks, and songbirds and beavers return. A whole host of life forms bloom. The river rejoices in its wild, free-flowing nature.

In numerous cases, dams are a vestige of a bygone era. Whether built for energy, flood control, municipal water or other purposes, dams often have a short lifespan. Society usually moves beyond their intended use before prioritizing their removal because doing so is complex and expensive, even though many dams are a public hazard.

“We are witnessing a rapid change in our communities’ values around dams,” says Rob Roberts, project manager for Montana Trout Unlimited. “In some cases, these structures have been built and become obsolete in less than 100 years, either replaced by different technology or removed as society’s values shift from industry to recreation or extraction to restoration.”

Dams are structures built across rivers or streams to control the flow. To dam something is to divert or control its essence. By their very nature, rivers are meant to flow moving nutrients and sediments downstream, replenishing riverbanks and shorelines. Some plants, like cottonwoods, depend on the resurging ebb and flow of disturbance from floods to bring nutrients downstream by uprooting trees and creating space for new growth. Dams were first constructed to capture large quantities of fresh water for storage, such as community drinking water and subsequently released over time for irrigating crops, creating vast amounts of electricity through hydropower, creating recreational sites and helping mitigate or prevent flooding.

Ancient Mesopotamia may have been some of the first pioneers to control and mitigate water flow for crop distribution. The Jawa Dam in Jordan is one of the oldest known dams. It was erected to help feed a growing population in the fourth century B.C.E. Ancient Romans were also master dam builders who constructed dams in the first and second centuries C.E. for bathing, drinking water and irrigation.

Engineers during the Industrial Revolution began building giant dams to help power big machinery needed for factories and mines. These big dams plug the velocity and volume of larger rivers and create reservoirs behind them. They began using concrete and steel reinforcements to develop these structures, holding back millions of tons of water. The engineers built large turbines in the dams to generate hydroelectricity. When the water

flows through it moves the turbines. According to a study in 2018 by Columbia University, hydropower generates 16 percent of the total global electricity. There are an estimated 800,000 dams worldwide. The World Commission on Dams estimates that 30-40% of irrigated land depends on dams.

Currently, there are an estimated 91,000 dams in the U.S. Dam building had its heyday in this country between 1820-1960, with the mid to late 1930s being the climax of putting Americans back to work by building massive dams. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers owns, operates, and creates most large dams throughout the U.S.

A recent book by a former University of Montana graduate, Steven Hawley, called "Cracked: The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World," was published this spring by Patagonia Books. The book discusses how dams, by their very nature, are political. Throughout the last hundred years, government agencies have built dams for hydropower and irrigation, but the dams have disproportionately benefited corporations and the privileged. It’s the same song and dance about big money, politics, lobbying, poor management, and broken promises with indigenous cultures. There is no doubt that dams are engineering marvels, but trying to outsmart and contain nature is always cause for alarm and usually has unforeseen environmental consequences. In an era of climate chaos, are dams still necessary?

Hydropower is considered the cleanest form of renewable energy that doesn’t add to global warming, air pollution, or ozone depletion, but is damming rivers all good?

Montana has 3,259 dams and over 64,000 reservoirs. Large dams are several hundred feet tall and often constructed with concrete. Medium dams are typically between 30-150 feet tall and usually made of earthen construction like wood and rock. Small dams generally are less than 30 feet tall and referred to as pond dams, and most of the dams in Big Sky country fit under this latter category. 76% of Montana dams are privately owned by water companies, ranches, farms, individuals, corporations, or mining companies. 13% are federally owned, and state agencies like Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Natural Resource Conservation, and the Department of Corrections own 5%. Reservations own 3% of the total dams, as do local governments, and local utilities own 1% of the total dams in the state.

“Concrete has a life span of around 60 years. These small dams were built when needed to serve the economy of their time,” said Denise Hoffert, a dam removal specialist who owns a consulting firm. “Most dams were built to divert or store water for irrigation, power a mill, or water livestock. But that economy has changed. We don’t need the majority of these dams anymore, and a lot of them are crumbling.”

Many western rivers, especially Montana rivers, are in trouble with fisheries collapsing. There are numerous causes for this collapse, including climate change, overfishing, overpopulation of people needing more resources, dams and old irrigation laws.

“Ranchers continue to flood irrigate with every drop they are allotted because that’s what they’ve always done, and if you don’t use it, you lose it,” said Evan Phillippe, angler and former fishing guide.

“Old water laws don’t die easily. Flood irrigation is highly inefficient. Pivot sprinklers are very expensive. So, the age-old system remains.”

Dams have numerous environmental impacts, including degrading river ecosystems, depleting fisheries, and altering recreational opportunities on most rivers. Barriers limit fish migration by restricting access to spawning habitats and limiting food resources. Fish passage structures help some, but not all fish species move around dams. Salmon depend on steady river flows to guide their migration. Many fish rely on open rock riverbeds to spawn, but sediments backed up by dams prevent them from doing so. When salmon are allowed to return to their spawning grounds, and their bodies decompose, it provides food and nourishment for bears, eagles, ravens, wolves, and many others. When bears and other carnivores carry salmon into the forest, they eat the heads off and leave the bodies, integrating into the environment, adding nitrogen to the soil, and helping the land become lush. Reservoirs often become stagnant and disorient migratory fish. Dams alter the timing of river flows that generally happen during spring break up, triggering natural growth and reproduction cycles in plants and aquatic organisms. The stagnant water behind these barriers is a reservoir that often heats up and affects many cold-water species, like trout and salmon, that are sensitive to temperature fluctuations. This water often heats up, leads to evaporation and algal blooms, and decreases oxygen levels.

Dam removal usually happens because upkeep and maintenance become more expensive than the benefits it provides.

“In some cases, the results of dam removal are swift and impressive, as fish immediately return to natal spawning areas, or flows of sediment and wood rejuvenate estuaries or floodplains starved of those vital ingredients,” Roberts said. “Sometimes, the effects are more subtle; one could even say symbolic. For example, where fisheries have been diminished because of the overlapping effects of water pollution, climate change, or harvest, dam removals can sometimes seem like it’s just the right thing to do, to be intentional about turning back the clock, giving nature back its course and providing the open space, broad valleys, and freeflowing water that humans naturally gravitate to and instinctively depend on.”

The old euphemism, “god-damnit,” is untrue. Only man dams things—time to heal the arteries of the land and remove dams.

Hoover Dam near Boulder City Nevada. PHOTO BY DAVID LUSVARDI VIA UNSPLASH

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE SEEING RED

BY PAUL SWENSON EBS COLUMNIST

I know what you’re thinking, that this article is going to be about what this idiom is intended for, like traffic, trash, water, weather or a whole host of other aspects of our region that gets everyone worked up. By the way, an idiom is a phrase or group of words that has been given a meaning not deducible by the individual words, but defined by common use. Alas, this article is going to be about actually seeing red and of course if you know me by now, it involves the natural world.

Let’s start with the obvious case of seeing red in our region: Red Cliff. Can’t get much more direct than that. So the question that needs to be asked, “Why is Red Cliff red?”

After many years, the sea began to encroach on the eroded and exposed limestone as sea level started to rise. Eroded sediment from the raised landmass to the east and south began to be deposited as mud on top of the limestone. These sediments were rich in iron oxide minerals giving them a rusty red appearance. These muds would become a shale in the basal unit of the Amsden formation, which is the source of the red in the hillside above the cliffs.

As you drive to Red Cliff campground to go hiking, rock climbing or camping, notice the road cut from ten years ago. The color of the blasted rock was a light cream color, not red, yet every time it rains, a little red from the Amsden formation is washed down the cliff face. So given lots of time and lots of erosion, we now know that Red Cliff’s red cliff is caused by the slope above it, not the cliff itself.

Another fascinating part of this story is what has happened inside the caverns, holes, solution pits and vugs, that were left behind as the limestone got buried. The ground water that was dissolving the limestone had an excess of calcium carbonate (CaC03), the major constituent of limestone. So over time the CaCO3 came out of solution to form calcite crystals.

by everyone to leave them there for others to enjoy. Then in the early 1970s a collector decided to try and remove the large crystals anchored in the walls and dynamited the whole thing. Since calcite is very brittle, it destroyed everything. A very sad day for all of us, perhaps making us see red.

Calcite itself is a very interesting crystal. If you find a very clear piece, sometimes referred to as Iceland Spar, it displays an optical property called birefringence. That’s a big word from optical physics, but what it means is that as a ray of light enters the crystal, it is split into a fast and slow speed ray. Therefore a single image going into the crystal will look like two images viewed from the other side. This property found a use in World War II being used in bombardier sights. Since the angle of this split is well known, bombers would use the two images to “precisely” release their munitions.

First off are the cliffs at the campground and all along the canyon walls to the south. They are composed of Mississippian age (325 million years ago), and older, limestones that were deposited in a shallow sea that covered this part of the world. At that time, proto-Montana was located at the equator and under water. When looking at the fossil assemblages from these limestones, it can be deduced that these rocks represent a type of coral reef ecosystem.

As is the case many times in Earth’s history, given millions of years of time, sea level began to recede here, exposing the limestone reefs to the elements above sea level. As fresh water from rain, rivers and eventually ground water interacted with the limestone, it dissolved it due to the carbonic acid found in the water’s chemistry. Some of this dissolution of the limestones led to caves and pockets that one can see in the present cliff face at Red Cliff.

When I was a kid in the “long, long time ago days’” I would climb up into the cave at Red Cliff then dig around in the hillside outside the cave and find calcite crystals. Most of the ones in the cave were attached to the wall or floor, some as big as 18 inches, and it was common courtesy practiced

There are several Iceland Spar quarries in the Bangtail Range northeast of Bozeman that provided optical quality sights during the war.

Now as you drive south, look for the red cliffs that indicate the shales and limestones of this time period. And perhaps you will see red in a good way.

Paul Swenson has been living in and around the Big Sky area since 1966. He is a retired science teacher, fishing guide, Yellowstone guide and naturalist. Also an artist and photographer, Swenson focuses on the intricacies found in nature.

(Above) The Mission Canyon limestone and Amsden shale exposed at Red Cliff campground. (Below) Looking north from Elkhorn Creek towards Buck creek, the Amsden formation is very noticeable on both sides of the canyon.

Main cave at Red Cliff. Notice all the small dissolution holes in the cliff face.

Calcite crystals from just below Red Cliff cave

Calcite crystals from another location in the Gallatin Canyon

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EVERY

DROP COUNTS DECLINING TROUT POPULATIONS: WHAT’S THE STORY?

BY JACK BUBAN EBS CONTRIBUTOR

If you live in Big Sky, chances are you’ve tied on a fly and wet a line in the Gallatin River at some point, and you’re familiar with the allure that species like rainbow trout have on devoted anglers in the area. You may also have heard about the decline in trout populations in parts of western Montana along stretches of rivers like the Jefferson, Big Hole, Ruby and Beaverhead. Along the Big Hole River, trout populations have steadily declined, perplexing scientists from Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as well as local community groups such as the Big Hole River Foundation and the newly formed coalition aptly named Save Wild Trout. Unfortunately these are not isolated incidents, as scientists have noted similar declines in fish populations all over southwest Montana including in the Madison and Clark Fork rivers as well.

Along with population declines in rainbow and brown trout on the Big Hole, fish have also been netted with unusual lesions and fungi, showing impacts to trout health even when mortality isn’t at play. Unfortunately, there isn’t a smoking gun to point to as the single source of what’s causing the problem. Scientists know that factors like low streamflow, high levels of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, angling pressure and warmer water from climate change all play a role, but there is no panacea that covers all of these factors.

Save Wild Trout and the Big Hole River Foundation have both taken steps to hopefully uncover some answers as to what specifically may be causing such widespread fish mortality. Through a partnership with YETI, Save Wild Trout recently began outfitting guides with coolers and aerators to

serve as live wells in case of the capture of diseased fish to allow for the collection of live tissue samples. Supplemented by the Big Hole River Foundation’s water quality monitoring program, these groups are doing diligence, working collaboratively with FWP to get a grasp on what exactly is happening to a fishery that once boasted thriving trout populations.

During the first week of August, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte participated in a roundtable in Wise River to discuss the issue of declining trout populations. He expressed similar concern over the issue, coinciding with concerns from community members, conservation groups, the agricultural community, and officials from FWP. The hope is that increased cooperation between community interests, state and federal agencies and NGOs can help accelerate the timeliness of a response to this issue, bringing a solution that will help save the fish populations in decline before it is too late.

Outside of the Jefferson River drainage, population declines have also been noted on the Clark Fork and Madison Rivers. In 2018 and 2019 FWP reported declines in both rainbow and brown trout adults along stretches of the Madison near Norris. On the other side of the Continental Divide, the Clark Fork River is seeing brown trout numbers drop drastically. With a long history of environmental damage on the Clark Fork River, brown trout are typically more suited for the warmer water temperatures in the area, but scientists from the state’s Natural Resource Damage Program have noted additional significant drops in trout populations along stretches of the Clark Fork that at one point saw large numbers of brown trout.

With rivers in three different drainages seeing drastic declines in previously healthy fish populations, the questions surrounding the cause are more troubling, and further unanswered. The common phrase, “death by one thousand cuts” most likely applies here, as fish declines like these have been observed and reported in other places around

the country. These can often be attributed to a number of factors that come as a result of increased human development along river corridors, higher water temperatures spurred on by climate change, decreases in water quality and a multitude of other components all working together against the fish.

While recent data points to the Gallatin fishery being healthy, instances of trout decline in other rivers across the state should not be ignored, and could be a precedent to learning the potential threats to rivers similar in character to the Gallatin. As we see the Gallatin face many of the same stressors in terms of recurrent algae blooms, warming water temperatures , low summer streamflows, and elevated nutrient levels, it's not unreasonable that these factors could cascade to a point where trout populations are affected.

With that in mind, it is critical that we take immediate steps to address these stressors to limit the possibility of a trout decline in our home waters that mean so much to this community — ecologically, economically and culturally. What does this look like? Actions such as limiting household water use, reducing landscape irrigation, prioritizing beneficial options for wastewater reuse, and protecting streamside and wetland areas will allow more cold water in rivers and streams later into the summer for trout to thrive.

Just because the upper Gallatin doesn’t have a history of fishery closures or Hoot Owl restrictions, doesn’t mean that they couldn’t be a part of our future. As the old adage goes, it’s much cheaper to protect a fishery than it is to restore one. And the Gallatin fishery is worth protecting.

Jack Buban is the Big Sky Watershed Corps member on staff for the summer with the Gallatin River Task Force. Jack Buban is the Big Sky Watershed Corps member on staff for the summer with the Gallatin River Task Force.

Anglers across southwest Montana know the value of healthy fish in our waterways.

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GOLDBUG HOT SPRINGS AND SALMON, IDAHO

BY LESLIE KILGORE

Salmon, Idaho is one of those very special western towns. A place where people gather for a day, a weekend, a season, or a lifetime seeking outdoor adventures, guided outfitter trips, employment, provisions, small town culture and genuine people.

I recently spent a few days in the Salomon area after heading out on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River with Boundary Expeditions, a guided whitewater river trip that’s worth visiting Salmon for in itself. After spending five days and four nights on the river, it was a nice respite to explore Salmon and the surrounding area.

Goldbug Hot Springs is a must-stop destination when in the Salmon Valley at any time of year. If visiting during the warmer months, an early sunrise or evening sunset visit is best, as the springs can be too hot on a summer day. What used to be a secret, word-of-mouth spot is now well known, thanks to social media and Google Maps, so going early to scope out the pools is always best.

The first time I experienced Goldbug was in the mid-90s before cellphones and websites even existed. Spots like this were only discovered by word-of-mouth and an atlas. While the crowds have increased, Goldbug is still unique, even for the hot springs aficionados who have known this “secret” spot for decades. As a dedicated hot spring enthusiast, I still return annually for its remote location, pristine waters and gorgeous views. Other than more people on the trail and in the pools, and

a more established parking lot, Goldbug still holds its magic and is conserved and revered by loyal soakers.

While Goldbug has hardly changed, what has grown is the town of Salmon itself. With a lively Main Street, particularly in summer, it’s become a hub for those setting out on river trips, pack trips, hunting and horseback riding outfits and hiking excursions. Two health food stores, a substantial bakery with plenty of breakfast and lunch options, a fun and lively coffee shop, several dining options and plenty of shopping have now made Salmon more of an overnight destination than ever before.

There’s plenty of camping right outside of town, which is usually my choice when in the area. But the Salmon River Inn and the Stagecoach Inn are both decent options for a bed and hot shower, or when it’s too chilly to camp but a perfect time to hike and soak.

The three-star Stagecoach is a good value with a free breakfast and a terrace and pool to enjoy right along the river during summer. The four-star Salmon River Inn is in a historic building on Main Street above the Salmon River Coffee shop. As a self-check-in hotel, it’s convenient for a late-night arrival with everything in walking distance on Main Street. While the building is over 125 years old, the rooms are modern and decorated beautifully. The Family Suite is spacious with a full kitchen, three queen-sized beds and a convertible couch.

For dinner, the Junkyard Bistro features American cuisine, a robust wine list and a fun vibe where locals and tourists dine and sit at the bar together. There’s indoor and outdoor seating on their patio in the summer. The Asian fusion bowls are always a good choice.

The Salmon River Coffee Shop serves freshly ground blends and is a good place to sit, relax, play a board game or read a book if variable weather is in the forecast and Odd Fellow’s Bakery never disappoints with dine-in or take-out breakfast and lunch options and delicious Sourdough bread baked in a wood-fired stove.

Nature’s Pantry is always a pleasure. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and their prices are very reasonable for organic foods, supplements, health and beauty options and gifts. Mountain Harvest Community Market, also on Main Street, has a robust selection of local produce and a wide selection of whole foods and groceries.

My favorite stop on Main Street is Arfmann’s Four Seasons. Locally owned and operated for more than 50 years, Loren and Erlene Arfmann run the store with a staff you’ll only find at a small-town business. I always make a point to stop in and support them by purchasing some new outdoor gear, cowboy boots, clothes for the river or hearty wool socks. Their inventory is plentiful and fun to peruse.

A trip to the Salmon Valley is less than five hours from Big Sky and a beautiful drive at that, particularly in the summer. Be sure to save time to stop at some of the eclectic spots along the way and be ready for some wildlife and bird sightings on the drive. While the town of Salmon as a destination is worth the trip, especially for a soak in Goldbug Hot Springs or a Salmon River excursion, the journey is always a highlight too. But I find that to be true on all road trips in the Mountain West—lucky us who get to live here and explore!

Goldbug Hot Springs is just one must-see in the Salmon Valley in northern Idaho. PHOTO BY LESLIE KILGORE

Be especially cautious if you see a female with cubs; never place yourself between a mother and her cub!

Bear cubs attend their own type of school: They are expected to follow their mother and learn how to find food or hunt.

BACK 40

For Explore Big Sky, the Back 40 is a resource: a place where we can delve into subjects and ask experts to share their knowledge. Here, we highlight stories from our flagship sister publication Mountain Outlaw magazine.

THE RHYTHM OF THE RIVER

TOM SKERRITT REFLECTS ON A LIFETIME RELATIONSHIP WITH FREE-FLOWING WATERS

BY BRIAN LADD

The crisp Pacific Northwest air was illuminated by the morning-angled sun; gold, amber and purple hues reflected in the oak and maple leaves outside. I’m sitting with Tom Skerritt at the stately Seattle Tennis Club overlooking Lake Washington. We’re a long way from Montana, but when the renowned 89-year-old actor starts waxing poetic about rivers, I feel like I’m sitting with him on the banks of the Gallatin River, our feet dangling in its cool, free-flowing waters as he describes the rhythm of the current.

Reality blurred as I looked at who I knew as Reverend Maclean, the Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and father in Norman Maclean’s renowned novella A River Runs Through It, played by Skerritt in the film adaptation of the book. Perhaps to some Skerritt may appear as Top Gun’s Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf, or to a more obscure bunch he might be known as Duke Forrest from 1970’s M.A.S.H. But I suppose in reality, he’s just Tom; a father, grandfather and conservationist with a lifelong deep love for rivers.

The distorted reality warped further as what I intended to be a linear conversation about river conservation shattered into a two-hour artistic smattering of Skerritt’s deepest musings. Skerritt wove a melodic interplay between the past and the future, reality and aspiration, with a trajectory converting mundane to import. It was only later with reflection on our interaction that my understanding of his words grew.

Though the way he discussed rivers with me remained mostly abstract and whimsical, his impact on them has been anything but. Skerritt served for nine years on the

board of directors for American Rivers, one of the most well-known river conservation organizations in the nation. His tenure notably included the historic removal of the Elwha and Gline dams on Washington’s Elwha River in 2011, a monumental win for proponents of free-flowing rivers—Skerritt attended the removal and emceed the ceremony.

On the American Rivers board, Skerritt says he was always surrounded by incredible scientists and experts and always made a point to listen rather than to interject, but he brings something altogether different and perhaps equally impactful to this conversation: passion. You see, when Skerritt talks about rivers, he uses the language of emotion.

More recently, Skerritt’s been especially active in advocating for rivers in southwest Montana, where so long ago he first dipped his toes into waters of the Gallatin as Reverand Maclean.

“Filming A River Runs Through It was a transformative experience,” he posted on Twitter this year for the film’s 30th anniversary. “The beauty of the Gallatin River has remained with me all these years. But now, due to industrialization, it’s under threat.” He compelled his audience to follow the Gallatin River Task Force, a Big Sky-based conservation nonprofit working in the Gallatin River watershed, and a region with which Skerritt is becoming increasingly involved.

Late in his life now, Skerritt sees rivers as a force that can illuminate our interconnectedness. Decades after playing the role of Reverand Maclean, he says now more than ever he understands Maclean’s famous words: “Eventually, all things merge into one and a river runs through it.”

Mountain Outlaw met with Skerritt in November of 2022 to discuss his relationship with rivers, their significance and our role in protecting them.

Mountain Outlaw: When and where did your love and passion for rivers begin?

Tom Skerritt: Why don’t I just flashback to when I was a kid and my father or my brother … taking me to go fishing, and I remember most putting my feet in cold water rushing by and the feeling of that. They’re out there busy fishing and getting caught in the trees and all of that bad casting—of which there was quite a great deal of it—and I’d watch them and the rhythm of it.

Also at the same time at home, I had an older brother who would babysit me when my folks weren’t around and he would put music on to keep himself from being bored and it was music that could be jazz [like] Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, somebody like that ... or Puccini’s opera! He was 16 years old, I don’t know where he got that good taste, and I didn’t know what I was listening to. But the rhythms of that were suddenly what I felt. Looking back on it and understanding the rhythms of life, what I was feeling rushing by [on the river] was that same feeling of coming to know that which you had no idea what it was. I mean, putting your feet in cold water rushing by and listening to Billie Holiday singing the tune ... there’s something about it that you are moved by internally, and it’s not something that’s explicable. It’s something you just feel. [In] life the best of what we have is that which we feel.

MO: That’s a beautiful account of your early history with rivers. How do rivers continue to contribute to your story today?

TS: I have five kids … They’ve all come back here and I think they’re watching me grow old. They’re just

Vann Gravage, Tom Skerritt, Joseph Gordon-Levett, A River Runs Through It, 1992.

PHOTO BY AJ ICS / ALAMY STOCH PHOTO.

Noun: wild or rough terrain adjacent to a developed area Origin: shortened form of “back 40 acres”

wonderful people. And [I have] five granddaughters—all gorgeous and whatnot. And I just had my first greatgranddaughter. So all of that, it’s quite moving, because you’re gonna look back and we’re talking about the same thing: history, our histories, what we are, who we are and everything—where we grow up. And this country, this land, it’s the best piece of real estate. This is United States. There’s nothing like it anywhere. Having traveled a lot and been in other countries, [there’s] nothing like this. So that’s where we start is just first of all appreciating where we are ... I have five kids, five granddaughters, a great-granddaughter recently and the honor of that, experiencing that, and the importance of it is undeniable. But I wish I could take them to the rivers.

MO: What do we have to learn from rivers? What do they mean to us?

TS: I remember too, as a kid, watching the rivers flowing, and you know, you dangle your hands in them and you think, ‘Wow, where does it start and where does it go?’ And as I grew up, it stayed with me as a kid. I think [about] all that music that my brother gave me [and] the rhythms of it and the feeling. The feeling of it was here in the water. In jazz you didn’t know what was coming up next. And you really don’t know about the rivers, the way they ripple, the way they kind of wash along the edge, and you know, there’s one big [trout] over there by that rock, just behind that rock. And [there’s] all of these questions you have, but it’s just water flowing. Where does it start? I used to wonder ‘where does it start? Where does this end?’ It’s like a train, or listening to the longer distance of a train—the sound of it: (Skerritt hums, his vibrating pitch rising and falling). You know, the horn, the sounds of it, one way or another, the whistles, all that kind of stuff as a kid.

I think da Vinci once wrote ‘you put your hand into water and feel the rush go by through your fingers, and you feel the past, the present and the future.’ And that one I remember as a kid reading that and I thought ‘what does that mean?’ But it stuck with me somehow, there in the imagination. It’s one of those remote things. Leonardo da Vinci, he’s a painter, right? There’s nothing he couldn’t do, I mean he was a timeless genius. But it’s so true. It’s so easily that you understand that: you put your hand in the water and [it’s] the past, present and future rushing through your fingers. You can’t explain that. You have to know what it feels like to do that … You know, you dangle your hand out there, maybe you’re gonna wash off some of the oil from a fish, or whatever it is.

All of that stuff was what I got as a kid and I never knew quite how to utilize it but I was informed because I had a very active imagination apparently when I was quite young and I know that was activated by being in school … they had these creative programs in grade school which I guess they don’t have anymore and I think it’s part of a crisis we’re facing is we seem to lack a really truly informed imagination. So that’s what I feel I had was an informed imagination … It goes on and on, the wonder of it … the rivers always seemed to me that kind of thing that goes on and on and on. Where’s it coming from? Where’s it going to? And what’s this life in here and how do these fish know that there’s a certain bug that comes out at a certain time of year and they know what part of the river it goes to? Is that not something to respect? Is that not a degree of intelligence of that life compared to ours? In a lot of ways, I don’t know really the difference when you sit there with your legs in the water wondering that sort of thing.

I’m not trying to be romantic about it but the practicality of what we’re trying to do by making more money or helping companies do better. Let’s modify our lives. And it’s not condemning anything, it just said, look in the mirror. Are you a little bit older? What do you look like? Laugh at yourself ... and say ‘You crazy old man.’ And that’s what I say to myself. A male ego has taken over. A male ego is just one who wants to rule over others. American males have started wars for centuries. What are we suggesting here? There’s something at once very feminine, very male about the river. ... The edge of it is beautiful. That’s the female; the water soaks in there [and] grows the cottonwood trees. All of this is the connection. We’re not alone.

MO: What are the issues we face as a society in terms of the ways we engage with rivers, and the ways in which we seek to protect them?

TS: It really has to do with what’s happened to the waters. That’s the heart of what we’re talking about … I was on the American Rivers board for nine years. I listened rather than try to [interject] anything in conversation, particularly with the professionals and science and some very, very significant people on that board. They were worth listening to. … I really have always appreciated the information and vast intelligence of this group of people. But I’m missing [where the] heart [is in all of this]. We talk about what we can do here and there, but what? What can we do about enjoying? How do we really enjoy this?... I was trying to say that if you want people to donate—which is a lot of what they were talking about—to American Rivers, I just feel we’ve got to get more [at] the heart of it …

But how do we learn to be better if we don’t make mistakes? … How can we turn this around? What’s happening with the rivers? We’ve known this for a long time, which is one reason American Rivers started in the early ‘70s was to make sure that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was enforced and acted upon by the government as was expected because that stuff tends to wander away. All good intentions are spoken over the microphone, and then they go off and play golf or whatever it is. They don’t get it done. And the American Rivers was there to say ‘please, I’m here. I’m paying attention. I’d like to help you. Let’s work together.’ … We have to be stronger about this, we really have to …

I feel I’ve got to find the right words, as we all must, to be able to say what we really feel about things, and the rivers really are us—they’re the blood of the system, the vessels that go from the heart, which is the snow melting … But how do we take care of the river that serves all of us? Without this river we don’t exist. That’s a big one. And I don’t take that lightly and that’s why I’m very emotional about this.

MO: An objectively huge moment in your tenure with American Rivers was when you attended and spoke at the largest dam removal in history on the Elwha River in Washington. How do you reflect on that significant moment in your journey as a conservationist?

TS:That’s an interesting throwback. I remember that. First of all, prior to the dam going down, a group of us for the American Rivers went up to look at and visit two dams … I had walked out on that dam, and I looked down at the pools that were there. And in each one of them were some salmon swimming. I said that can be only generations from over 100 years ago, still spawning

somehow, and knowing that they want to go upstream just circling, waiting for the water to come down so they can fight it up there. And you start processing … I didn’t know how to find the right words to say what I felt. And I remember looking at that [and] thinking ‘wow, those guys [have been] hanging around waiting for [the dam] to come down, 100 years of this of one generation after another waiting for it and they knew what was going to happen. I make believe, obviously, but that never left me. And then [they] tore that down.

This is a river that had all five salmon [that] used to swim all the way up the top. And they were the biggest salmon ever. Because it was the struggle of getting up that river, the struggle of going out solo [to] the ocean; [it was] always a struggle. And I’ve lived my life that way. So I could relate to it. It’s all a struggle; the more you struggle, the more you get up that stream. And you get up to the top where the pebbles are, the gravel is. [It’s] a long ass haul in that way of getting there. And one of our failings as humans is we’re always looking for more comfortable ways of getting things that make life easier. Life was meant to be a challenge … And this, all these efforts to try to overcome what we don’t know by getting to know them. The wonderful imagination, pursuit of imagination, itself is really key to all of this ... what’s going on right now is just the lack of imagination. I think we all agree to that. And you can’t really be a good fisherman without having an imagination ... I don’t care if I catch the fish anymore, I just want to get [a feeling].

MO: Did the dam removal at the Elwha River give you hope that we can do this on a bigger scale with the Snake River and in other rivers?

TS: As long as we have a healthy river, we have hope. If we don’t have a healthy river, we don’t have hope. Open and shut. And now [the Elwha is] a real river that it once was. And it’s a hydrant to climb up and we’re going to get some of those big long fish that used to be 3 feet long. The Natives told me about their grandmother walking from the tail and taking three steps to the head of the fish. I don’t think they come any bigger. But it’s from the workout. It’s from the trial and error.

MO: You’re at this point in your career where you’ve got this pulpit. What is the honest message people need to hear from you about conservation?

TS: I think my concern really is that we’re doing everything now for our own good. And not just [with] the river. But what it really means is our life. Where does it start? Where does it go? The train goes by the whistle. Where’d it come from? Where is it going? I always want to know … That’s really what we’re talking about with salmon going upstream. It doesn’t kill them. It just makes them stronger. And that’s really what we have to know that we can only become stronger individually by how much we’ve tried to overcome difficulty. Because at one point, you have to have difficulty. You cannot have the computer make your life easier.

MO: How do we change?

TS: Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge” because it feeds it. Dammit. Feed it good things. Give them the river to fish. Give them the river to enjoy. Give them the river to feel as I did as a 5-yearold kid putting my legs in the river, feeling the water rush by. Put our feet in the river. Let’s react to it in a way that makes us feel …

That’s what A River Runs Through It is about. All this other stuff that I’m talking about is howthe river gets together. Our lives at the end—and I’m finding at my age—it all just becomes one … it’s all about what we feel, and we’ve got to begin to feel again … We’ll never really know how to verbalize that. Because in the end, most of this stuff is really about what we feel … I understand that “eventually all things merge into one and the river runs through it.”

Bella Butler and Cameron Scott contributed writing and reporting to this article.

Brian Ladd is a father and real estate agent in Bend, Oregon. At Ladd’s wedding more than 20 years ago, his brother, Eric, showed a clip of A River Runs Through It, and the circle was completed when Ladd had the opportunity to sit down with Tom Skerritt for this issue’s feature article. This was originaly published in the Winter 2023 issue of Mountain Outlaw magazine.

Tom Skerritt who plays Reverend Maclean, casts his fly rod during the shooting of A River Runs Through It in 1991. PHOTO BY JOHN KELLY / GETTY IMAGES.

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