Explore Big Sky - March 25 to April 7, 2022

March 25 - April 7, 2022 Volume 13 // Issue #6

‘The Montana Hoops Project’

Imagery and storytelling connect rural Montana, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis

Big Sky’s connection to Ukraine

Local hockey team gets the W at first ever tournament A reflection on Class C basketball in Montana Local DJ duo reinvents Big Sky après scene

TABLE OF CONTENTS

March 25 - April 7, 2022 Volume 13, Issue No. 6

OPINION ................................................................... 4 LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS .................................................8 LOCAL.......................................................................10 SPORTS.....................................................................17 ENVIRONMENT & OUTDOORS...............................18 HEALTH....................................................................31

Owned and published in Big Sky, Montana

PUBLISHER Eric Ladd | eric@theoutlawpartners.com

9

EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, VP MEDIA Joseph T. O’Connor | joe@theoutlawpartners.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Gabrielle Gasser | gabrielle@theoutlawpartners.com

CREATIVE

11

Local hockey team gets the W at first ever tournament

12

Big Sky’s connection to Ukraine

17

A reflection on Class C basketball in Montana

36

Local DJ duo reinvents Big Sky après scene

ART DIRECTOR Marisa Opheim | marisa@theoutlawpartners.com SENIOR DESIGNER Trista Hillman | trista@theoutlawpartners.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER ME Brown | maryelizabeth@theoutlawpartners.com

SALES AND OPERATIONS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Megan Paulson | megan@theoutlawpartners.com CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Treston Wold | treston@theoutlawpartners.com VP OF SALES EJ Daws | ej@theoutlawpartners.com VP OF EVENTS Ennion Williams | ennion@theoutlawpartners.com VP OF MARKETING Blythe Beaubien | blythe@theoutlawpartners.com MEDIA AND EVENTS DIRECTOR Ersin Ozer | ersin@theoutlawpartners.com MARKETING COORDINATOR Sophia Breyfogle | sophia@theoutlawpartners.com VIDEO DIRECTOR, CINEMATOGRAPHER Seth Dahl | seth@theoutlawpartners.com

‘The Montana Hoops Project’ Imagery and storytelling connect rural Montana, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis Created by Lone Peak High School junior Jessie Bough, “The Montana Hoops Project” premiered March 17 to a packed audience. The photo project uses imagery of basketball hoops to chronicle two road trips Bough took through rural Montana in 2020 as well as to bring awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

MANAGING EDITOR Bella Butler | bella@theoutlawpartners.com

DIGITAL PRODUCER Tucker Harris | tucker@theoutlawpartners.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ......................................33 BUSINESS ................................................................39 FINANCE ................................................................40 DINING .....................................................................41 FUN ..........................................................................45

In their first ever tournament, the Big Sky youth hockey team claimed the championship title in Helena on March 19 and 20. Combined with players from Lewiston, the Big Sky team reigned victorious over Flathead, a sweet revenge on the only team they’d lost to during the tournament.

As a J-1 Visa employee in Big Sky, Alexandru Melnic has a history of sharing stories and culture from his home country of Moldova with the community. Melnic is once again connecting Big Sky with stories from eastern Europe, this time through accounts of the war in Ukraine.

Class C basketball is a unique, shared piece of culture across rural Montana. After an exciting 2021-22 season, Lone Peak High School junior Gus Hammond reflects on what it means to be part of a Class C team, program and community.

Spicing up the live music scene in Big Sky, local DJs Chance Lenay and Jennifer Steele have brought their electric take on après ski to the Vista Hall Plaza at Big Sky Resort every weekend this season.

Opening Shot

CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGIST Mira Brody | mira@theoutlawpartners.com SENIOR ACCOUNTANT Sara Sipe | sara@theoutlawpartners.com ACCOUNTING MANAGER Taylor Erickson | taylor@theoutlawpartners.com PROJECT MANAGER Eli Kretzmann | eli@theoutlawpartners.com COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Meg Koenig | mk@theoutlawpartners.com EVENTS COORDINATOR, RETAIL MANAGER Connor Clemens | connor@theoutlawpartners.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER, LOCAL SALES Patrick Mahoney | patrick@theoutlawpartners.com COPYWRITER Patrick Straub

CONTRIBUTORS Joe Borden, Jessie Bough, Jana Bounds, Tim Davis, Kwame Dawes, Gus Hammond, Alex Hassman, Jeff Johnson, Katherine Kelter, Ashley McEnroe, Scott Mechura, Jeff Reed, Diane Renkin, Benjamin Spiker, Shannon Steele, Cy Whitling, Emily Stifler Wolfe

ON THE COVER: Overlaid on a basketball hoop found near the Hi-Line town of Joplin, Montana, the red hand on the cover symbolizes the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. This association between Class C basketball and the MMIW crisis in Big Horn County is drawn by Jessie Bough in her “Montana Hoops Project.” Read more about Bough’s work on page 9. PHOTO BY JESSIE BOUGH

“The Explorer Lift is one of the oldest lifts on the mountain and primarily serves to move beginners up the mountain after they have figured out the basics in the beginner area. This is the first lift most people that learn to ski or snowboard at Big Sky ride. It has been in service since 1973, making me wonder how many riders can say this is the first lift they ever rode. It is currently planned to be removed when the new three stage gondola is installed.”

PHOTO BY MATT C JACKSON

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.

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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.

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4 March 25 - April 7, 2022

Op-Ed:

OPINION

Governor’s lion hunt was legal, prudent wildlife management

BY ASHLEY MCENROE The March 7 EBS opinion piece, “Governor’s killing of collared Yellowstone wolf and cougar are matters of public interest,” fails to offer a balanced view. The EBS story stated that “wildlife conservationists condemned” Gov. Greg Gianforte’s Montana mountain lion hunt. As a committed wildlife conservationist working for a globally respected Bozeman-based wildlife conservation nonprofit, I can assure you that the wildlife conservationist community is not universally condemning the governor’s cougar hunt. My wildlife conservation colleagues have expressed surprise that Gianforte’s lion harvest caused a turmoil, given that Montana state and tribal wildlife officials recently killed three adult lions on Wild Horse Island, a state park on Flathead Lake, to protect bighorn sheep. No public outcry followed this act of wildlife management.

Mountain lions are apex predators. Prudent management of their numbers is essential to maintain a balance that allows elk, deer, bighorns and other species they rely on for food to flourish. Male mountain lions commonly kill rival toms and even cougar cubs.

Studies have shown that removing mature, dominant toms in an area enhances its overall lion population.

Big toms are what hunters seek. By taking the mature male who has already contributed to the gene pool, a hunter promotes the survival of other wildlife in the area—from prey to their fellow lions. The rigors of mountain lion hunting—the cost (hunting license, fuel, vehicles, houndsman involved, etc.), the weeks of searching for elusive cougar tracks, and the prevalence of hunts ending with no lion or just a cougar photograph—all encourages selectivity favoring the harvest of a mature male. A remarkably huge tom is precisely what Gov. Gianforte took.

Negative news coverage emphasized that the “Yellowstone” lion Gianforte shot was wearing a radio collar. The governor’s lion was on legally huntable public land, not in Yellowstone, when it was harvested. Cougars travel extensively searching for food and mates. Trekking 10 to 30 miles a day is common for toms. A Big Sky cougar might wander in and out of the park occasionally. This doesn’t make them a protected “Yellowstone” lion.

As for the radio collar, it’s not illegal to shoot a huntable species just because it’s wearing one. Collared elk are harvested frequently, with no public outrage. A radio collar isn’t an “off-limits” beacon; it’s a scientific tool to study an animal’s activities, migrations, lifespan and sometimes death. This lion’s collar did its job, providing FWP useful data to

Op-Ed:

Explore Big Sky

understand the species and establish future management plans. FWP got the collar back after Gianforte’s lion harvest so it could be used again.

Legal mountain lion hunting across the Western U.S. is done primarily with hounds pursuing and treeing big cats because that is the most effective means to manage these majestic predators. Hunting licenses, legal quotas and vigorously enforced regulations assure that lion numbers are sustainable and lion hunting remains a tool for prudent wildlife management.

Most wildlife conservation in Montana and across the U.S. is paid for by hunters.

Conservation funding comes primarily from hunting license purchases, associated conservation fees and a federal law, the Pittman-Robertson Act, which taxes sales of guns, ammo and archery equipment. The resulting revenues are appropriated exclusively for state agencies to use for wildlife conservation, hunter education and archery and shooting ranges. In 2020, Montana received almost $25 million in wildlife-management funding from Pittman-Robertson. From 2015 to 2019, Montana received over $90 million in Pittman-Robertson wildlife management support. Thank hunters and shooting enthusiasts for that.

Finally, I disagree with the March 7 EBS opinion piece’s disparaging remarks that lion hunting with dogs is easy. I am married to a houndsman of 25 years and am friends with other active houndsmen who have pursued thousands of these magnificent felines.

Beyond their costly commitment of time and resources to their dogs’ year-round care and training, houndsmen are tireless, formidable outdoorsmen, conscientious wildlife stewards and respectful adherents to hunting regulations, property boundaries and harvest quotas. With the help of a local houndsman, I harvested a 150-pound tom south of Big Sky. My husband tracked him for six straight weeks with me in tow as we climbed heights, sunk into waist-high snow, forded the half-frozen Gallatin and endured sub-zero temps daily.

Mountain lion hunting is tough, mentally and physically. Once good dogs are on a track, they don’t give up. You must go where the hounds are, no matter the weather or how many miles, peaks, cliffs and rivers stand in the way. Failure and frustration are common outcomes. It’s anything but a simple shot from the base of a tree.

Ashley McEnroe is a longtime Montanan, a Big Sky resident and an avid hunterconservationist. She is a field editor for the Bozeman-based Wild Sheep Foundation and a life member of both WSF and the Montana Wild Sheep Foundation.

‘Wilderness purists’ have only themselves to blame

BY JEFF REED

And one wonders why enviros sometimes get a bad rap in Montana.

Over the past several years, Montanans have heard a fair amount from a small but vociferous circle of mostly Bozeman-based environmentalists. I call this circle the “wilderness purists.”

It’s instructive, though, to look beyond this florid rhetoric and see what they’re actually proposing. Created a few years ago by a few purists in the Bozeman area, the Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance has a proposal for public lands around Bozeman. It would close:

Through widely circulated email screeds and the occasional guest column, these purists have attacked mainstream conservation groups for taking a pragmatic and inclusive approach to conservation and for not living up to the purists’ ideal of what conservation groups should be doing, no matter how unstrategic, ineffective and ultimately futile that ideal may be.

The purists have lobbed their rhetorical grenades at Wild Montana and other conservation groups for their work on the Gallatin Forest Partnership proposal, the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act, the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, and other conservation initiatives born of collaboration and compromise among different interest groups.

The purists launch these attacks even though the collaborative approach to conservation has proven to be immensely popular among Montanans, as suggested by the 2022 bipartisan Colorado College public lands survey, which found that 79 percent of Montanans support the BCSA. One of those purists is columnist George Ochenski, who has lambasted the BCSA (and collaboration in general) on several occasions. He recently wrote about the 2022 Colorado College poll, chiding Montana’s Republicans for ignoring voters’ conservation priorities, which is evident in the polling that shows overwhelming support for numerous conservation measures. But Ochenski did some ignoring himself: He cited every Montana-related result in the polling, except the one showing overwhelming support for the BCSA. Judging by their regular discrediting of mainstream conservation groups, the purists don’t seem particularly interested in building support for their own proposals among Montanans who cherish public lands but do not regularly worship at the altar of wilderness.

Here’s a taste of the kind of overheated rhetoric that’s become commonplace among the purists, this from a guest column by Steve Kelly of Bozeman: “These pro-business ‘movers and shakers’ lack basic human integrity … Love of money comes first. A cynical, authoritarian, use-and-abuse philosophy resonates among businessmen. Legislating commercial opportunity and government-sponsored jobs is music to ears of unrepentant money-worshipers.”

• • • • •

234,621 acres of winter motorized recreation use, including the Big Sky Snowmobile National Recreation Trail, designated in the 1960s 257 miles of mountain bike trail access, including Emerald Lake, Chestnut Mountain, Corbly Gulch, Truman Gulch, North Cottonwood, South Cottonwood, and sections of Sypes Canyon and Middle Cottonwood 171.8 miles of motorized trail access most of the Bozeman Ice Festival the Bridger Ridge Run, among many other foot races

Most people working in conservation learn how to discern the difference between what’s feasible and what’s not, given the social and political realities they work under.

Purists don’t want to bother with making that discernment and belittle those who refuse to join them in chasing rainbows.

They appear to be under the mistaken impression that landmark wilderness achievements have come without compromise. That’s never been the case, not even with the 1964 Wilderness Act, which was passed only after Sens. Lee Metcalf and Mike Mansfield allowed new mineral claims to be staked in designated wilderness areas until 1984.

More proof that collaboration and compromise work is in the recently finished Custer Gallatin National Forest plan. The plan marks the first time the agency has recommended wilderness for the Gallatin Range—something Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson credited the Gallatin Forest Partnership with helping make possible. Across the Forest, the plan protects more than 400,000 acres, including 140,000 acres of new recommended wilderness, 106,000 more acres than it did before the plan was released.

That’s a remarkable conservation win. And it happened because conservation groups built public support by engaging more than just hardcore wilderness lovers.

Purists could only express disappointment. But after spending more time drafting screeds—blaming mainstream conservation groups for everything from starving grizzly bears to ushering in the end times—than building public support for what they want, they have only themselves to blame.

Dr. Jeff Reed lives in Paradise Valley, where he owns and operates Reedfly Farm.

BETTER TOGETHER A biweekly District bulletin

Project Spotlights Project: Buck Ridge/Doe Creek Snowmobile Tail Grooming Sponsor: Gallatin Valley Snowmobile Association The Gallatin Valley Snowmobiling Association provides grooming for the snowmobile trails in the Big Sky area. One of these trails is the Buck Ridge/Doe Creek Road trail. BSRAD provides funding to groom this trail an additional two times per week throughout the snowmobiling season. These additional groomings provide a much smoother and safer trail, enhancing the snowmobiling experience. Since grooming began on December 20th, 2021, Buck Ridge has been groomed an additional 8 times and covering 70 miles of trails each week.

Learn more @ GVSA.Net

Project: Environmental Stewardship Sponsor: Gallatin Invasive Species Alliance In the Big Sky area, habitat fragmentation and loss are fundamental threats to wildlife survival. The threat of invasive species to wildlife habitat (forage reduction, changes in water quality and availability, and disruption of seasonal migration patterns) is only increasing as Big Sky continues to grow. In response, the Alliance initiated our Habitat Owners Association program. Partnering with HOAs and the Gallatin County Weed District, the Alliance aims to enhance wildlife habitat in HOA open space by leading an invasive species management effort for a three-year period.

The Alliance is excited to announce the creation of “Grow Wild”, a natural extension of the native demonstration garden at Crail Ranch. During the second full growing season at Crail Gardens, a white-crowned sparrow nested and successfully reared her young. Proof that if you prioritize the use of native plants in the landscape, wildlife will benefit. This program will promote the use of native plants in the landscape to conserve water, restore wildlife habitat and promote preservation of the historic landscape.

Learn more @ GallatinISA.org

Project: Transportation District Operations Sponsor: Big Sky Transportation District The Big Sky Transportation District’s Skyline transit services allow locals and visitors to Big Sky to be able to reach many destinations without a car. This includes those traveling between Big Sky and Bozeman. Whether it is international employees or others traveling to Walmart for shopping, or locals using Skyline to easily get to skiing, Skyline provides a safe, convenient, and cost-effective way to move around within Big Sky. Learn more @ SkylineBus.com

Upcoming Board Meetings All Meetings are open to the public and public comment is highly encouraged. Share comments by: • Emailing Info@ResortTax.org prior to meetings.

• Attending Board meetings and making public comment in person or through Zoom.

• Comments on the Facebook WILL NOT be accepted as public comment.

Visit ResortTax.org for more information.

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OUR VISION: “Big Sky is BETTER TOGETHER as a result of wise investments, an engaged community, and the pursuit of excellence.”

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6 March 25 - April 7, 2022

OPINION

Explore Big Sky

Après-ski: Where does that merde come from?

BY JOE BORDEN EBS CONTRIBUTOR

I remember where I was when I first heard the term “après ski:” I was in my TV show’s writers room and we were all feverishly planning our upcoming work ski trip. One writer suggested a spot for après ski and everyone else loved it.

Naturally, I nodded in agreement and pretended to love it too while my brain screamed at my face “We’ve got no clue what that means, liar!” and my fingers flew over my keyboard to covertly Google the term.

[Merriam-Webster Dictionary] noun: après-ski From French (yeah, duh), literally means ‘after skiing.’

The social activities and entertainment following a day’s skiing.

Ah. Got it. Not sure who we’re trying to impress with our raised-pinky, hoity-toity lingo here, but maybe that’s just something American people do in the mountains. On belay?

Belay on.

Now, years later, having partaken in … dozens? hundreds? of après-ski events, I understand that there’s a deeper meaning. It’s a time-honored tradition that can involve: -pretentious barrel-aged craft cocktails and fish-egg foam served on a porcelain spoon or -slamming slushy tall-boy beers and tipping shotskis while a DJ tries to pop open your eardrums like a bag of kettle chips at altitude.

Nothing is set in stone. Après-ski belongs to the wealthy and powerful. And to the young and beautiful. And to the rest of us who are somewhere in the doughy middle. All who ski may après-ski.

But why?

Did a bunch of French people decide to start pounding fromage and Cab Franc after

a day on the slopes? That was my guess. But it’s wrong. While France may be the birthplace of baguettes and braided hair and tongue kissing, après-ski originated further north.

According to Skiing Heritage Journal, the tradition of après-ski actually began in the mid-1800s in Telemark, Denmark. Sound familiar? That’s right: It’s also the namesake of the knee-destroying ski style where your heels inexplicably pop out of your bindings.

Danes began having drinks and snacks after skiing as a social event. And as it grew, it evolved into a gathering where you’d eat large portions of potatoes to soak up all the aquavit (So, historically speaking, that basket of fries you order for the table is like the official food of après-ski!). The custom finally went international in the first Winter Olympics back in 1924, which took place in … Chamonix, France.

From there, word spread across the Swiss Alps (thanks to their legendary yodelers, I assume) and eventually, in the Austrian ski hamlet of St. Anton, the phrase aprèsski finally took hold. Fun fact: the French term narrowly won out over the German term, gemütlichkeit (which is fortunate, because gemütlichkeit sounds like what you say to someone who just sneezed and burped at the same time).

What came next? Of course, in the proud tradition of Vienna sausages and Arnold Schwarzenegger, it wasn’t long before the Austrian export of après-ski would take America by storm. At first, in New Hampshire, it was spaghetti and tiny glasses of wine, but as the rope tow came into fashion and skiers no longer had to hike up to ski down, the party evolved and the hoity-toity, French-but-not-French pre-dinner post-skiing, classy-yet-debaucherous eat-drink-dance-sing-talk-athon as we know it today gloriously came into form.

And that’s what Google and Merriam-Webster won’t tell you: Variety is the secret sauce of après-ski. After 175 years of practice, we’ve learned that how you après matters a lot less than whether you après.

And now you’ve got some nuggets of wisdom to go with that basket of fries.

Joe Borden is a writer/producer in Big Sky, Montana. He has written for Tosh.0, Talkshow with Spike Feresten, and Showbiz Show with David Spade. He’s currently producing the film “Somewhere in Montana” starring Graham McTavish.

7 March 25 - April 7, 2022

Explore Big Sky

JOIN US THIS SUMMER FOR

Big Sky’s Biggest Week WED. JULY 13 – SUN. JULY 16 Big Sky Art Auction

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Big Sky Community Rodeo Street Dance, Town Center Avenue

TUESDAY, JULY 19 Big Sky Bingo Night

Big Sky Community Day / Mutton Bustin’

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20

Big Sky PBR Golf Tournament at Black Bull Golf Course

THURSDAY, JULY 21

Big Sky PBR Basecamp Vendor Village Open PBR Bull Riding Night 1

FRIDAY, JULY 22

Big Sky PBR Basecamp Vendor Village Open PBR Bull Riding Night 2 Live Music Following Bull Riding - TBD

SATURDAY, JULY 23

Big Sky PBR Basecamp Vendor Village Open PBR Bull Riding Night 3 Live Music Following Bull Riding, Hayes Carll

VISIT BIGSKYPBR.COM FOR TICKETS & INFORMATION BIG SKY EVENTS ARENA, BIG SKY, MONTANA

8 March 25 - April 7, 2022

LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS

Explore Big Sky

Sen. Steve Daines calls on Biden administration to clarify impact of Yellowstone visitation

LPHS wins first place in small school division at regional science fair

EBS STAFF

EBS STAFF

GARDINER — Sen. Steve Daines called on the Biden administration to clarify the impact of the increased visitation Yellowstone National Park last week. Daines and Sen. Angus King of Maine are asking the National Park Service director Charles Sams to hold a congressional briefing on the impact of increased attendance in the park, visitors and surrounding communities.

BUTTE – Lone Peak High School ninth graders traveled to Butte on March 3 to compete in the Montana Technological University Regional Science Fair. Students presented on 17 different projects across disciplines ranging from animal science and medicine and health to electrical and mechanic engineering.

Collectively, the students had outstanding performances and the team placed first in the small school division.

Yellowstone has seen “historic numbers of National Park visitors” according to Daines. Yellowstone saw an annual visitation increase from about 3.6 million in 2010 to nearly 4.9 million in 2021.

Two LPHS students, Hazel Buotte and Grady Towle, earned blue ribbon honors and advanced to the second round of judging.

Sens. Daines and King wrote that the park system “is one of our nation’s greatest treasures, and as such we must be vigilant in ensuring that they continue to be available for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of this and future generations.”

Buotte took home a bronze medal for her project “Effects of repetition in machine learning on task performance,” as well as the Mu Alpha Theta Award for the most challenging, thorough and creative investigation of a problem involving mathematics accessible to high school students.

Yellowstone ranked 12th out of 400 national parks on a compiled list of the most visited parks last year by the National Park Service.

Towel clinched the gold medal for his project, “Simulating conditions of extraterrestrial potato growth,” and received top score for the ninth graders projects.

His project also received the “Best of Show” Montana Technological University Biology Department Award.

42nd Annual Pie Auction returns

FWP encourages bear awareness

EBS STAFF BIG SKY – A sweet Big Sky tradition is returning this year on April 2 at the Montage. After two years in a virtual format, the Big Sky Parent Teacher Organization’s 42nd Annual Pie Auction will be held in person with an online bidding option for certain items.

EBS STAFF BIG SKY – As the snow melts and the weather warms, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has provided tips to help people be bear aware when living in bear country as the bruins emerge from their dens.

The Pie Auction is a time-honored Big Sky event that raises funds to support school programs such as the fourth grade class’ Expedition Yellowstone, school ski days, the eight grade Washington D.C. trip and more.

The most common human-bear conflicts involve unsecured food attractants, Montana FWP said, so residents should ensure they remove or secure food attractants such as garbage, bird feeders and pet food.

This year’s theme is the ‘80s, meant to harken back to the roots of this long-time event.

The event includes a buffet-style dinner, a silent and live auction, and of course, pies.

Bear awareness for recreationalists: • Carry and know how to use bear spray.

• Travel in groups whenever possible and plan to be out in the daylight hours.

• Avoid carcass sites and concentrations of ravens and other scavengers.

• Watch for signs of bears such as bear scat, diggings, torn-up logs and turned over rocks, and partly consumed animal carcasses.

• Make noise, especially near streams or in thick forest where hearing and visibility is impaired.

Last year’s event raised over $111,000, and according to PTO President Jennie Bibbins, the goal is to double that this year. The first $100,000 will cover the PTO’s annual budget and support the school. Anything above that will support school district efforts to provide cost-of-living adjustments for district staff.

“I am looking forward to seeing everyone together again, in person, at our live event,” Bibbins said. “And I am so very excited to celebrate our teachers and school staff, as they have been a true source of strength for our students over these past two very challenging years. On top of the ‘80s theme, I would say the true theme is the teachers and school staff and that is why we have dedicated this event to them and the COLA initiative.”

Bear awareness for campers: • Camp away from areas where you see grizzly signs.

• Keep tents free of food and attractants.

• Follow all food storage regulations.

• Bear aware for anglers: • Don’t leave fish entrails on shorelines of lakes and streams.

• Sink entrails in deep water.

Gallatin County voters to decide on local marijuana taxes EBS STAFF

GALLTIN COUNTY – Gallatin County voters will be asked to decide on two local-option marijuana taxes as part of this year’s June 7 primary election ballot, according to a March 10 Gallatin County press release.

The Gallatin County Commission unanimously voted to add the following two issues to the ballot for voters’ consideration: • A 3 percent local-option sales tax on all non-medical (recreational) marijuana products sold in Gallatin County

•

A 3 percent local-option sales tax on all medical marijuana products sold in Gallatin County.

The state already imposes a 20 percent tax on recreational marijuana and a 4 percent tax on medical marijuana.

If both measures pass, the total recreational marijuana tax in Big Sky, which includes the Big Sky Resort Area District tax of 4 percent, would be 27 percent and medical marijuana would be subject to 7 percent tax.

If passed, the local-option taxes would go into effect on Oct. 1, 2022.

9 March 25 - April 7, 2022

LOCAL

Explore Big Sky

Local student presents ‘The Montana Hoops Project’

BY GABRIELLE GASSER BIG SKY – “The Montana Hoops Project” created by Lone Peak High School junior Jessie Bough, premiered on March 17 to a packed audience. Two years in the making, the photo project details two road trips that Bough took in the summer of 2020 with her older brother through rural Montana and the many basketball hoops she found along the way.

Inspired by traveling across the state to compete in volleyball and basketball games, Bough, 16, aimed to convey the spirit of rural Montana with her stark imagery as well as to draw attention to the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in the state. Mentored by the Red Ants Pants Foundation Girls Leadership Program, Bough said she hopes this project will create understanding and build bridges between rural and Native Montana.

“Bringing awareness to an epidemic happening in our state, that of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, was another goal and I feel it was super well-received, although a bit hard to swallow,” she said.

Through donations and raffling one of her photos, Bough raised $15,000 for the evening to go towards organizations supporting MMIW. Read on to learn more about Bough’s project in her own words.

As she took the stage to share her project, Bough was introduced in an unusual way: as if she were taking the court as a starting basketball player. She quipped that she has always had a flair for dramatic entrances, drawing chuckles from the crowd.

Bough was a charismatic narrator, taking the audience with her down memory lane into the heart of rural Montana, and of course, Class C basketball.

“It was always my goal to bring authentic, rural Montana to Big Sky,” Bough wrote in an email to EBS. “Basketball is something all small towns in Montana share and being able to show our community what we have in common with other small towns in Montana seemed important.”

To wrap her presentation, Bough left the audience with a simple request: “Please explore Montana with an open heart and open mind.”

In addition to sharing her photography and her own journey, Bough shed light on some recent cases of MMIW and capped the evening with a screening of the new documentary “Say Her Name.”

There are currently 59 missing Indigenous women and girls in Montana, Bough stated in her presentation. Native American women are also three times more likely to experience sexual violence compared to white women. The prevalence of Native women who go missing or are murdered has been likened to an epidemic.

We find hoops of all kinds and sizes. The one thing in common is that they are all well-used. This hoop was on the Rocky Boy Reservation and boasted a wooden backboard and sturdy rim. PHOTO

BY JESSIE BOUGH

10 March 25 - April 7, 2022

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11 March 25 - April 7, 2022

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Big Sky youth hockey league claims championship in Helena

BY GABRIELLE GASSER

“I hope we get to do a lot more tournaments and games and I hope we win,” he said.

BIG SKY– Big Sky’s youth hockey team took first place at a tournament in Helena on March 19 and 20, the first official tournament the team has ever competed in.

In its eighth year running, the Big Sky Skating and Hockey Association Youth Hockey Program drew around 120 kids this year including players between 3 and 16 years old, according to McFadden who has been coaching for seven years. The hockey season runs from mid-November to mid-March. McFadden said the players generally practice twice a week and he tries to organize two or three informal games a season.

Outfitted in light pink jerseys, eight Big Sky players from 12U, 14U and 16U divisions combined with six players from Lewistown to form the tournament’s standout team. In an exciting game that went into overtime, the Big Sky/Lewistown squad claimed the championship title in a victory over Flathead 2-1 after collecting their only tournament loss to Flathead earlier in the tournament.

“I think it was really joyful,” said Head Coach Joseph McFadden. “…it was so cool for these kids to experience that,” he continued. “They really never played games in that magnitude.

They’ve never really played indoors before in that magnitude. So, it was just pretty fascinating to watch them experience that.”

The combined Big Sky/Lewistown team and their coaches pose on the ice in Helena after beating Flathead to win the tournament. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSEPH MCFADDEN

Eleven-year-old Steen Mitchell from Big Sky said the win felt good. Mitchell, who plays center, has been with the youth league since he was 4.

“I was in deep shock because it was our first tournament and the team that we played was really good,” he said.

Born from a desire to offer kids an evening activity in the wintertime, McFadden says hockey has a lot more to teach kids than just skating and drills. In addition to getting players excited about the sport itself, McFadden said this program teaches them life skills and how to be a good team member.

“You’re not gonna like everybody that you work with,” he said. “You’re not gonna like everybody you go to school with. You’re not gonna like every neighbor that you live next to, but you have to have some sort of common thread. And if you can find that, you’re going to have a more enjoyable life. I think in any team sport that’s going to be pretty easy to translate into life if you could learn that and then be a graceful loser. You’re not always winning.”

Mitchell’s teammate, 13-year-old Thomas Trulen, has also been playing hockey since he was 4.

Mitchell’s mom, Mara, praised the coaches and said she’s watched the BSSHA program grow and evolve since her son joined. She noted the cost-prohibitive nature of a sport like hockey and expressed her gratitude that the program is affordable for families.

“It was really fun and awesome to be there,” Trulen said of the tournament. Winning, he added, felt like a miracle.

“It’s amazing,” she said, “and we’re so appreciative and thankful for having this opportunity in our little town.”

The taste of victory has already motivated Trulen to look forward to next season.

Bella Butler contributed reporting to this story.

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12 March 25 - April 7, 2022

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One degree of separation

Big Sky’s link to the Ukrainian conflict

BY JANA BOUNDS

“Moldova should be worried about the situation in Ukraine,” Melnic said, “and the whole world should be.

This is a test for all of us. Putin will continue to push boundaries to see how far he can go.”

EBS CONTRIBUTOR

MOLDOVA – Globalization minimizes our degrees of separation from the faraway joys of humanity. This is particularly so in tourism-driven communities like Big Sky, where the J-1 Visa workers who support the local workforce bring with them global knowledge and personal stories.

Many of his friends, including Kabak, are from Kyiv and Odessa in Ukraine. Most have fled cities and are now part of the drove of displaced civilians. Moldova is, “for now” safe, he wrote, and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian asylum seekers have either stayed in Moldova or used it as a transit zone to other European countries.

This was true for Alexandru Melnic, a Moldova citizen and J-1 Visa worker at Moonlight Basin and By Word of Mouth. During his time in Big Sky, Melnic shared tales of Moldovan traditions and introduced colleagues to Moldovan rock music.

Melnic stresses his country’s tenuous grasp of stability and safety, and that he believes the fate of Moldova, Europe and the rest of the world hangs in the balance.

“If hypothetically speaking, [Putin] manages to [take over] Ukraine, the next target is Moldova,” he wrote over Facebook Messenger.

Globalization also brings us nearer to foreign horrors, like Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine and the violence that’s followed. This is another thing Melnic is sharing with the Big Sky community.

Moldova is a small nation only slightly larger than Maryland, situated between Ukraine to the north and east and Romania to the west. At just under 34,000 square kilometers, it’s about 290 times smaller than the U.S.

Maryna Kabak, a friend of Melnic’s, lives in Ukraine and has extended her voice across the globe to share her story.

“We passed from the stage of shock and uncontrolled anger and hate to a stage of constant grief,” Kabak wrote on Facebook Messenger weeks after constant bombardment.

“We just want peace, to stop this war, to kick out the enemy from our territory and return to our homes.”

Kabak’s entire perception of happiness shifted. She and her friends are feeling nostalgic about normalcy: craving it, remembering it and clinging to experiences of routine whenever possible.

Maryna Kabak and her husband Edoardo Scocciolini had just received their wedding photos and shared them with family and friends on Facebook, when five days later, they awoke to missile strikes. Now, Maryna’s Facebook includes a post on how to support the Ukrainian army “our defenders and true heroes” via an “official confirmed by government charity fund.” PHOTO COURTESY OF MARYNA KABAK

“We started to appreciate our lives more,” she wrote. “For example my friend in Kyiv is just happy when she has a few calm minutes to drink coffee in her kitchen, in pauses between bombings and hiding in shelter.”

Long before the attack, on August 24, 2021, Kabak’s Italian husband Edoardo Scocciolini posted about Ukraine’s Independence Day, a celebration of 30 years of freedom from Russia: “From the very first moment I came here I saw a country full of problems and contradictions yet constantly willing to grow, to improve and open its doors to the world. I found countless resilient people with a lot of dignity.”

Shock and panic Kabak and her husband Edoardo Scocciolini woke in Odessa, Ukraine on Feb. 24 at 5 a.m. to what they thought were fireworks, but the explosions intensified, she explained.

Melnic was born and raised in northeastern Moldova, close to the Ukrainian border. Sunday Market in his hometown included many Ukrainian farmers and artisans who came to trade.

She turned to Facebook and saw a post from a friend in Kyiv: “Do you hear these explosions too?” She then saw comments from people in different cities. Blasts were taking place all over the country.

He has worked on projects with Ukrainian nationals and took part in one project in Lviv, Ukraine, where Russian missile strikes have hit.

“I realized that Russia started the war. My sister that lives in Kyiv called me crying asking what to do,” she wrote.

There was a statement from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy implementing a military condition. While aware of the threat, few believed the invasion would actually happen. All of it was unexpected.

Moldova functioned as a chess piece between Romania and Russia during World War II, when after an ultimatum, Romania relinquished the country to Russia.

As far as recent history goes, Ukraine and Moldova are deeply intertwined. Both were under Soviet control until 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed and small Eastern European nations gained the opportunity for independence.

A pre-invasion view of Old Town Odessa, Ukraine and the view from Maryna Kabak’s favorite coffee shop “Coffeetory.” PHOTO COURTESY OF MARYNA KABAK

“People started to panic,” Kabak wrote. "There was big traffic. Since that day, my heart is bleeding for my family, relatives, friends and all Ukrainians.”

While Kabak and her husband headed to the Moldovan border, her cousin went to a Ukrainian military base and her cousin’s husband began fighting Russian invaders in the streets. With the country in turmoil, they had to place their two children in a shelter—alone.

These are the kinds of sacrifices that are being made in Ukraine minute-by-minute.

Kabak’s ​​vicissitude from normal life to war is evident on her Facebook page, which transitioned within a week from blissful wedding photos to prayers from friends, videos of missile strikes, and posts about Ukrainian solidarity. “[The] wedding and that joy now isn’t important at all,” she wrote. “For me the biggest joy of my life would be that they announce our victory in this war, that we defeated the evil and can return to our home.”

‘This is a test for us all’ Melnic is currently studying European legal affairs for his master’s degree in Belgium but will return to Moldova this summer.

Ukrainian sacrifice Kabak wrote that she feels a high level of disbelief of what is happening in her country. “[It is] shocking to see families that try to evacuate through humanitarian corridors, but get shot by Russians. Shocking to see how authorities in blocked cities have to bury the dead in mass graves, because there are constant shootings,” she wrote, emphasizing the bombings of schools, children’s hospitals and maternity hospitals.

“All this war is atrocity. You can see it from the photos and videos,” she wrote. “Ukraine is the only victim here and Ukrainians absolutely don’t deserve these attacks from Russia, our country is democratic and here are no signs of nazi. We lived our good peaceful life before invasion [from] Russia.”

Although grateful that much of the world is speaking out in support of Ukraine, Kabak said her countrymen really need “more actions from Western leaders, more sanctions toward Russia, more concrete and practical help to Ukraine.”

As attacks on the Ukrainian populace intensify, Kabak wrote that it almost seems the West “is ready to sacrifice Ukrainians” for insulation from Russian attacks of their own countries and for economic self-preservation.

Russia is threatening the whole world, she wrote, and can just as easily unexpectedly attack other countries without provocation.

“Of course people get tired of news, some prefer to forget, but our fight is still going, the war isn’t over. People are dying. It’s important to speak,” Kabak wrote. “We hope

and pray for peace.”

13 March 25 - April 7, 2022

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State Supreme Court revives proposed ballot initiative intended to place stringent protections on local rivers

BY BELLA BUTLER HELENA – The Montana Supreme Court on March 15 effectively placed back on its trajectory a ballot initiative intended to provide stringent protections to sections of the Gallatin and Madison rivers. The court brought the measure one step closer to being placed on the November ballot by reversing the Montana attorney general’s conclusion that the initiative was legally insufficient.

Soon after Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued a memo on Jan. 28 finding Ballot Initiative 24 legally insufficient, the initiative’s petitioners, Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, Montana Rivers, John Meyer and Gallatin Wildlife Association, asked the state Supreme Court to review Knudsen’s legal finding. The court found Knudsen’s determination incorrect, allowing I-24 to continue pursuit of the November 2022 ballot.

The Gallatin River runs through Yellowstone National Park south of Big Sky. PHOTO BY DIANE RENKIN/NPS I-24 would grant outstanding resource water, or ORW, designation—the greatest protection feasible under state law—to the section of the Madison River between Ballot initiative petitioners work with the Legislative Services Division to craft Hebgen and Ennis lakes and the section of the Gallatin River between language that meets those requirements. When Knudsen found I-24 legally Yellowstone National Park’s boundary south of Big Sky and the deficient, he also revised the initiative’s language to clarify that a ballot initiative Spanish Creek confluence. granting ORW designation bypasses the currently existing ORW review process, which includes local government consultation, review of social and ORW designation prohibits the Montana Department of Environmental economic impacts and an environmental impact statement. Knudsen said he Quality from issuing permits for new or increased point-soure discharge that changed this language because the original language was not sufficiently plain would result in a permanent change to water quality. I-24 petitioners included and easy to understand. language in the initiative to prohibit new or increased point-source discharge that would result in a permanent or temporary change in water quality.

I-24’s petitioners argued to the court that this amendment made the language unclear and was intended to dissuade voters from approving the initiative.

In his Jan. 28 memo, Knudsen found the initiative legally insufficient on the grounds that ORW designation of these river sections “could cause a regulatory The court ruled that Knudsen’s amendment was “confusing and convoluted” taking” and “will likely cause significant material harm to one or more business and instead provided its own language for the initiative that outlined the interests in Montana.”

ORW designation area, stated that Montana could not issue discharge permits that resulted in adverse temporary or permanent change in water quality, and Indeed, dozens of comments sent to Knudsen during his review opposed I-24, clarified that the initiative bypassed the current ORW review process. many expressing concern for the designation’s impact to development.

In response to the court’s rulings, Montana Department of Justice Knudsen’s legal argument hinged upon a statement in the Montana Communications Director Kyler Nerison issued the following statement: Constitution that reads: “Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation to the full extent of the loss.”

“The state Supreme Court agreed with the substantive points of the Attorney General’s legal review: this proposal is an attempt to bypass the normal review The attorney general referenced a previous finding by the Montana Board of process and it would be a taking of private property without compensation to Environmental review that said ORW designation would effectively prohibit the owners—something that is blatantly unconstitutional. development unless that development achieved “zero discharge” into the sections of river in question. Knudsen wrote in his memo that “zero discharge” “Instead of coming to this obvious conclusion, the Supreme Court justices would not be economically nor technically feasible. engaged in legal gymnastics to align with radical environmentalists and maneuver toward an outcome that even two liberal Democrat governors Knudsen asserted that I-24 wasn’t legally substantive because it didn’t provide rejected. This proposal is an attack on businesses and private property rights and a mechanism to compensate property owners for what they might lose through the state Supreme Court’s decision to allow it to proceed will have dangerous the ORW designation. The court disagreed, arguing that these property owners implications in every corner of Montana.” could still pursue litigation to recover compensation.

Gallatin Wildlife Association President Clint Nagel said he’s pleased with the “There is no constitutional need for I-24 itself to contain a mechanism for Supreme Court’s rulings. compensation because the mechanism already exists,” the court’s opinion says.

“I also think we, as citizens, as part of the public, have a right to petition our The court also issued an opinion on Knudsen’s argument that the petitioners government,” he told EBS on March 16. “And that’s what this was about is didn’t file the issue with the Supreme Court within the required 10 days on the taking that right and coming up with this petition on trying to get the waters of legal sufficiency review. The court found that while Knudsen’s memo was issued the Gallatin River and the Madison River designated as an outstanding resource on Friday, Jan. 28, it wasn’t provided to the petitioners until Monday, Jan. 31, water … And I think that people have a right to make a statement in that and the 10-day window wouldn’t have been triggered until then. regard. And I don’t think the attorney general has the right to take that away from the people.”

Montana law also dictates that ballot initiative language be “title and impartial explanation of the proposed ballot issue in plain, easily understood language I-24 can now continue the process of being approved for the ballot, which and may not be arguments or written so as to create prejudice for or against the includes gathering signatures from 5 percent of the total number of qualified issue,” according to Montana Code Annotated. voters in Montana, including 5 percent of the voters in each of 34 legislative house districts.

14 March 25 - April 7, 2022

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BSSD enrolling students for early kindergarten program

BY GABRIELLE GASSER BIG SKY – In response to community need, the Big Sky School District will offer a new early kindergarten, or 4K, program for the coming school year. The school is currently advertising enrollment in the program.

This program, made possible by BSSD school board’s new policy 3100, will allow the district to enroll 20 4-year-olds. The policy, adopted by the BSSD Board of Trustees on Jan. 11, allows the school to enroll the younger children under exceptional circumstances and still collect full government funding for those students.

At a March 15 meeting, the school board approved the hire of teacher Maggie Luchini who will be teaching in the new 4K classroom.

Right now, an enrollment form is available on BSSD’s website. Elementary Principal Brittany Shirley said she will notify families of their enrollment no later than May 30. Children born on or after Sept. 11, 2017, and before Sept. 10, 2018 are eligible for the program.

Shirley said she is excited to have the new “littlest learners” on campus and added that she thinks they’ll add a lot of value to the school community. There will be two big overarching benefits of this program, according to Shirley: alleviating the financial burden of child care on families and building foundational skills for the children.

Montana is one of six states without a publicly funded pre-Kindergarten program. Recent attempts in the state The Ophir Elementary School building will soon include a 4K Legislature to implement such a service have failed, but classroom of 20 4-year-olds. PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER Montana law allows schools to enroll students under 5 if “…I’m hopeful that we can really help to support some there are “exceptional circumstances.” The model policy of those working families who are in need,” she said. provided by the Montana School Boards Association This program comes at a critical time when the Big Sky community has identified gives state school districts guidance when establishing early childhood education access to affordable child care as a top issue. enrollment. According to public records, approximately 90 districts have adopted this policy.

Mariel Butan, executive director of local day care Morningstar Learning Center, sees potential for financial and developmental benefits coming out of this program. She In the BSSD school board’s policy 3100, exceptional circumstances include a public added that providing child care choices for parents is valuable, something that before health emergency or other community disaster; the absence of available early childhood this program Big Sky didn’t have much of. education opportunities in the community leading to learning loss; a disparity of access to early childhood education caused by the cost-prohibitive nature; and if improved access to early childhood education opportunities in the community will expand parent entry into the workforce.

School board trustee Stacy Ossorio called the new program a great initiative.

“More children will be able to enter kindergarten with having had exposure to early childhood education," she said. “Our school district is lucky to be able to have the community support and the space at the school to make this opportunity available.”

To get the program up-and-running, the district is making a one-time ask of $55,000 to the Big Sky Resort Area District board for startup costs. After that, the program will be sustained by government funding according to BSSD Superintendent Dustin Shipman.

“I think having school choice benefits the community and having the additional service benefits the community,” Butan said. “The 4K program is not going to have the same schedule as Morningstar and so that’s going to provide an additional option for families who maybe don’t need year-round childcare or don’t need a full day.”

Ophir Elementary School is an International Baccalaureate school following the Primary Years Programme, and Shirley said this new classroom will feature inquirybased learning which for 4-year-olds, means a lot of play. She added that the learning will be rooted in kindergarten standards, teaching students things like learning letter names and sounds and numbers one through 10.

“Our target is to build those foundational skills so that we have kids who are set up for a really successful school experience,” Shirley said.

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15 March 25 - April 7, 2022

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Resort tax board evaluates fund applicants ahead of FY23 allocations

BY GABRIELLE GASSER

organizations heading into allocations, and when she sees administrative costs over 25 percent it’s concerning.

BIG SKY – The Big Sky Resort Area District board is currently working to move the needle on the types of investments that the district is making after receiving and reviewing letters of intent from sponsoring organizations for projects.

At a March 9 meeting, the board reviewed 22 LOIs, which serve as a screening process ahead of project applications for fiscal year 23 dollars. The biggest priority identified by the board as it moves forward in the process of allocating resort tax funds is to reduce its investments in administration and raise its investments in capital. The LOIs also revealed a 28 percent variance between what the district budgeted for FY23 allocations and actual requests.

The district breaks down resort tax dollars in two ways, investment type and impact areas. The three investment types are: administration, programming and capital. The six impact areas are: health and safety; public works; recreation and conservation; economic development; arts and education; and housing.

“We want to make thoughtful investments, and in order to do that, we need to know that the group is sustainable,” she said in a March 15 interview.

The district’s scoring system for sponsors and applications awards points based on a variety of criteria in three focus areas: collaboration, efficiency and planning. The district is also shifting to a three-year budgeting strategy which relies on organizations to include their projected asks for the next three years in their application.

At a March 9 meeting, the Big Sky Resort Area District board reviewed 22 letters of intent from sponsoring organizations for projects ahead of project applications for fiscal year 23 dollars. GRAPHIC COURTESY OF BSRAD

“It was interesting to me that 44 percent was programming, but 27 percent [was] administration, which I personally would like to see decrease to 20 percent or less,” said Board Chair Sarah Blechta at the meeting.

Her desire to see administrative investments reduced was echoed by executive director of the district Daniel Bierschwale and by her fellow board members.

“We have consistently expressed a preference for making investments in the community, which is capital expenditures,” Secretary and Treasurer Steve Johnson said in the meeting.

Of the 22 LOIs received by the district, seven reported that over 25 percent of expenses in their current fiscal year budget are administrative.

Blechta referenced a common rule of thumb for nonprofits which says that administrative costs should be 25 percent or lower for the organization to be sustainable.

She added that she wants to understand the long-term sustainability of these

“As we lead into the allocation process, we’re only as good as the data that we received from our partners and we’ve really been encouraging and incentivizing long range planning that addresses high level community needs,” Bierschwale said in a March 15 interview.

He added that the district is focused on objectivity and prioritizing result-driven projects that fulfill a community need.

This year, the district saw a 28 percent variance in what it had budgeted for allocations based on projections and the actual asks in the LOIs. The district had budgeted roughly $7.4 million based off projections from FY22 applications and now expects to receive 69 project requests totaling $9.4 million.

In addition to considering these FY23 requests, the district has already committed $5.1 million in interlocal agreements with local government entities, including the additional 1 percent tax collections for infrastructure.

“This team that we have at resort tax has put so much time and effort into these LOIs and setting us all up for such great metrics,” Blechta said. “I’m excited to continue to be able to use these metrics and really, I think it’s going to be great for everybody to be able to look at these entities and to be able to look at the projects, and really have a way to come up with true metrics.”

Project applications are due on March 31 followed by an opportunity for the board to ask questions. The official application review will take place on June 6 and 9.

Water and sewer board approves $6.5M addition to new plant

BY BELLA BUTLER BIG SKY – The Big Sky County Water and Sewer District board broke out its checkbook at a March 15 meeting to approve significant cost increases for an addition to its new wastewater resource recovery facility, which has been under construction since last summer.

An addition to the large-scale infrastructure project was introduced as part of the contractor’s original bid in January 2021, but the district board chose to table it at the time. Now, more than a year later, the board voted unanimously to move forward with the addition, known formally as bid alternate No. 2, but at nearly 130 percent of the initial bid.

Phase 1 of the WRRF project will more-than double the district’s current wastewater treatment capacity when finished. Bid alternate No. 2 includes the construction of an additional tank that will expand that capacity even more.

Though this addition is not part of the Phase 1 plan, the district’s executive director, Ron Edwards, said it’s more cost effective and efficient to include it in the contractor’s current scope of work.

“A lot of it’s opportunity,” he told EBS after the March 15 meeting, “because we’ve got a contract, we’ve got a batch plant, we’ve got engineering drawings …

I think things will get even more expensive over time … Getting it done now makes sense.”

According to Edwards, the board chose not to approve the additional work last year in order to get the Phase 1 construction started quicker. RSCI, the

contractor, initially bid the additional work at $4.9 million and said it would hold that price for a period of time.

Ahead of the March 15 meeting, RSCI rebid the work at roughly $6.4 million, due to inflated building and supply costs, RSCI Project Manager Trent Dyksterhouse explained to the board during the meeting.

While the board could have secured the cheaper bid for the additional work if the funds had been committed last year, Edwards said RSCI could still have submitted a change order with increased costs after the fact.

District board director Mike DuCuennois said at the time when the $4.9 million bid was issued, full funding for the project hadn’t yet been finalized.

“We were just nervous about taking on that additional fiscal risk prior to letting it play out a little bit more,” he said. “The decision was better to make now than before.”

Additional material testing and engineering work bring the alternate’s total closer to $6.5 million. An unallocated chunk of a $43 million First Security Bank loan to the district will fund the additional work.

At the meeting, the board also approved the use of $817,000 from its reserves to fund cleaning of its aeration pond.

Total costs for the project are $52 million, according to board director Mike Wilcynski, with more alternates likely coming into the project’s sphere of work down the road.

SPORTS

17 March 25 - April 7, 202

Explore Big Sky

SECTION 2: SPORTS, ENVIRONMENT & OUTDOORS AND HEALTH How do you define sacred things in wild nature? pg. 21

Montana’s deadliest avalanche season in more than a decade pg. 24

Breaking down stigma pg. 31

The meaning of Class C basketball

BY GUS HAMMOND EBS CONTRIBUTOR

BIG SKY – People have many different ways of seeking an adrenaline rush. It may be hitting a big cliff on the mountain or that moment of pulling the trigger when hunting. For me, it’s hearing the stomps and claps as the following words echo through the gym: “Now, for the starting lineup for your Lone Peak Big Horns...” That is what gets me going.

Everybody remembers the sports they played in high school. At most normal sized high schools that have hundreds to thousands of kids, many don't have the opportunity to be on a varsity team. Then there is Montana Class C basketball.

I go to our local high school in Big Sky, Lone Peak High School, home of the Big Horns. LPHS is just over 10 years old but has already had a big impact on the community.

Big Sky is one of the best places to grow up.

To be a part of an expanding school and community is always a roller coaster of emotions. I have 28 kids in my class, and I've sure had my opportunity to explore the world of varsity sports.

everyone, and everyone knows you. It can be nice to get away from all that and play some basketball in an old, historic gym.

Many kids, including myself, have friendships with fellow 12C student athletes. It's almost as if we all go to one big school. Since I go to school with only about 100 kids, it is nice to make friends outside of that realm. One team that I bond with is the Bruins.

My team and I share a fond friendship with the guys of Gardiner.

When all the teams come together during postseason play, it's fun to see everyone playing basketball together. But there are many different relationships between schools. Some kids have dated, some are friends, and some even flat out hate each other. It's a unique thing to witness and be a part of.

Driving across southwestern Montana truly signifies Class C. Missing hours and hours of school because of a sport is a high school student's favorite. Lima, Montana, home of the Bears, is only 76 miles from Big Sky as the crow flies. This trip turns into a 3 hour and 50 minute bus ride. These bus rides are full of fun team traditions and great conversations full of laughter and bonding.

These traditions on the bus ride can include a variety of conversations, and sometimes songs. Our coach, Junior Gus Hammond drives to the basket during the Big Horns' John Hannahs, likes to tell us his best stories of final game of the 2021-22 season on the road against rivals the West growing up on a ranch that keep all of us intrigued.

Yellowstone Wolverines. PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER We talk about games, what we need to do better and how to understand the opponent. And on the way home, win or lose, we try to make the best of it. I'm starting to realize that growing up goes by too fast. Playing basketball with the people I have known my whole life This past basketball season was without a doubt one of the craziest seasons the is a great way to spend my time.

Lone Peak Big Horns have had. My team and I played almost 20 games this The 12C District, which LPHS competes in, includes high schools from West Yellowstone, Ennis, Gardiner, White Sulphur Springs, Shields Valley, Manhattan Christian and Harrison/Willow Creek. To be a Class C school means that your high school has no more than 100 students enrolled.

season. Over half of those games came within six, seven or eight points. One of the most memorable games of my life was playing the Gardiner Bruins on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022.

We had played this team twice before and split wins. While the game was close the whole time, it came down to the last seconds. The Bruins were up 40 - 42 and my teammate, Juliusz Shipman, snagged an amazing rebound and finished with a layup to send the game into overtime. Overtime was tight, but the Bruins ultimately walked with the victory.

Basketball doesn't just teach you about the sport; it teaches you how to become a person in our society. Growing up in Big Sky, you realize that not every Class C community is the same, but we all have a fond respect for each other that carries through Montana's Class C high schools.

Although there were many more losses than wins this past season, my team and I never gave up. Every game there was blood, sweat and tears left on the court.

There are many unbelievable stories from rural basketball courts throughout the southwestern corner of Montana. For example, there is nothing quite like the Battle of 191: the aggressive, sweaty and tear-jerking games between the Big Horns and the West Yellowstone Wolverines.

It's always a riot playing in West Yellowstone. This year we had a fire alarm go off, an insanely close win for our Lady Big Horns, and even a West Yellowstone fan getting ejected. Let's just say they can get rowdy. But I live for games like that.

Having people I have known my entire life in the stands cheering me on always puts a smile on my face. These games get so unruly because, quite frankly, a high school basketball game on Friday or Saturday nights is the place to be in these small towns. These fans like to support their small communities.

For some kids in rural Montana, the basketball courts are where they deal with things on their minds. Growing up in small communities like these, you know

Hammond and his teammates cheer on the Big Horns on the court during a home game against the Gardiner Bruins. PHOTO BY GABRIELLE GASSER

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A tale of two rural Western counties

BY DAVE MARSTON WRITERS ON THE RANGE

Why would rural Delta County, Colorado, say no to a solar farm that would enrich the county by $13 million over 15 years, at roughly the same time neighboring Montrose County said yes to a solar farm that might power nothing but the energy-draining cryptocurrency industry?

In early March, Delta County commissioners voted 2-1 to deny a 472-acre solar array built by Guzman Energy, a move that would help shift the local rural electric cooperative, Delta-Montrose Electric Association, to clean energy. Many locals found the no vote not only mystifying but also infuriating.

Unlike Guzman Energy, which financed DMEA’s exit from its former power supplier, Tri State Generation and Transmission, the business called Co Mine 1 Landco LLC in Montrose is secretive, though crypto mining, aka validating cryptocurrency transactions, is the likely use, according to the Colorado Sun. The Sun points out that the company’s vagueness failed to trouble the Montrose County Planning Commission, which recently approved CO Mine 1 Landco LLC’s land-use change.

As for Guzman’s failure in Delta County, “The problem is some (people) got political, just because it was solar,” says Delta County Commissioner Don Suppes, the sole yes vote. “We’re sending the wrong message that we don’t want people investing in Delta County,” he says.

Delta County is culturally split. Up valley, in the North Fork of the Gunnison Valley, residents support solar power and there is a thriving solar installation school, Solar Energy International, in the town of Paonia. Down valley is a more conservative, row-cropping and family-values community. The County votes 70 percent Republican.

But the consensus, at least until now, was that the electrical co-op was a local champion, serving both Delta and Montrose with electrical power and fast Internet.

Producing electrical power from home is the holy grail of the energy transition, so Guzman’s plans seemed tailored to Delta County, a right to farm community.

Sheep could graze among the solar panels, says Suppes, and “it was still grazing—just as critical as row crops.”

How did these two counties, neighbors with similar geography, come to hold such starkly different worldviews?

You could say that Montrose County started with a deprived childhood. When white families forced out the Indigenous tribes and moved into Western Colorado in the late 1800s, Delta County prospered. Some came equipped, backed by Eastern money, with nothing more than pick, shovel, or if lucky— mule scrapers. They dug miles of ditches below the West Elk Mountain range that brought water down for imported fruit trees. Coal in those same mountains was found early and mined.

Meanwhile, Montrose was left in their dust. No pick or shovel could divert water that simply did not exist in the barren Uncompahgre Valley.

Montrose land speculators’ lobbying efforts paid off in 1909, when the Bureau of Reclamation finished the Gunnison Tunnel, sending 500,000 acre-feet of Gunnison River water annually to Montrose County, turning the valley into an agricultural force.

Right now, the two counties are neck and neck based on household income, though Montrose County is better at creating jobs. Its major town, Montrose, bustles with outdoor equipment businesses and an airport favored by the resort town of Telluride.

Delta County, in its North Fork, boasts vineyards and organic agriculture, a sizable number of internet workers and a growing summer tourist trade. But Delta County still chases Montrose when it comes to economic growth.

“Delta has a long history of turning stuff away that ends up in Montrose,” says Suppes, pointing out that in 1973, Russell Stover Candies wanted to build its factory (closed in 2020) in Delta, but was turned down, so chose Montrose.

In the early 1980s, Louisiana-Pacific looked in the Delta-Montrose area for an oriented strand board plant, or OSB, location. Manufacturing OSB—a substitute for plywood—involves brewing toxic resins with wood chips.

LP chose Montrose County, which agreed with the caveat, legend has it, that the giant glue factory situate far from downtown Montrose. The DeltaMontrose County line, where the plant landed, is just seven miles from the town of Delta compared to 14 miles from Montrose. Like it or not, Delta got the criminally polluting factory, now closed.

The former LP plant now hosts the crypto mine.

In Delta County, Guzman is certain to keep looking for a home for its solar farm, and Commissioner Suppes is convinced that now, Delta will say yes.

Perhaps this time Delta County can get both the solar plant and the tax revenue.

Dave Marston is the publisher of Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, a nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He grew up in Delta County.

Byron Kominek—owner of Jack’s Solar Garden, drives a tractor by solar panels in Lafayette, Colorado in 2021. PHOTO COURTESY OF WERNER SLOCUM, NREL

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How do you define sacred things in wild Nature?

“As you walk upon the sacred earth, treat each step as a prayer.”

– Black Elk (Lakota)

BY TODD WILKINSON EBS COLUMNIST

What are the things we hold as being sacred in Nature? Can it be a rock, a view, the howl of a wolf or something unexplainable that one could call mystic?

In our America where everyone has an opinion about everything, such a question is a perfect set up for attracting sophomoric snark and trolls on social media.

I remember the 1980s when Wyomingite James G. Watt was the U.S. Interior Secretary who touted his identity as a born-again Christian. It was implied by Watt and many in those days that the only valid way of pondering spiritual connections was by filtering them through Biblical scripture.

Those with differing ways of venerating Nature, apart from the Old and New testaments, were considered pagans; whether you were Indigenous or not, it was considered foreign to hold the wholeness of the Earth itself as sacred.

The point being that reverence which did not flow through a church sanctuary was trivialized as unconventional, oddball or demonic. By extension, in order to invalidate their veneration of Nature, environmentalists who recognized a kind of creational divinity were dismissed as being “people who aren’t like us.”

In those years, most members of Congress, when debating over whether to protect special places, only embraced notions of sacredness if they conformed to Judeo-Christian beliefs.

Fast forward: the U.S. has the largest Christian population in the world.

According to a 2020 survey by the Pew Research Center, 65 percent of adults in the U.S. identify as Christians, down from almost 82 percent in 2001 and 85 percent in 1990. This means that more than one-third of American adults today do not belong to a particular Christian religious faith. Unknown is how many of those active Christians are practicing, as in going to church, let alone abiding by the teachings of Jesus.

So let’s return to the subject of sacredness again, in particular those things or places we hold as being inviolate, meaning places that are free or safe from injury or desecration. Most would agree on these: places of religious worship, cemeteries, battlefields, schools where our vulnerable children go to learn and one might also suppose pillars of our nation and form of government, as in, say, the U.S. Capitol.

the recent story in The New York Times about how toad populations in the Sonoran Desert, along the U.S. border with Mexico, are in decline from a number of causes including humans milking them for their venom.

The story was headlined: “Demand for this Toad’s Psychedelic Venom is Booming. Some Warn that’s Bad for the Toad.” You need to visit The Times website and see the photos.

The gist, which actually serves as a metaphor for our appetite of consuming— and destroying— a lot of things in Nature, goes like this: This species of desert toad (Incilius alvarius) is in decline because spiritualists insist on exploiting it.

Extracted toad venom, after drying, is smoked or ingested as a psychotropic to help heal trauma, anxiety, depression and deliver visions. Some of the so-called leaders of the churches involved, who believe toad venom is sacred medicine, refuse to use synthetic alternatives even though they know it’s taking a toll on toads.

One church in Texas reportedly charges $250 for a venom ceremony and its leader derided “green movement people” for wanting to protect the toads from exploitation.

Toads, which can reach ages of 20, already are listed as “threatened” in New Mexico with collection of toads for religious/commercial purposes being one of the contributing threats. Practitioners, according to The Times, call toad venom “the ‘God molecule,” likening its use to a “religious experience.” One person interviewed, who has adopted a Mayan name, says venom users “foam at the mouth” and “feel like they are dying before returning to life.”

If you find the toad story “strange,” remember that Christian evangelicals, part of the “Holiness movement,” use serpent handling as a rite during worship services, and so have the Hopi per ancient custom.

What kind of religion would knowingly sacrifice the sacred beings that deliver enlightenment?

The plight of toads are mere metaphors for how a lot of us exploit Nature for spiritual reasons yet when we use it up, the holy vanishes. What does it say about our unwillingness to hold up most things as inviolate?

Todd Wilkinson is the founder of Bozeman-based Mountain Journal and a correspondent for National Geographic. He authored the book “Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek,” featuring photography by famed wildlife photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen, about Grizzly Bear 399.

Why do some things qualify as sacred but not others?

Why there, but not, say, Greater Yellowstone?

Why is some water holy, but other bodies of water used as places for discharging waste are in need of laws to protect them from violation? Why aren’t public lands holding all of their original nonhuman species before Christians arrived in North America given sacred status and protection?

Why is sanctity granted to some life forms but not others? Why is the wilderness of the Holy Book vaunted as a place of revelation by God and therefore hallowed, yet the same kind of wilderness where masses of people do not go is considered “underutilized” or “locking people out” of its exploitation? Why is it considered strange to approach the mountains with humility rather than with conquering intentions and yet it’s more socially venerated to marvel about creation while sitting quietly in a pew?

On the other hand, where does one person’s notion of heresy begin and another’s end? You may have read

The Sonoran Desert toad: since its venom delivers a “religious experience,” should it be treated as sacred? PHOTO BY VLADIMIR WRANGEL / ADOBE STOCK

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What’s driving southern Montana’s deadliest avalanche season in more than a decade?

Three incidents near Cooke City and West Yellowstone have killed four motorized users this winter.

BY AMANDA EGGERT

was under about a foot of snow. Lack of oxygen is often what kills avalanche victims. It took an estimated “15 minutes tops” to dig him out, according to information provided to the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. Efforts to revive him with CPR and an automated external defibrillator, or AED, were unsuccessful.

MONTANA FREE PRESS

There have been good winters and there have been bad winters, but during an average one, avalanches claim the lives of three backcountry recreationists in Montana.

Compared to other mountainous states in the West, Montana is usually somewhere in the top five for total avalanche deaths, but rarely tops the list. In the last decade, half of the state’s avalanche fatalities have been among motorized users, typically snowmobilers.

Doug Chabot, director of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, said he’s reluctant to read too much into the three incidents, but he did say he’s seen an increase in backcountry winter recreation as gear has improved, helping drive a shift in where and how people pursue snow-based recreation.

But so far this winter, three snowmobilers and one snowbiker have died in three separate incidents in the Cooke City and West Yellowstone areas. It’s the highest avalanche death tally among motorized users in the state since the 2011-2012 season, a uniquely challenging season that led the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center to issue a record five official avalanche warnings.

This year has been almost as deadly for snowmobilers and snowbikers as the 2011-2012 season despite the absence of the kind of extreme avalanche conditions that contributed to so many fatalities a decade ago. (Six people, including four snowmobilers and one snowbiker, died in avalanches that winter.) This year’s fatalities also broke a five-winter streak during which there were no snowmobiling fatalities near Cooke City, one of the state’s most popular snowmobiling destinations.

“Backcountry use has exploded,” he said.

Search and rescue volunteers have responded to three fatal incidents in Gallatin County involving snowmobilers this winter, including an avalanche that killed an experienced rider in the Lionhead area outside of West Yellowstone. PHOTO COURTESY OF GALLATIN COUNTY SHERIFF SEARCH AND RESCUE

He also said the amount of avalanche education available to the public has ballooned over the past 15 years, and engagement with material put out by the center has “gone through the roof.” On any given day, content made available via the center’s email list, website and social media pages garners 10,000 views, he said.

Search and rescue volunteers efforts were heavily focused on the area between Big Sky and West Yellowstone in February. Most calls involved snowmobile crashes. MAP COURTESY OF GALLATIN COUNTY SHERIFF SEARCH AND RESCUE

When things do go wrong in the backcountry, Chabot said, it’s usually the same issue that leads to trouble.

Snowmobilers, snowbikers, snowboarders and skiers might tell themselves a slope isn’t avalanche-prone because they’ve never seen it slide, or because the slope tends toward the gradual side of what will slide, or because they’re at the bottom of the slope and the idea that they could shake tons of snow loose from below— an event called a remote trigger—is hard to fathom.

But that’s not how travel in avalanche terrain works, Chabot said.

“It’s sort of binary—you’re either in [avalanche terrain] or you’re not, and a lot of people try to thread these needles,” he said. “That’s why it doesn’t always work when skiers or snowmobilers try to split hairs. …

You’re starting to play a game [that] doesn’t work in your favor.”

On Feb. 6, avalanche debris suffocated an experienced snowmobiler who had taken multiple avalanche awareness classes and was familiar with the Lionhead area near West Yellowstone where he was riding. He died after a relatively shallow and narrow avalanche— it was 75 feet across and broke at a depth of 4 to 11 inches—caught him, swept him into a tree, and buried him. His brother dug him out between 15 and 25 minutes after the slide. Members of his party attempted CPR but were unable to resuscitate him.

Less than two weeks later, another fatal avalanche occurred in Cooke City, this one involving a snowbike, essentially a dirt bike modified for snow travel. The victim was a 34-year-old Bismarck, North Dakota, resident who’d ridden in the area twice before. Though he wasn’t fully buried by the avalanche—his party reported that his arm was visible and his airbag, a piece of gear that helps users stay closer to the surface of the snow in the event of a slide, was deployed—his head

Chabot said he takes heart in the fact that during two decades of growth in backcountry recreation, the United States hasn’t seen a parallel rise in fatalities.

“There [have] been estimates over the last 20 years that [recreational backcountry use has] gone up 10 times or more, and yet we are not seeing a 10-time increase in our average fatalities. We’re not looking at 250 avalanche deaths per year, we’re looking at 25,” Chabot said. “People are getting educated, they’re making better choices. Something’s working with that.”

Avalanche forecasters lament a lack of statistics charting winter backcountry use over time (for all groups, not just motorized users,) but this year’s increase in avalanche fatalities seems to coincide with an overall increase in the number of motorized winter sports enthusiasts recreating in Montana, particularly in Cooke City and Gallatin County. Related information such as annual snowmobile sales, demand for snowmobile rentals, the number of avalanche education courses available in southwest Montana, and the volume of snowmobilerelated search and rescue calls supports what avalanche forecasters and industry insiders describe: a surge in winter backcountry recreation.

The season’s fatalities started Dec. 27 with an avalanche north of Cooke City on Scotch Bonnet Mountain.

Two snowmobilers from Minnesota riding in a group of eight were buried by a 300-foot-wide avalanche that broke 4 to 5 feet deep. All eight members of the party were wearing avalanche beacons, but none reportedly read the day’s avalanche forecast prior to heading out. The members of the party who were not caught in the avalanche located and dug out the two buried individuals, the first within about 30 minutes, the other about half an hour later. Efforts to revive them with CPR were unsuccessful.

Chabot said conversations with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks about snowmobile sales and registrations support what he’s seen and heard. (Montana Free Press contacted FWP for snowmobile registration data in late February, but that information has not been provided by press time March 9.)

Montana is No. 4 in the U.S. for the number of avalanche fatalities recorded in the past decade. GRAPH COURTESY OF COLORADO AVALANCHE INFORMATION CENTER

SNOWMOBILE-RELATED INJURIES Avalanches aren’t the only hazards killing snowmobilers in southern Montana this winter. As of March 7, Gallatin County Search and Rescue volunteers have responded to nearly two dozen accidents—primarily leg, arm and head injuries—serious enough to require ambulance or helicopter transport to a hospital. Most involved a collision with a fixed object, such as a tree, though rollovers and collisions with other snowmobilers have also occurred. Two Gallatin County snowmobile accidents Gallatin County Search and Rescue responded to were ultimately fatal—three if you count the avalanche fatality near Lionhead.

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25 March 25 - April 7, 202 In February alone, Gallatin County Search and Rescue volunteers responded to 15 snowmobile-related accidents, mostly in the southern end of the county between Big Sky and West Yellowstone. On some days last month, the state’s busiest search and rescue organization fielded multiple calls for assistance locating or treating and transporting a lost or injured snowmobiler.

According to an International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association report, 59,234 snowmobiles were sold in the United States last winter, a 16 percent increase from the previous winter. The report also notes that total registrations in North America topped 1.9 million.

The U.S. alone added more than 70,000 registrations to its rolls, and used models were also hot sellers. “The snowmobile industry is now realizing the lowest number of used or non-current models available in its history,” according to the report.

“We’re getting hammered this year,” Gallatin County Search and Rescue commander Scott Secor said. “Basically our bread and butter during the winter is responding to snowmobile accidents with extremity injuries.”

ISMA President Ed Klim said numbers for the 2022 sales season (November 2021 through March of 2022) aren’t yet available, but his hunch is that they’re going to be up a little from the previous year. “The question is how much,” he said.

Secor said most snowmobile crashes his organization has responded to this winter have involved recreationists on machines they rented in West Yellowstone.

Mitch Tuttle, owner of High Mark Rentals in West Yellowstone, estimates his rental revenue is up 30 percent this year from pre-pandemic levels. He said many of his customers have little or no experience with the machines, and those riders are more apt to run into a tree or flip their snowmobile.

In February alone, Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue responded to 15 accidents involving snowmobilers, most of which involved transport to medical care via ambulance or helicopter: PHOTO COURTESY OF GALLATIN COUNTY SHERIFF SEARCH AND RESCUE

Tuttle attributes the increased interest in snowmobiling to five things: record Yellowstone National Park visitation, the COVID-19 pandemic leading people to the outdoors in droves, an economy that’s increasingly accommodating of remote work, an expansion of direct flights into and out of the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, and the wallet-fattening effects of strong stock market returns and federal pandemic relief cash.

Tuttle said another indication of swelling interest in the sport is the delay he’s encountered trying to expand his rental fleet. Some manufacturers might be in more of a pinch than others, but he said all three brands he carries—Arctic Cat, Ski-Doo and Polaris—are backed up.

As of March 4, he was still waiting for eight machines he ordered last March to arrive. Tuttle said he attributes the bottleneck to both high demand and pandemic-throttled supply chains.

“[Last winter] a lot of folks bought snowmobiles for the first time because it’s a great way to recreate during a pandemic. It’s an individual activity, you’ve always got enough space between you and everybody else … People felt more comfortable doing it,” he said, adding that many would-be vacationers skipped air travel in favor of recreation closer to home.

Klim said areas with reliable snowfall—places like Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and higher-elevation spots in Montana—are particularly popular right now. Both Cooke City, (elevation 7,580 feet) and West Yellowstone (elevation 6,667 feet) check the high-elevation, highsnowfall boxes.

“The snow’s on the ground out west,” Klim said. “When I book a vacation, we head west, we go to Montana. We like to ski at Big Sky [Resort] and we snowmobile in the Gallatins. We’re typical Michiganders in that respect.”

Last year Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue set a record for calls received. Calls involving snowmobiles are up this winter as compared to last, according to Search and Rescue commander Scott Secor. GRAPH COURTESY OF GALLATIN COUNTY SHERIFF SEARCH AND RESCUE

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Klim said he’s also seen an increase in demand for, and participation in, avalanche education during his 25-year tenure in the industry.

“Hopefully everyone pays attention to the avalanche [forecasts] and they get trained up and they have the right equipment,” he said.

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Skiing on alpine touring gear

Dan Egan skis on alpine touring boots and 96 centimeter alpine skis while touring in France. PHOTO BY JEN BENNETT

BY DAN EGAN EBS COLUMNIST

of adventures available during trips to the mountains. Thus, there are a lot of people skiing “touring” boots on traditional alpine skis.

The backcountry has seen a flood of skiers searching for fresh tracks and adventure in recent years. To complement this boom, manufacturers have ramped up their product offerings in boots, bindings and skis.

However, when it comes to performance these boots are lacking in a few areas.

Essentially what is happening is the sweet spot or balance point of the skis is shorter when the cuff of the boot is straight.

The result has been lighter skis, hybrid bindings with alpine and touring options, new skin systems and a wide selection of touring boots with multiple flex patterns. All this innovation has brought new consumers into the fold for exploring the steep and deep.

Wide alpine skis have a lot of surface area and float on the snow rather than sink into it and when they are placed on edge the ski accelerates and scoots forward moving your feet in front of your hips which puts you in the back seat. The solution most skiers come up with is to brace against the ski by straightening the downhill leg, locking out the knee and the ankle and this generally results in the skier breaking at the waist or skiing in a hunched over position.

When choosing a touring ski, consider a ski that ranges from 92–98 centimeters wide that is a lightweight touring ski, with a pin binding. This will allow the boot and ski to match up for maximum performance skiing up and skiing down.

The “pin binding” will allow the flex of the ski to enhance the performance of the touring boot.

It is also important to have a ski that is not too wide for touring up and skiing down. A ski in this suggested range will allow for good edging on firm snow while touring, it will help with the uphill kick turn, and it is lighter, creating less fatigue. The downhill advantages are a stable width that floats but not too high on the snow and has a flex designed for touring.

The mistake many skiers make is using a touring boot with wide non touring skis that are 102–116 centimeters wider with hybrid bindings. There are a few issues here, one the hybrid binding creates a flat spot on the ski and an alpine ski is generally stiffer than a touring ski. This combination with a touring boot provides the skier with a stiff wide ski that accelerates and is less forgiving than a touring ski. Plus, while skinning, it’s heavy, harder to kick turn and can slip out more on firm snow.

The characteristics of a touring boot are important to understand, they have a straight cuff with little to no forward lean. This increases performance while skinning uphill but creates some challenges when alpine skiing down. The lack of angle in the cuff of the boots places the hips slightly aft of center and makes it difficult to bend the knee over the ball of the foot. When this setup is on a stiff, wide ski the problem is magnified.

For the consumer it is appealing to have equipment that can cross over from touring to resort skiing. It makes traveling easier and provides a wide range

Unfortunately, this is ineffective for several reasons, first it is not an athletic stance, second, it’s not a stable position and third it causes fatigue. And moreover, it widens your stance, so you have a stiff lower leg separated from the uphill ski which is scissored forward. Generally, this also causes the upper body to be rotated across the hill. So basically, not good all around.

The solution is to create stability while skiing in touring boots and this is a combination of upper body position and a narrow stance. For the upper body make sure the shoulders are facing downhill and your arms are extending and reaching forward for the pole plants. Narrowing the width of your stance also increases your balance. By weighting the inside ski and narrowing your stance you will gain stability as the two skis act as one creating a wider platform to stand on. This will decrease the overall edge angle of the downhill ski which will ultimately slow down the acceleration of the skis across the hill. This will make it easier to stand taller and remain forward in your boots.

Once you obtain this stance with a calm and strong upper body and a narrow stance you can start to smear or skid the last third of your turn which will also increase your stability and make it easier for you to move your hips over your feet in the transition between turns. The overall result will be more efficient and powerful skiing.

Extreme skiing pioneer Dan Egan coaches and teaches at Big Sky Resort during the winter. His 2022 steeps camps at Big Sky Resort ran Feb. 24-26, March 10-12 and March 17-19. His newest book, “Thirty Years in a White Haze,” was released in March 2021 and is available at White-Haze.com. Visit Dan-Egan.com to preorder “All Terrain Vol. II.”

M OON LI G HT BAS I N

M EAD OW VI LLAG E

1253 Jack Creek Road MLS # 365900 | 5 BED + 5 BATH + 1 HALF BATH | 7,218 SQ. FT. | $15,000,000

729 Great Horn Road MLS # 366779 | 5 BED + 4 BATH + 1 HALF BATH | 6,304 +/- SQ. FT. | $9,500,000

S PAN I S H PEAK S M OU NTAI N CLU B

Montage Mountain Home #3 MLS # 362269 | 5 BED + 6.5 BATH | 5,320 +/- SQ. FT. | $9,200,000

M OU NTAI N VI LLAG E

11 Middle Rider Road MLS # 366608 | 5 BED + 4.5 BATH | 3,551 +/- SQ. FT. | $6,000,000

M OU NTAI N VI LLAG E

M EAD OW VI LLAG E

2D Summit View - 401D MLS # 366107 | 3 BED + 3 BATH | 2,057 +/- SQ. FT. | $2,600,000

29 Buffalo Calf Road MLS # 362638 | 0.275 +/- ACRES | $455,000

M OU NTAI N VI LLAG E

WE ST YE LLOWSTON E

14 Beehive Basin MLS # 366576 | 2.79 +/- ACRES | $3,250,000

179 Old Lionhead Camp MLS # 356535 | 6 BED + 6 BATH | 4,160 +/- SQ. FT. | $3,999,000

ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED IS DEEMED RELIABLE BUT IS NOT GUARANTEED AND SHOULD BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED. INFORMATION AND DEPICTIONS ARE SUBJECT TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, PRIOR SALES, PRICE CHANGES OR WITHDRAWAL WITHOUT NOTICE. NO GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY HAS JUDGED THE MERITS OR VALUE, IF ANY, OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ADVERTISEMENT OR ANY REAL ESTATE DESCRIBED OR DEPICTED HEREIN. THIS MATERIAL SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL IN ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE PRIOR REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED OR WHERE SUCH AN OFFER WOULD BE PROHIBITED, AND THIS SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH ANOTHER REAL ESTATE AGENT. NOTHING HEREIN SHALL BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL, TAX, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.

31 March 25 - April 7, 202

ENVIRONMENT & OUTDOORS

Explore Big Sky

Breaking down stigma

BY SHANNON STEELE EBS COLUMNIST

Much like our Instagram posts, we develop a façade in our day-to-day lives, acting like everything is okay, when it is indeed not.

Stigmatization of mental health challenges is nothing new. Throughout time, individuals and groups of people who differed from the social norm suffered from stereotypes, prejudices, social exclusion and much worse.

Heinrich said he doesn’t think people reach out for help because it's often apparent everyone is struggling with similar things. There’s a belief that “I just need to suck it up and get through it.”

For hundreds of years, people with depression, autism, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses were treated much like slaves or criminals: imprisoned, tortured or killed. During the Middle Ages, mental illness was regarded as a punishment from God, and people were burned at the stake or thrown into penitentiaries and “madhouses.” During the Age of Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries, people with mental health challenges were freed and institutions, called “insane asylums,” were established to support the treatment of mental illness.

Everyone can play a role in breaking down stigma in Big Sky by normalizing talking about mental health. When someone asks you how your day is, tell them how you’re actually feeling. Check in with others. When they say, “I’m good.”

Respond with, “No, how are you actually feeling?”

Stigma is one of the main barriers to seeking support and why people suffering from mental health challenges don’t reach out for help.

Though the consequences of facing mental health challenges may seem less extreme now, stigma still exists and takes many shapes and forms in society today. Institutionally, socially, culturally, and internally, people view mental health challenges as being unusual or tainted, even though mental health challenges are simply a part of the human experience.

In these modern times, stigma can manifest on social media.

“Social media portrays life to be better than it actually is,” said community member Markus Heinrich. “I understand that their life isn’t perfect but even if I know that, I still feel like I am still missing out on aspects of my life that could be more like theirs. It’s like I am brainwashed by it.”

Know that you are not alone and there’s a community of support within reach.

Contact shannon.steele@yellowstoneclub.com to get in touch with a Wellness Navigator and to learn more about local mental and behavioral health resources.

Shannon Steele is the behavioral health program officer at the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation, and values a collaborative and community-centered approach to mental/behavioral health and wellness. She has a background in mindbody wellness and community health, and is also a certified yoga instructor and active volunteer. Community, wellness and the outdoors have always been pillars in Shannon’s life.

It is important to ask ourselves about the beliefs we hold that keep us from reaching out for help. At a Wellness Navigator Network meeting on Tuesday, March 15th, the Navigators shared the messages and beliefs they hear in the community:

When asked how Heinrich would describe how life really is as opposed to what is seen on social media, he stated: “Life is real … it’s not all glamorous.

Instagram just shows people’s vacations, similar to how people come to Big Sky for vacation to ski, hike, raft, party. They show their highlights on social media, and we live on the backside of that photo. We see the reality of what it is actually like to experience what it is actually like living here.”

• We compare ourselves: "I am not as bad as THAT." Or "Other people have it way worse."

Many of the challenges Heinrich discussed were the compounded mental and behavioral impacts of the pandemic, high cost of living and housing insecurity, having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, and the expectation that productivity should be status quo, though much of the community is not functioning at the same level they were two years ago.

• As a culture, we value productivity over self-care. From the perspective of a mother, wife, working professional persona: "I should be able to do it all."

Millions of people are affected by diagnosable mental illness each year, and millions more experience a spectrum of mental health challenges. The National Alliance on Mental Illness highlighted the prevalence of mental health challenges in the U.S. in 2020. We expect numbers to be much over the last two years: • • •

21 percent of adults—approximately 52.9 million people—experienced mental illness.

One in three young adults (18-25) experienced a mental illness One in six adolescents (12-17) experience a major depressive episode and 3 million had serious thoughts of suicide

Shodair Children’s Hospital reported 25 Montana youth (12-17) took their own life in 2020. This is double what it has been in the past several years.

Stigma is one of the main barriers to seeking support and why people suffering from mental health challenges don’t reach out for help.

• "I just need to toughen up and suck it up."

Asking for help is viewed as a weakness.

• Mistrust: "I tried seeking help before and it doesn't work." Or "It's never helped in the past."

• "I am the only one going thorough this.

I am alone."

• "Iam not crazy. I don't need help."

Wildlife,Traffic, and Our Impact and Potential on the Gallatin Canyon Wednesday, April 6th | The Wilson Hotel Breakfast & Networking 8am | Presentations 8:30—10am FREE and Open to the Public | Find Out More Online at BigSkyChamber.com/EggandIssuesWildlife The entrance to Big Sky, the Gallatin Canyon and 191 is the main thoroughfare for our residents, visitors, and 70% of our workforce. The river that flows alongside it and the forest that encompasses it are home to a variety of wildlife. Where nature and the road meet can be an issue.

The Big Sky Chamber is inviting the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, the Gallatin River Taskforce, GoGallatin, and Big Sky SNO to speak to our community about the impacts of this thoroughfare on our environment, work that is being done to mitigate the impact in similar communities, and how you can be a part of the solution.

Joint County Commission Meeting

GALLATIN | MADISON | RESORT TAX 10am —12pm | Wilson Hotel Immediately following the Eggs & Issues presentation, the Gallatin and Madison County Commissioners will sit down alongside the Big Sky Resort Tax Board to discuss local governance in town and hear from our prominent local community leaders. This meeting is open to the public.

OUR COMMUNITY. OUR BUSINESS. BIGSKYCHAMBER.COM | 406.995.3000 | CAITLIN@BIGSKYCHAMBER.COM The Big Sky Chamber is a 501 (c) (6) nonprofit membership organization.

Additional funding for this programming and advertising is supported by Big Sky Resort Tax

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

33 March 25 - April 7, 2022

Explore Big Sky

SECTION 3: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, BUSINESS, FINANCE, DINING AND FUN

Local DJ duo reinvents après at Big Sky Resort pg. 36

MIIBS: Millworks ‘58 pg. 39

Yvon Chouinard thinks food could save the planet pg. 46

‘The doors are open for everyone’

Arts Council takes new residence in BASE, offers accessible programming

BY TUCKER HARRIS BIG SKY – While the Arts Council of Big Sky has long been known for its high-profile events like Music in the Mountains, the cultural nonprofit is expanding its community reach and visibility from its new headquarters in the BASE community center. Part of this reach includes a new roster of art classes and programs meant to be accessible to the entire community.

One example of the arts council’s commitment to accessibility is their “Contribute What You Can” payment model. It works exactly how it sounds: Participants choose the best price option for them. For example, if they can’t afford a suggested six-week class fee of $270, they can pay as low as $54. For those looking to extend support to other community members, they can pay more than the suggested fee.

“It’s a really cool model just because we don’t want any barriers for people to take our classes,” Hurlbut said.

Since the organization’s inception in 1989, the arts council has been tucked away in various office spaces throughout Big Sky. Its new space in BASE allows for unprecedented interface with the community it serves, according to its leadership, as well as an opportunity to host art education programming on a contribute-whatyou-can model.

This spring, Edwards will offer classes including: After School Connect; Community Art Class: Exploring Pottery; Handbuilding Basics; Introduction to Throwing Pottery; Intermediate and Advanced Pottery; and a Weekend Clay Workshop. These courses have been made possible through a Yellowstone Club Community Foundation Behavioral Health Program.

“I think the biggest thing about being here is just that we’re more visible and more accessible to the community,” said Brian Hurlbut, executive director of the arts council.

“And on top of that, being able to offer more.”

The arts council’s new space includes an office to the left of BASE’s front desk and a welcoming, light-filled art studio equipped with six pottery wheels, a kiln, and art supplies ready for use. The arts council’s studio and office space in the community center is open to the public; no BASE membership is needed.

The class offerings are designed to meet the needs of all interests and ages.

Julie Edwards has 30 years of public education experience and is the new studio manager and lead instructor for the Arts Council of Big Sky. PHOTO BY TUCKER HARRIS

“One of the big things we struggled with is we’ve never had our own space to do all kinds of programs,” Hurlbut said, adding that in the past, the arts council would have to scramble to find locations for their offerings, whether that be the community library or even someone’s home.

The studio will be run by Julie Edwards, the new studio manager and lead instructor for the ACBS. Edwards has 30 years of public education experience under her belt and is excited to offer ceramics classes and other arts programs that are accessible to the Big Sky community.

“We put so much thought into accessibility,” Edwards said. “We want this space to be financially, socially and emotionally accessible.”

One program, After School Connect, is designated for kindergarten through seventh graders. After School Connect will be a time for students to attend an art class Tuesday through Thursday focusing on pottery, drawing or water color.

Having a different place to go to after being in school all day is important for children to experience, Edwards said.

“[It’s important] for our younger population kiddos to have that awareness of ‘Oh, I was at school all day and now I get to go do this. This is also part of my community,’” Edwards said.

Edwards will also offer clay workshop courses on the weekend for children.

Teens and adults will have access to sign up for Introduction to Throwing Pottery and Intermediate and Advanced Pottery evening classes. A Handbuilding Basics evening class will also be available for adults 18 and over.

The acronym “BASE,” Big Adventure, Safe Environment, is important for Edwards.

“To me, ‘Safe’ is like being safe with your emotions, not being judged,” she said. “When you walk through that door, whatever baggage you come in with, someone’s here to assist you.”

To execute that mission, Edwards will offer the Community Art Class: Exploring Pottery for teens and adults, with a special focus on wellness and expression. The class will allow for art with a behavioral health focus, Edwards said, where she will focus the conversation on wellness and taking care of oneself while participants are learning to create utilitarian and decorative vessels.

Interspersed with Edwards’ regular programming, the arts council will be working with talented local artists to hold their own workshops in the studio space, ensuring that the studio will be “utilized to its fullest,” she said.

Both Edwards and Hurlbut emphasized the focus on accessibility and opportunity for the community to be more involved in the arts with the organization’s move to the BASE building.

“The doors are open for everyone,” Edwards said.

The arts council’s class offerings are designed to meet the needs of all interests and ages. PHOTO BY MIRA BRODY

Visit bigskyarts.org/art-classes/ to register for the Arts Council’s Spring 2022 courses online. Classes start April 18.

NEW & CONSIGNED GEAR FOR ALL YOUR OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

140 Upper Beehive Loop Road $6,250,000 4 Beds 4.5 Baths 6,705 sq.ft.

MLS 366377 Listing Advisor: Stacy Ossorio, Broker stacy.ossorio@engelvoelkers.com 406.539.8553

BIG SKY’S SOURCE TO BUY & SELL HIGH-QUALITY OUTDOOR GEAR HOURS: OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 9 AM TO 6 PM CONSIGNMENT DAYS: MONDAY- FRIDAY FROM 10 AM TO 4 PM OR BY PRIVATE APPOINTMENT

Spanish Peaks Mountain Club, The Ranches, Lot 12 +/- 4.07 Acres $2,150,000 MLS 366465 Listing Advisor: Stacy Ossorio, Broker stacy.ossorio@engelvoelkers.com 406.539.8553

Downhill Skiing

Snowboarding

Winter Apparel

Cross Country Skiing

47995 GALLATIN ROAD 59730 | GALLATIN GATEWAY | 406-995-3324 | HEADWALLSPORTS.COM

2626 Michener Creek $4,795,000 7 Beds 5 Baths 9473 sq.ft.

MLS 355156 Listing Advisor: Greg Smith, Broker greg.smith@engelvoelkers.com 406.599.8469

DISCOVER YOUR DREAM, HOME

bigsky.evrealestate.com Open 6:30am to 8pm • 406.995.4636

© 2021 .. All rights reserved. Engel & Völkers and its independent franchisees are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act. Each property shop is independently owned and operated. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. If your property is currently represented by a real estate broker, this is not an attempt to solicit your listing.

• Located in the Meadow Village Center next to Lone Peak Brewery • Delivery Service • Pre-arrival Fridge & Cupboard stocking

www.countrymarketofbigsky.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

35 March 25 - April 7, 2022

Explore Big Sky

BIG SKY EVENTS CALENDAR Friday, March 25 – Thursday, April 7

If your event falls between April 8-21, please submit it by March 30 by emailing media@outlaw.partners.

Friday, March 25

Big Sky Serenity Seekers Al-Anon meeting

IFSA Junior Championships

Film: “Interstellar”

Trivia Night

Live Music: The Damn Duo

Grape or the Raisin? – The coming water shortage and how to respond

NFT Basics for Creatives Big Sky Community Library, 6 p.m.

All Saints Chapel, 4 p.m.

Craig Hall Trio Jazz Night The Independent, 8 p.m.

The Independent, 7 p.m.

Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Live Music: Tele Tom & Mando Jim Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Friday, April 1

Saturday, March 26

Live Music: Danger D

Thursday, April 7

Dirtbag Ball: Transcendental Express Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Monday, March 28

Big Sky Big Grass Festival

Big Sky Resort, March 31-April 3

Featured Event: Big Sky Winter Ball

The Standard: Cocktails and Desserts, 7 p.m.

Monday, April 4 Childhood Hunger Awareness Week

Big Sky Community Food Bank, April 4-9

Wednesday, March 30

Thursday, March 31

Live Music: MOTH

The Independent, 8 p.m.

Live Music: Cole Thorne

Open Mic Night Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Live Music: Ryan Acker Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Live Music: The Damn Duo

Big Sky Resort, April 3-5

Film: “World Tour Paddling Film Festival” The Independent, 7 p.m.

All Saints Chapel, 4 p.m.

Music: Amanda Stuart

IFSA U12 Championships

Tuesday, March 29

Big Sky Serenity Seekers Al-Anon meeting

Film: “International Fly Fishing Festival”

Sunday, April 3

Film: “Chicago” The Independent, 7 p.m.

Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Dinosaurs and MOR!

Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Live Music: The Damn Duo Montana Jack, 4 p.m.

Trivia Night The Independent, 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 2 Museum of the Rockies, 9 a.m.

Live Music: Cole Thorne The Standard: Cocktails and Desserts, 7 p.m.

Gallatinvalleyearthday.org, 7 p.m.

Live Music: Kent Johnson

The Independent, 8 p.m.

The Oscars viewing party The Independent, 6 p.m.

The Independent, 7 p.m.

Craig Hall Trio Jazz Night

Big Sky Winter Ball The Independent, 8 p.m.

Sunday, March 27

April 6-10

The Independent, 6:30 p.m.

Tips Up, 9 p.m.

A chance to dust off black-tie apparel and support a community cause, local realtors will host a party on Mach 26 at 8 p.m. at The Independent to raise funds for local workforce housing efforts. All proceeds will be donated to the Big Sky Community Housing Trust. The evening will feature a performance by DJ Scooter from Las Vegas/ San Diego and an open bar. The event is sponsored by Big Sky Real Estate Co., realtors Matt Zaremba and Allen Potts and 406 Agave.

Live Music: The Damn Duo Montana Jack, 4 p.m.

Tuesday, April 5 Open Mic Night Tips Up, 9 p.m.

Wednesday, April 6 Eggs & Issues: Wildlife, Traffic and our Impact and Potential on the Gallatin Canyon The Wilson Hotel, 8:30 a.m.

Do You or Someone You Know Need Help Getting Sober?

Contact A.A. - We’re alcoholics helping other alcoholics stay sober.

Call 1-833-800-8553 to talk to an A.A. member or Get the Meeting Guide app or Go to aa-montana.org for virtual and face-to-face meeting times and locations

36 March 25 - April 7, 2022

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Explore Big Sky

Local DJ duo reinvents après at Big Sky Resort

Chance Lenay and Jennifer Steele make a home for EDM in Big Sky

BY TUCKER HARRIS

“Dubstep Night ended up being like the insane party of the year,” Steele said. “We just created a whole scene, and then it evolved from dubstep to kind of like mainstream EDM to get more people interested and having fun.”

BIG SKY – As chair lifts slow to a stop around 4 p.m. and skis and boards retire to metal racks for the evening, the party moves from the slopes to the Vista Hall plaza every weekend at Big Sky Resort. A fresh tap of Swift Current 6 beer fills cool glasses, and a crowd of bright, retro ski outfits moves with the thumping bass coming from the DJ booth.

An après scene fit for the splendor of a resort like Big Sky, local rising DJ duo Chance Lenay and Jennifer Steele, known as “Take a Chance” and “Jenn N Juice,” have turned up the after-ski party this season with electric Friday through Sunday performances that have gathered crowds of skiers and riders not yet ready to let go of the day’s stoke. Weather permitting, Big Sky Resort’s newest resident DJs are on the patio every weekend from 3-6 p.m.

In the fall of 2016, Steele realized she needed a break from the DJ scene as well as from Florida and she took a job working in Yellowstone National Park. In the fall of 2017, Steele made her way to Big Sky.

“Take a Chance” and “Jenn N Juice,” have turned up the after-ski party this season with electric Friday through Sunday performances. PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER STEELE

“It’s been kind of like Pond Skim every Saturday,” Steele said. Pond Skim, a spring skiing party complete with an Olympic-swimming-pool-sized obstacle and a full day of riotous jubilation, sets a high bar, but the new après scene at Big Sky just might rise to its level.

“I just think that it brings a great atmosphere and group of people together after COVID,” said Big Sky local Jonathon Carter. A regular at the après party, Carter’s standing on the Vista Hall deck on this warm March 19 day, overlooking the mass of people below. “What we have dealt with the past two years, this is awesome. People are finally going out and having fun.”

Lenay started his career at Big Sky Resort operating the Lone Peak Tram in 2007. He has snowboarded professionally for the resort the past few years and now DJs there.

“The après scene at the resort has changed exponentially since we have started DJing up there,” Lenay said. “Sunny Saturdays are almost like a small music festival: champagne, crowd surfing and bikinis are not uncommon at après these days.”

The music scene in Big Sky has been dominated by bluegrass and Montanastyle music, Steele said, with not many options for Electronic Dance Music.

“It’s been really cool to be doing this and see how well received it is,” she said.

“So many people have been like, ‘We’ve been needing this … This is exactly the vibe we want for après.’”

Steele started her DJ career in her hometown of Melbourne, Florida back in 2011. EDM was just starting to become popular in the state, and she hosted a Dubstep Night at a local nightclub.

She wouldn’t DJ again until 2019, where she lit up a local watering hole, the Broken Spoke, for a friend’s birthday party. It was then that Lenay, a good friend of Steele’s, reached out about learning to DJ himself.

Steele and Lenay debuted as a DJ duo in the summer of 2020 at a friend’s studio. Lenay and Steele would go on to perform at the Outlaw Partners’ Friday Afternoon Club series, a virtual and in-person music option during the peak of COVID-19, outside the plaza of Blue Buddha Sushi. The two have grown their performances into larger events such as performing at Choppers Grub and Pub for New Year’s Eve or opening for Los Angelesbased indie electronic duo, Forester, in the Town Center Plaza for Outlaw Partners’ Winter Fest. Lenay and Steele have even taken their show on the road, performing a few sets in Bozeman, West Yellowstone and Florida.

“Working with Jenn has been absolutely amazing,” Lenay said. “She is one of my best friends, and one of the best DJs that I have ever worked with. Jenn has really helped me open up my mind to playing different genres of EDM. When I first started, I was fixated on playing trance and dubstep. Now that we are playing to different crowds, at different venues, I have started playing more to the crowd vibe.”

Steele jokingly describes this “crowd vibe” as “Soccer Mom House,” playing mashups from Justin Bieber, and popular song remixes of “Levels” by Avicii or the classics “Higher Love” and “Don’t Stop Believing.”

This spring, Lenay and Steele are looking forward to opening for Las Vegas/San Diego-based DJ Scooter for the Winter Ball fundraiser at The Independent.

This summer, they will look to bigger events and are hopeful to work with Outlaw Partners to perform during Big Sky’s Biggest Week at the end of July.

“The way I look at it is to keep taking baby steps until the dream of playing The Gorge and Red Rocks formulates,” Lenay said.

With the end of ski season in sight, Lenay and Steele will carry their growing aprés fan base to the finish line, with promise of more DJ Take a Chance and Jenn N Juice parties in the coming season.

A crowd of bright, retro ski outfits moves with the thumping bass coming from the DJ booth at a sunny weekend après. PHOTO BY KATHERINE KELTER

37 March 25 - April 7, 2022

Explore Big Sky

BIG SKY • MOONLIGHT BASIN • SPANISH PEAKS • YELLOWSTONE CLUB

TBD Mountain Valley Trail | Wildridge Lot 34 $3,795,000

· 1.22± acres | Lot comes with plans & deposits for 7,000± square foot home, ready to be built · Enjoy spectacular views of the Spanish Peaks and Lone Mountain from this private lot adjacent to open space · Exclusive Spanish Peak Mountain Club location with proximity to all club amenities & the new Montage Hotel MARY WHEELER | 406.539.1745

60 Big Sky Resort Road | Summit Hotel Condominium 10413 $1,200,000

Shining a light on the future.

Making smarter decisions about renewable energy requires knowledge. NorthWestern

· 2 bdrm | 3 bath | 1,317± SF | Underground parking · Gorgeous, remodeled 4th-floor condominium with direct ski access to 2 chairlifts: Ramcharger & Swift Current · Referred to as the “tri-hull” floor plan, the unit divides and “seals off ” into 3 spaces offering great rental potential SANDY REVISKY | 406.539.6316

48 Big Sky Resort Road | Village Center Condominium 416 $475,000

Energy’s solar projects throughout the state of Montana provide clean energy to the power grid – and they’re shaping the future of renewable energy, too. We’re working with local universities to better understand where solar energy belongs alongside a balanced energy mix.

And that research is helping us build a brighter future for the next generation of Montanans. · Studio | 1 bath | 398± SF · Top floor, ski-in/ski-out condo located at the base of the Big Sky Resort offering Spanish Peak views · Owners enjoy proximity to all base area attractions, association pool/hot tub, fitness center, valet & more JACKIE MILLER | 406.539.5003

Visit us at either of our locations

88 Ousel Falls Road, Suite B | The Exchange (formerly the Mountain Mall)

406.995.4009 | www.bigskypurewest.com View more of the story at NorthWesternEnergy.com/BrightFuture

All information contained herein is derived from sources deemed reliable, however, is not guaranteed by Pure West Real Estate, LLC., Managing Broker, Agents or Sellers. Offering is subject to error, omissions, prior sales, price change or withdrawal without notice and approval of purchase by Seller. We urge independent verification of each and every item submitted, to the satisfaction of any prospective purchaser.

BUSINESS

39 March 25 - April 7, 2022

Explore Big Sky

Making it in Big Sky: Millworks ‘58

BY MIRA BRODY BIG SKY – Alex Hassman, owner and founder of Millworks ’58, moved to Big Sky in 1997. After ski patrolling for a bit, he realized he wanted a more permanent career path and opened the remodeling company with a friend and his wife, Suzy, naming it after their blue 1958 Chevy Apache pick-up truck.

Although the partnership with his friend dissolved and the beloved truck has since been sold, their business remains strong 18 years later amid Big Sky’s growth.

Explore Big Sky sat down with Hassman to talk about Millworks ’58 and learn how he has adapted the business over the years, why he loves working for himself and some very apt advice he learned early on about skiing Lone Mountain.

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

hit in 2008. During that time, I found myself competing with the house and commercial building companies bidding on bathroom remodels. So I changed gears and got into building maintenance, handy man services, window washing and even chimney cleaning. I continued to work on remodels and custom carpentry work but the side services really saved us during that time.

When the economy improved I was in a better position to decide what aspects of building I liked to do and what I was good at. At times it’s still a little blurry, but I would say what I do best is bathroom and kitchen remodels, a variety of home improvements and custom carpentry. My son has stepped in with our window cleaning operation, investing in better equipment and improving the process. In terms I value being my own boss. I also value working of how the business has grown over the years, with my family and with my team of subs. I think we do I would describe it as adapting, adjusting and a good job in bringing our clients' projects to fruition. maturing the business.

“

”

We're accountable, communicative and directly involved with everything from start to finish.

–Alex Hassman, owner and founder, Millworks ‘58

Explore Big Sky: I’d like to start with a little background information on you. When did you come to Big Sky? Alex Hassman: I grew up in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. I went to college in Missoula at the University of Montana where I received a degree in English literature and a minor in Spanish. I moved to Big Sky in 1997 and worked for Big Sky Resort as a ski patroller from 1997 to 2003 and patrolled at Moonlight Basin in 2004.

EBS: What is the best part of working at Millworks ‘58?

A.H.: I value being my own boss. I also value working with my family and with my team of subs. I think we do a good job in bringing our clients' projects to fruition. We’re accountable, communicative and directly involved with everything from start to finish. I also enjoy working with and getting to know many of my clients.

EBS: Tell me about the history of Millworks ‘58.

When did it start? How/when did you become involved?

A.H.: In the summer of 2004 I was working for Moonlight, running a saw crew and operating an excavator to glade ski runs. My son, Kjetil, was born early that summer and I realized I wanted a more permanent year-round and sustainable occupation. A few months later I started a remodeling business with a friend of mine, he with the skills, and my wife and I with the business experience, contacts and relationships.

Millworks ‘58 was up and running that fall.

It was named after our blue 1958 4x4 Chevy Apache pick-up truck. Within six months the partnership was disbanded and the pick-up truck was sold to guy in Hawaii. Millworks ‘58 survived and is still in business 18 years later.

EBS: What services do you offer and how has the business grown over the years?

A.H.: We started with a remodel platform, but modified and adapted when the recession

EBS: How big is your team?

A.H.: It’s ironic, as the economy in Big Sky continues to boom I’ve gone in the other direction and worked towards getting smaller.

The Millworks team consists of myself, my wife Suzy and my son Kjetil. We also work with a team of independent subcontractors— electricians, plumbers, tile setters, drywallers, painters, etc. My group of subs specialize in one field and do it extremely well, plus they’re great to work with.

EBS: When you’re not at work, what do you like to do around Big Sky? A.H.: I created a lifestyle first and then an occupation that supports that, not the other way around. Having time to enjoy the outdoors and my family is the core of what I do. My recreational interests shift with the seasons, my moods, job site locations, pick up and drop off times for my kids. Generally I ride my bikes and float rivers in the summer and either Nordic, alpine or backcountry ski in the winter.

In the shoulder seasons I like to trail run.

Alex Hassman and his wife Suzy own and operate Millworks ’58. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX HASSMAN

EBS: What is the best advice you have ever received?

A.H.: If it’s still untracked in Big Sky after noon, don’t ski it.

FINANCE

40 March 25 - April 7, 2022

Explore Big Sky

Enjoying the Ride: A Spring Refresh

BY BENJAMIN SPIKER SPONSORED CONTENT

Spring is a good time to pause and reaffirm the path we are on in many facets of our lives. Spring cleaning is the common term for this time of introspection and refreshment that prepares us for renewed growth.

So, what does spring cleaning mean for our personal finances to allow us to focus on enjoying the ride for the year to come?

1. Review your financial goals and ensure you are making progress. It doesn’t matter if your goal is to pay off debt like student loans or credit cards, or to amass a certain dollar amount in your retirement plan. Whether you work with a professional to do this or not, it’s good to see it on paper. Many use a software application or simply a spreadsheet to track this progress.

2. Examine your household spending for the previous year. Where did you splurge? Where did you skimp? Could you spend less and still have the same life satisfaction? Little things can add up like unused subscription services. Sometimes these are digital services we subscribe to and never use or have forgotten about, or maybe an old gym membership that has become obsolete due to lifestyle changes.

3. Look at your savings from the previous year. Did you maximize any benefits provided by the employer retirement account like a matching contribution?

If you are saving in investment accounts, are those investments still allocated properly and performing to your expectations? If saving for near-term goals, are you maximizing your risk-free interest? Oftentimes, you can find higheryielding, interest-bearing savings accounts that are still FDIC insured online rather than at some of the larger brick and mortar institutions.

4. Take some time to clean up your financial documents. If these are hard copies in filing cabinets, are there older documents that can be discarded? If so, make sure you are shredding them using a professional service or highquality shredder. In today’s day and age many of our files are stored digitally.

Make sure your files are backed up to a secure, cloud-based storage site or an encrypted external hard drive.

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5. Review account titles. Are accounts correctly titled in joint name so that a spouse could have easy access to them if an emergency occurred? If you are single, is there someone who should have immediate access to an account if you were to suddenly pass? If so, see if the financial institution you use offers the ability to place “Payable on Death (P.O.D.)” instructions on your taxable accounts. Review your beneficiary information on your retirement accounts to ensure everything is directed where you want it upon your passing. Do you have a Power of Attorney (P.O.A.) on file with the institution you work with allowing someone to provide instructions to the institution should you become incapacitated?

Audrey Hepburn once said, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”

While this can be applied to many facets of our life, it is true with personal finances. Setting the time aside this spring to plant the garden of your financial future will only serve to help you better believe in your ability to Enjoy the Ride tomorrow!

Benjamin D. Spiker is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Shore to Summit Wealth Management. His wealth management career spans more than 22 years and he currently works and lives in Annapolis, MD with his wife, two sons and daughter.

Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network did not assist in the preparation of this report, and its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network or its affiliates. The material has been prepared or is distributed solely for information purposes and is not a solicitation or an offer to buy any security or instrument or to participate in any trading strategy Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network and Shore to Summit Wealth Management are not legal or tax advisors. You should consult with your attorney, accountant and/or estate planner before taking any action.

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

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DINING

41 March 25 - April 7, 2022

Explore Big Sky

Clay’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

BY TUCKER HARRIS I grew up following the instructions for homemade cookies from the back of the Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chip bag. Even if I slightly burnt the cookies, they always topped the charts. When my friend Clay shared her homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe, however, I threw Nestle to the wind and never looked back.

Ingredients: (listed in order of appearance) 1 cup butter, melted ¾ cup brown sugar ¾ cup white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 eggs 2 ¼ cups flour 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

These cookies are perfect. The texture: crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside. The taste: the perfect blend of salty and sweet. The ingredients from the Nestle recipe stay the same for the most part, but it is the order in which you combine them that is the secret to the best cookies you will ever take a bite of.

Grab a glass of milk and enjoy!

Directions: 1. Melt butter.

2. Add brown and white sugar. Stir.

3. Add salt, baking soda and vanilla. Stir well.

4. Add eggs. Stir gently.

5. Fold in flour.

6. Fold in chocolate chips.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for nine minutes or until golden.

Join us for a delectable blend of food and drink with a festive atmosphere that explores western heritage, fascinating paleontology, and this summer’s acclaimed changing exhibit, Apsáalooke Women and Warriors.

Thursday, June 23, 2022 6 – 9:30 p.m. | Age 21+ Tickets: $125 to $300 Lead Sponsor:

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42 March 25 - April 7, 2022

DINING

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AMUSE-BOUCHE Amuse-bouche refers to an appetizer, and by French translation means, “to entertain the mouth.” It offers a glimpse into what you should expect from a meal. Also it’s free, compliments of the chef.

The heartbeat of the workplace

BY SCOTT MECHURA EBS COLUMNIST

Every day of the year is for someone or something.

From ferrets to kazoos. From cheese fondue to submarines. Everyone and everything have their day. Some are quite silly and others are more solemn. But one in particular caught my attention recently. The day was March 9: National Dishwasher Day. If a line cook, prep cook or any other culinarian is absent for their shift, it gets covered. It is often accompanied by complaining and cursing, but we make it happen.

Someone may work two stations, then disperse some of their workload or dishes to other people. Other times someone from an earlier shift will either volunteer or be asked to stay later.

Another scenario is that a manager, such as a sous chef, chef de cuisine, banquet chef or executive chef will add that person’s shift to their day and list of things they have to do.

If a dining room is down a server, the floor manager may rework the server’s sections. They may get creative with the floor map to compensate, or they may limit the reservations and/or walk-in guests so the remaining servers can handle the room without compromising service.

Being down a bartender can also prove tricky. Servers may be asked to pour their own beer and wine to help alleviate the bar’s stress.

But more often than not, if a kitchen is down a dishwasher, particularly the only one, you may as well be trying to work with no lights on. It can slow the whole flow down that significantly.

The workhorse, the heartbeat, the engine, the soul—the dishwasher has been called all these things. While a little hyperbola, I would realistically say the dishwasher is who keeps things moving.

If a kitchen were a car, the dishwasher is the transmission.

The experience, accreditation, industry-wide recognition and integrity that Southwest Montana deserves.

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Scott Brown CFP®, CIMA®, CRPC® recognized as Barron’s Top 1000 Advisor’s in 2011, 2012, and 2013.* *The rankings are based on data provided by thousands of advisors. Factors included in the rankings were assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory record and client retention.

Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC. Shore to Summit Wealth Management, LLC is a separate entity from (WFAFN).

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- Comprehensive investment planning and wealth management - Personalized investment portfolios

As a cook, try to complete your prep list by service when you are washing all of your own utensils, sauce and stock pots and sheet pans, and having to run your own machinery parts from a blender or food processor yourself, taking away valuable knife time.

I can tell you from experience how hard it is to work a station with no dishwasher and having to scrub your own sauté pans all night long.

A server comes in with a load of dishes from the dining room and not only is there no room to drop them, also called a landing zone, but their whole mental routine of steps is thrown off. Not to mention those full glass racks that need to get washed so they can polish them, or overflowing silverware tubs.

A server would rather deal with a difficult guest over not having a dishwasher nine times out of 10.

Yes. Yes it does.

- Retirement income planning - Retirement and benefit plan approaches for small businesses - Balance sheet, cash flow and business valuation services

I have said this for years: Kitchen work is a labor and a trade. But if a line cook is the equivalent of a carpenter for example, then the dishwasher is the equivalent to hoisting sheet rock over your head all day. It’s that physically demanding.

Judge Smails famously said in the movie Caddyshack, “Well the world needs ditchdiggers too.”

OUR EXPERTISE:

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You may have a full tank of gas, that is to say a kitchen full of cooks, but no transmission, and the car doesn’t move.

(406) 219-2900 shoretosummitwm.com

Scott Mechura has spent a life in the hospitality industry. He is an executive chef, former certified beer judge and is currently the executive chef for Horn & Cantle at Lone Mountain Ranch.

43 March 25 - April 7, 2022

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45 March 25 - April 7, 2022

FUN

Explore Big Sky

American Life in Poetry

BY KWAME DAWES Marwa Helal’s poem is anchored by a line of aspiration and effort, “I am trying to tell you something,” a line, in other words, that might easily be the mantra of all poets. In “generation of feeling,” she seems to say that poetry, language and words, arranged and rearranged, alter, change the universe.

These lines should be reassuring even when we are bewildered and alarmed by the strange violence of the first stanza’s image: bones, fires and the pains of growing. She invites us to keep rearranging words to achieve hopeful meaning.

Sometimes this is what poetry aspires to.

generation of feeling

BY MARWA HELAL these growing pains though this good will hunting we fallen twigs look like bones waiting to be lit i am trying to tell you something about how rearranging words rearranges the universe

BIG SKY

Corner Quote “When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.”

– Ernest Hemingway

BEATS Spring Skiing

BY TUCKER HARRIS The days are longer, the sun shines brighter and ‘tis the season for skiers and riders to throw on their jorts and neon retro onsies for a day of jubilant spring skiing. Add a pack of PBR and your favorite shades for après, and you’re set for “corn” season. Explore Big Sky has curated a perfect spring skiing playlist for these upcoming days of ample sunshine and slushy snow. Big Sky Resort’s closing day is set for April 24. The countdown is on!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

“Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears for Fears “Levels” by Avicii “Working for the Weekend” by Loverboy “Higher Love” by Kygo, Whitney Houston “Take on Me” by a-ha “Stay” by The Kid LAROI, Justin Bieber “Listen to the Music” by The Doobie Brothers “Walkin’ On The Sun” by Smash Mouth “I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock Of Seagulls “Beast of Burden” by The Rolling Stones

46 March 25 - April 7, 2022

BACK 40

Explore Big Sky

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.

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

Yvon Chouinard thinks food could save the planet

BY EMILY STIFLER WOLFE With hands thick and weathered from decades of rock climbing and blacksmithing, Yvon Chouinard piles veggies onto a plate for lunch. Focused on the organic salad bar at Patagonia’s Ventura, California, headquarters, he selects spinach, kale, romaine, edamame, radishes, fennel, quinoa, cashews. By the end he’s got a bit of everything. Literally.

In flip-flops, a short-sleeved button-down and what he told me earlier are 20-year old pants (all Patagonia), Chouinard shuffles over to the hot bar where an employee serves us mashed sweet potatoes and black bean patties (“These are really good,” he says, grinning.), and then to the checkout counter. As founder and owner of the leading outdoor clothing and gear retailer Patagonia, Chouinard pays for his food in the company’s subsidized cafeteria, just like everyone else.

Seated at one of the long tables, we hunch together to hear each other as employees pass us on their way to eat outside. “What’s important is a varied diet,” he says, “as many different things as you can get.” He’s referring to the unique nutrients of each veggie on his own lunch plate, but also to eating foods like eggs from free-range chickens, which themselves consume a wide range of plants and insects.

Now 80, Chouinard is all of 5 feet 4 inches tall but remains a giant in the world of rock climbing and conservation. He established cutting-edge climbs in the U.S. and Canada during the sport’s 1960s and ‘70s golden age and got his start in business by forging steel climbing gear in the late 1950s, which he sold out of the back of his car to fund outdoor adventures. Patagonia is now a billion-dollar company that’s donated more than $100 million to grassroots environmental causes. It has long been an innovator in apparel, visual storytelling and activism. A diehard outdoorsman, Chouinard spends around half his time fly fishing and surfing, and half at work. But he’s not sitting at a desk trying to sell more clothes. He’s out to stop the climate crisis, and he wants to do it through agriculture.

will likely become even louder as they try living up to the company’s new mission: “We’re in business to save our home planet.”

For Patagonia, that means going carbon neutral and non-extractive by 2025, getting deeper into politics, and boosting support for conservation work— Chouinard estimates within five years they’ll be giving $50 million annually to grassroots environmental groups. And in 2012, he started Patagonia Provisions, a separate division of the company that sells sustainably produced and harvested foods like organic grains and responsibly caught salmon. Its goal is to create a market for climate-friendly foods.

If this seems a far cry from outdoor clothing, think again. Patagonia has woven its interest in agriculture into textiles since switching to organic cotton in the 1990s after new T-shirt shipments made staff sick at a Boston retail store.

Treated with formaldehyde like many garments, the shirts woke Chouinard to the toxic nature of conventionally grown cotton. But, with little industry demand, Patagonia had to create its own supply chain, something it’s since done with hemp, wool, Yulex (a wetsuit fabric made from tree rubber instead of the petroleum-based neoprene), and now food.

“Agriculture as it relates to food is one of the biggest contributors to climate change,” said Birgit Cameron, managing director for Patagonia Provisions.

Indeed, agriculture and associated land-use account for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and 70 percent of water consumption, according to research conducted by the World Bank.

But, Cameron says, through regenerative organic agriculture, food may also offer solutions.

“We’re losing the planet. We really are,” he told me earlier that morning in his office upstairs, his voice gravelly.

“And I’m not going to let it go without fighting, so we have to try harder.”

Chouinard, who is sometimes compared to conservation greats John Muir and David Brower before him, has become increasingly vocal about the role of private business in protecting the environment and public land.

Maybe you’ve read how the company’s philanthropic giving has benefited the bottom line, how it sued the Trump administration for rescinding a million acres of southern Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, or how it backed Senatorial candidates including Montana Democrat Jon Tester, a conservationist and public lands advocate. Both Chouinard and Patagonia

Yvon Chouinard at his ranch in Wyoming. PHOTO BY JEFF JOHNSON / COURTESY OF PATAGONIA

This style of land management uses a combination of older farming techniques including crop rotation, reduced tillage, cover crops and livestock integration.

The practice can increase yields, reduce costs, improve water and soil quality, and sequester carbon. The idea is to have the water, nutrient and energy cycles mimic those occurring in nature, says Dwayne Beck, research manager at the Dakota Lakes Research Farm in Pierre, South Dakota, and a leader in the field.

“If you don’t do that, then the ecosystem collapses. You’re mining,” said Beck, also a Ph.D. professor in South Dakota State University’s Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Department.

The field is growing quickly and studies show it could help solve some of the world’s most pressing problems, among them hunger and climate change. Project Drawdown, a science-based proposal to roll back greenhouse gas emissions within 30 years, rates regenerative agriculture as No. 11 in the top 100 existing solutions.

Beck cautions we need more peer-reviewed science to define which techniques are truly regenerative. Organic production, for example, can be unhealthy for the environment and humans because it’s difficult to accomplish without tillage, and organic pesticides aren’t regulated or tested at the same level as commercial ones.

Practice standards are also needed, and

47 March 25 - April 7, 2022

BACK 40

Explore Big Sky

those should be defined with input from consumers and farmers, Beck says, not big business.

compared to a big store-bought organic one— the more nutritious it is. People will pay for that, he says, and it’s the key to success.

But none of that is stopping Patagonia.

“We know enough to run down this road as fast as we can,” Cameron said. “If we wait for perfection, it’ll be too late.” This has meant supporting producers, educating consumers and joining partners, including the Rodale Institute, a research and educational nonprofit, and the soap company Dr. Bronner’s, in creating an independent Regenerative Organic Certification. On the clothing side, Patagonia this past year started a pilot program with 166 farmers in India to grow organic cotton using regenerative practices on2- to 5-acre plots. The farmers also turned a profit with their cover crop, turmeric. Next year, the pilot will include around 475 farmers, proving that the industry can create jobs.

During our time together at the Patagonia headquarters, he brings nearly every conversation back to food. I hear how he finally got worms in his home garden (filtering out chlorine from his hose water), about the cancer-reducing properties in wild-grazed bison meat, and about the effects of industrial agriculture on the human microbiome and the environment. I even score his sourdough pancake recipe. In Chouinard’s view, all these things are connected. We are all connected.

But he knows efforts like Patagonia’s would have to gain traction worldwide to make a difference.

One of the challenges for the regenerative agriculture movement will be large-scale PHOTO COURTESY OF PATAGONIA adoption, although there’s momentum there, too: In early 2019, General Mills, one of the country’s largest food manufacturers and producer of Cheerios, Annie’s and Yoplait, pledged to advance regenerative agricultural practices on a million acres by 2030.

For Chouinard, Patagonia Provisions has shown that business is capable of doing more good than harm, for both the planet and for humanity. That’s why he wants to prove that the better something tastes—like a tiny wild strawberry

“Every business needs to change their mission statement to saving the planet,” he says. “I really believe we need a revolution, [and] the only revolution we’re likely to have is in agriculture.

It solves a tremendous number of the world’s problems.”

Modifying business objectives may be a tall order in the profit-driven world of modern capitalism but it’s critical, and like all lasting change, Chouinard says, it can only start small.

An earlier version of this story first appeared in the summer 2019 edition of Mountain Outlaw magazine.

Future farmers learn regenerative organic practices in a training program at Rodale Institute in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. PHOTO COURTESY OF RODALE INSTITUTE

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