Heli-Skiing on State Lands
Valhalla Adventures Seeks Expansion
Valhalla Adventures entices those seeking uncut, deep powder. Now, the cat-ski operation is seeking to expand into the heli-skiing business.
Fred Dietrich, owner of Valhalla Adventures, applied to the Stillwater Unit of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for a permit to run heli-skiing in conjunction with his cat-ski operation on Stryker Ridge outside Olney. "It'll be an experimental thing this winter if it happens," says Dietrich. The DNRC is collecting public comment on the proposal.
"The state is mandated to make money with the land every year, and I pay five percent of the total gross to the state for the school fund," says Dietrich. "I think this is a fairly sustainable and eco way of making money on a regular basis."
Wolverine Lawsuit
Groups Sue to Obtain Protection for Wolverines
HELENA – A federal agency's refusal to protect wolverines under the Endangered Species Act is being challenged in court.
Groups that filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Missoula say politics overrode science in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's refusal to protect wolverines, a member of the weasel family. Defenders of Wildlife is among the groups suing.
Whitefish High School Soccer
Faces: Carly Lengstorf
Carly Lengstorf is a senior on Whitefish High School's varsity soccer team. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
Growing up, Carly Lengstorf was always playing against the boys. Backyard barbecues produced flag football games and afternoons gave way to playing catch with her two older brothers, Jason and Kyle Lengstorf, and another “billion boy cousins.”
[read more]Students study cooperative conservation in Swan Valley
Taking a Human Approach to Conservation
For 11 college students living and studying in the Swan Valley for eight weeks, conservation is more than just science and fieldwork. It involves a lot of socializing: chatting with the locals and immersing themselves in the community. It’s called cooperative conservation.
The students are part of a field-semester program called Landscape and Livelihood, which is administered by Northwest Connections and accredited through the University of Montana. They earn 15 credits and the program runs from Sept. 1 to Oct. 29.
Valkyries volleyball off to strong start
In Bigfork, Four Seniors Look to Hang Another Banner
Bigfork's Melissa Vanderveer, Mallery Knoll, Jill Hamilton, Roxie Thurman, Claire Wilken and Rachael Luckow, left to right, celebrate after defeating Libby. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
BIGFORK – Standing in the Bigfork High School gymnasium, senior Bekah Bell motioned to the wall where a single state volleyball championship banner from 1986 hangs. Bell wasn’t even born yet. Now she, along with three other seniors who have all played together since grade school, thinks this could be the year the Valkyries give that lonely banner some company.
“The wall looks a little empty,” Bell said. “All these years we’ve played together are coming together to form the perfect team, the perfect season.”
Conservation Group Seeks Protection
Keeping Tabs on Glacier’s Elusive Pika
Lucas Moyer-Horner romps around large rocks of talus slopes looking for signs of pika. - Becky Lomax, for the Beacon
Lucas Moyer-Horner crams his arm under a truck-sized boulder and pulls out a handful of peppercorn-like pellets. The dark brown scat belongs to a small animal that looks like a fur-covered Russet potato. American pikas inhabit high alpine talus slopes – rugged, steep places most people fear to tread, but Moyer-Horner scampers over like he's in a playground. "Pika get me up high," he says. "Grizzlies or elk wouldn't."
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