July 25, 2023
Greetings Everyone,
If you can’t make it to Hometown Helena this week, you’re welcome to come on down to malfunction junction (1280 Boulder Avenue) from 8:30 to 9:30 am for the Helena Community Food Resource Center’s groundbreaking ceremony. It’s been nine years since the the old Caird Foundry works building was demolished. It’s taken awhile to re-purpose this site for another development, but Helena Food Share and the property owner have worked together on a new, improved home for one of Helena’s important non profit organizations. Please join the folks at Food Share for this groundbreaking event.
It sounds like this will be a good week to stay out of the Seeley-Swan Valley. The Colt Fire on the west side of Highway 83 has burned nearly 3000 acres, and is zero percent (0%) contained. This was a fire started by lightning on July 17th. Over 400 firefighters are doing their job in extremely hazardous conditions. Pretty much all the campgrounds in the middle part of the valley are closed. The highway is open as of this morning, but that may change any time. East of Hamilton, up toward Skalkaho Pass the Bowles Creek Fire is burning. Since Saturday this lightning caused fire has consumed over 1200 acres in tricky, steep terrain, and it too is zero percent (0%) contained at this time.
The Montana DNRC (https://www.mtfireinfo.org) has an excellent web site, with maps, updates and fire conditions posted daily and refreshed as needed. The weather is going to continue to be hot, dry and windy into the month of August. Best to check and double check the fire conditions before venturing into the woods.
Meanwhile, we have another fine program lined up this week. Liz Burke and Matt Ferrell, from the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest will join us to discuss the Youth Forest Monitoring Program. This is an opportunity for high school aged students to get hands on experience working alongside biologists, archaeologists and other personnel in the national forest on projects of importance and significance. I believe the project this year is to identify, inventory and protect ancient tipi ring sites. Helena, Augusta, Choteau, Bynum, DePuyer, Browning are all along the route of the Old North Trail that was used for thousands of years by first peoples crossing the Bering Strait and traveling down the Rocky Mountain Front. Some of the first human encampments on this continent can be found near Helena. Stone circles on the prairie denote tipi rings from thousands of years ago. Chief Mountain, near Glacier Park, was prominent landmark for these people; as was the Sleeping Giant right outside of Helena. Back in the day, what we now call the Sleeping Giant was known as the Bear's Tooth. A great book, published in 1966, is ’The Great North Trail. America’s Route of the Ages’ by Dan Cushman, a fine Montana author. Additional, recent research indicates that in addition to the peoples coming to North America from Asia, early peoples may have also journeyed by water and water craft from south sea islands to the coastal regions of Central and South America. Not to mention the Vikings.
It will be another excellent program this Thursday. We hope you can join us in person on the 6th floor of the Montana Club, or from the comfort of your own home via the zoom…thanks to Aja Rail and the folks at Pinion Global. Just so you know, Aja is on vacation and out of state the next few weeks, but she is going to run the zoom for us from afar. That is truly above and beyond the call. Thanks very, very much Aja. And everyone at Pinion Global.
Look forward to seeing you this week.
Jim Smith
406-949-1002
Comments
Post a Comment