The 'Root

Capitol Christmas Tree 2008: Bitterroot National Forest Gift

Bob Sherman — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:32:59 +0000

The Bitterroot National has the honor of providing the Capitol Christmas Tree for 2008.

Cutting Ceremony

The Cutting Ceremony will be held at 10:00 am on November 1. The public is invited to gather around 9:30 am to enjoy refreshments, warming fires, music and a few short presentations before ‘The Capitol Christmas Tree’ is cut and carefully placed on a specially designed cradle. Go to the Skalkaho-Rye road southeast of Hamilton, and follow signs to the site of the festivities.

Hamilton Tree Reception and Sendoff

Join us at Mildenberger Motors from 5:30 – 8:00 pm to see ‘The Capitol Christmas Tree’, bid on the beautiful artwork, buy a raffle ticket for the Christmas Tree Sapphire and help celebrate the beginning of ‘The Capitol Christmas Tree’s’ journey to our nation’s capitol.

Quick Facts about “The Tree”… It’s

a subalpine fir

100 feet tall

Approx 100 years old

Located in the Sapphire Mountains of western Montana

For more information visit Capitol Christmas Tree

Bitterroot Ghost Stories

Bob Sherman — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:32:42 +0000

Walk by the Light of the Moon

Ghost Moon
Larry Creek Group Camp
Bitterroot National Forest
Tuesday October 14
7:00 PM

Join us around the campfire to hear Ghosts of the Bitterroot Valley share stories of their lives and untimely deaths. You may hear about the McGruder Massacre, listen to a forest lookout, hear from a hunter who met his demise along with many other terrifyingly true tales!

Participants should bring a chair and flashlight. The event will last about an hour. The Larry Creek Group Camp in west on Bass Creek Road to Forest Service Road 1316.

For more information call: Julie Screck 375-2606

Authorities Seek Information About Vandalism at Lake Como

Bob Sherman — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:56:41 +0000

Vandals damaged recreation facilities at the Lake Como Beach the weekend of September 20, and Forest officials are hoping other recreationists might have information that will lead to the identification of those involved.

Sometime early last Saturday morning, vandals destroyed a large interpretive sign, damaged the wood walls of one of the changing rooms and started a fire in one of the outhouses using the toilet paper.

Bitterroot National Forest Spokeswoman, Nan Christianson, expressed frustration with this latest act of senseless destruction. “We collected approximately $60,000 in fees at the Lake Como Recreation Area this summer,” explains Christianson. “Since December 2007, the Forest has spent nearly $10,000 of those funds simply repairing vandalized facilities.”

The Lake Como Recreation Area is located on the Darby Ranger District, and is quite popular for both local residents and those traveling through the area. The complex includes several campgrounds, day use areas and a boat dock. A significant portion of the fees collected at this site are retained by the Forest, to fund repairs, improvements and management of the site.

The Forest encourages anyone who might have information about the damages that occurred last weekend to call Forest Law Enforcement officials at 363-7124 or 363-7108.

Bitterroot National Forest Camping Announcements

Bob Sherman — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:40:39 +0000

Camping continues to be open across the Bitterroot National Forest. There are some changes
changes in services offered at several campgrounds eliminating certain fees.

Autumn Campground Service Changes

The Charles Waters Campground which was closed last week due to illegal dumping, has been partially reopened for the September 19-21 weekend. The lower loop is now open, while the upper loop will remained closed until test results identify the material dumped in an outhouse. Services such as garbage and water will be phased out starting September 19th; fees will continue to be charged until the end of September after which the campground will remain open with no services.

Blodgett Campground, also on the Stevensville Ranger District no longer has
water available at the site but remains open for camping.

The lower Lake Como campground will remain open with full services. Fees will be charged until cooler weather requires water systems to be shut down.

There are no services or fees at the Lake Como Horse Camp and the Upper
Lake Como Campground but both sites remain open for public use.

Sula Ranger District camping will remain unchanged until September 29th at which time water
systems will be shut down.

Water systems at Rombo and Alta Campgrounds on the West Fork Ranger
District will be shut down Monday September 24. The campgrounds will remain open for use.

Autumn is a beautiful time in the Bitterroot

The elk are bugling. New colors are emerging. Trout are coming out of their summer slumber. The mornings are crisp, while the days are warm and full of sunshine. If you aren’t out enjoying the bounty of nature autumn in the Bitterroot National Forest offers, you are missing the best of the Bitterroot. Get out and go camping this weekend, you’ll be happy you did.

29th Annual Bitterroot Trout Unlimited Banquet

Bob Sherman — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:21:37 +0000

The banquet will start at 5:00 PM on Friday, September 26 at the Bitterroot River Inn in Hamilton. Tickets are $45.00 per person and can be reserved or purchased at Fishaus Tackle. This is the organization’s 29th annual fundraiser that funds many activities benefiting the fisheries throughout the Bitterroot Valley.

Banquet and Auction

Dinner is being provided by Riversong Catering. Silver Coin is in charge of the beverages and we will again be featuring premium microbrews from Bitter Root Brewing. There are special awards, drawings, door prizes, live and silent auctions. Items include gourmet dinners, fine wines, elegant jewelry, fishing trips on several of Montana’s “Blue Ribbon” trout streams, premium fishing tackle, and artwork by local artists and craftspersons. A prize/auction list can be seen at Bitterroot Trout Unlimited Weblog.

Support Bitterroot Trout Unlimited

If you would like to participate in our Sponsor Program, make a donation, or volunteer, please contact Marshall Bloom 363-3485, drtrout@mtbloom.net, Bill Bean 363-6158, fishaus@montana.com, or Doug Nation 363-3127.

Some of Bitterroot Trout Unlimited’s projects & activities

Bitterroot Trout Unlimited (BRTU) is a trout and cold water fishery conservation group.

They started river clean-up projects in the Bitterroot Valley in the 1980s and continue to be vital supporters of river clean-up efforts.

BRTU has worked closely with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to manage water releases from Painted Rocks Reservoir to maintain stable conditions for trout survival.

BRTU has installed screens throughout Skalkaho Creek to keep native trout species from entering irrigation ditches.

BRTU is a supporter of the Artic Grayling Recovery Program.

These along with other projects and activities have helped the Bitterroot continue to be a world class trout fishery.

Bitterroot Buggers

Bitterroot Trout Unlimited has a wonderful youth fly fishing program called Bitterroot Buggers. Bitterroot Buggers is a series of classes designed to educate children in the art of fly fishing and fly tying. The program usually begins in January and is open to children 9-15 but they will take younger kids if they exhibit good dexterity and a willingness to participate. Contact Bill Bean (406) 363-6158 for more information.

Join us for an evening of friendship and tall fish tales

Mark your calender, get your tickets and support a wonderful organization. This event only comes around once a year. Don’t miss out this year.
I’ll see you there!

‘Root Food for Sustainability

Bob Sherman — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:57:09 +0000

Mark your calender for Friday October 3 at 6:30 pm, to attend the Sustainable Living Systems Fundraiser Dinner and Educational Event at Hamilton City Hall, (Bedford Bldg.) 223 S. 2nd St. Reservations required by Sept. 20.

The event includes a catered dinner by Riversong Gourmet, a community education event about food system security with speaker Bruce Smith, and a Silent Food Auction with items donated by Bitterroot producers. Local beer, wine and cider will be available for purchase.

Bruce Smith, the extension agent in Glendive, Mt., will speak on “Why Local Food and What We are Doing About It”. He is leading the charge for building a local food system in Eastern Montana. Some of his projects include a producers’ marketing co-op with online ordering, a local food restaurant, microbrewery and food store, a culinary cooking school, a shared-use commercial kitchen facilitating the start-up of local brands of value-added products, and community gardens using high tunnels. These projects can be duplicated in the Bitterroot, with some already in the works.

Tickets for the event are $30.00, reservations by September 20, children 6-12 years $10. Tickets can be purchased at Chapter 1 Bookstore in Hamilton and the Bitterroot Star in Stevensville, or they may be purchased directly from Sustainable Living Systems via the “Donate Now” button.

For more information call Jill at 642-3601.