Mixed feelings from the anti-coal bandwagon as closures wreak havoc on small-town economies.
Wendy Beye
Posted inArticles
Reflecting on the tragedy of the young ‘invincibles’
A high school boy who recently survived a catastrophic crash that killed three of his friends in Maryland was quoted by the news media, saying: “We felt invincible!” The police estimated that their car was traveling at more than 70 miles per hour when it veered off the road and hit a tree. A pastor […]
Posted inArticles
Missoula and the revelations of rape
Missoula, Montana, home of the University of Montana, is abuzz with debates about rape, a football culture gone to extremes, criminal prosecution or the lack thereof, and ruined reputations. You can blame Jon Krakauer, author of “Into Thin Air” and “Into the Wild,” who has now tackled the subject of sexual assault throughout the country, […]
Posted inArticles
Target practice with a vengeance
I was reading the newspaper at my computer desk when a huge explosion rattled the window of my home office. I leaped several inches off the chair, sure that my husband, who was working on our camp trailer, had been blown to smithereens by a propane tank explosion. I ran to the front window and […]
Posted inWotr
A truth-teller gets punished in Montana
There’s an old college cheer: “Lean to the left, lean to the right, stand up, sit down, fight, fight, fight!” For former Montana Democratic Congressman Pat Williams, it seemed that no matter which way he leaned, he found himself smack in the middle of a controversy, one that had been building on the University of […]
Posted inJanuary 21, 2013: Special issue: Natural resources education
Collared collateral damage?
My father pioneered research on California quail in the 1940s, long before telemetry technology of any kind was available (“Wildlife Biology Goes High-Tech,” HCN, 12/10/12). I served as a small-aircraft pilot to monitor collared wolves, and to count animals from the air. More recently, I volunteered to help with a greater sage grouse study in […]
Posted inWotr
When road hogs get really, really big
I love living in rural Montana, where every census confirms out-migration. But much as I enjoy it, there are a few disadvantages, such as spotty cell phone service, access to only two free television stations, wilted produce at the grocery store, and lately, incredibly huge loads of equipment that clog our narrow, two-lane highways. Recently, […]
Posted inWotr
Floods, fire … are locusts next?
There must be a fellow named Job living in Roundup, Mont. That would explain the latest punch to the belly of this small rural community. The first punch occurred a year ago this May, when deputies drove through neighborhoods along the Musselshell River, rousting people out of their beds for immediate evacuation. Rain had fallen […]
Posted inRange
Lessons From the Musselshell: small steps toward recovery
Editor’s note: This is the fifth blog in a series by contributor Wendy Beye, chronicling a restoration effort on Montana’s Musselshell River. While the Musselshell River’s rampaging waters were still receding and ranchers were just beginning to assess the extent of the damage thus revealed, Musselshell Watershed Coalition (MWC) members met to address immediate needs […]
Posted inWotr
On the road, again and again
Last weekend my husband and I drove 300 miles, round-trip, to watch two of our young granddaughters compete in a giant slalom event at the nearest ski area. It was a typical trip. We arose at 5:30 a.m. in order to arrive in time to watch the girls carve down the intimidating run in 49 […]
Posted inRange
Lessons from the Musselshell: the aftermath
Editor’s note: This is the fourth blog in a series by contributor Wendy Beye, chronicling a restoration effort on Montana’s Musselshell River. Floodwaters dallied in Musselshell River’s floodplain for months, precluding any attempts at damage assessment or repair. The first priority was to restore community water systems and roads. Dump trucks, excavators, and graders were tied […]
Posted inRange
Lessons From the Musselshell: The Flood
Editor’s note: This is the third blog in a series by contributor Wendy Beye, chronicling a restoration effort on Montana’s Musselshell River. Montana’s 2010-2011 winter was a skier’s delight. Snow began piling up early, and continued to fall in record amounts through March. In April, when the expectation at this latitude is that snow will […]
Posted inRange
Lessons From the Musselshell: The Careless Creek Experiment
Editor’s note: This is the second blog in a series by contributor Wendy Beye, chronicling a restoration effort on Montana’s Musselshell River. Careless Creek is one of the main tributaries feeding the Musselshell River. Its flow begins in the Big Snowy Mountains and is augmented by Swimming Woman Creek as well as by a canal […]
Posted inRange
Lessons Learned From the Musselshell: River History
Editor’s note: This is the first blog in a series by contributor Wendy Beye, chronicling a restoration effort on Montana’s Musselshell River. The waters of the Musselshell River originate in the Little Belt, Crazy, and Castle Mountains in central Montana. Several small creeks join forces west of Martinsdale and gather momentum as they flow east […]
Posted inWotr
Bootstrapping in Roundup
The morning of May 26, the town of Roundup in central Montana became separated from the world. The Musselshell River, normally a lazy brown trickle, had been transformed overnight into a raging monster a half-mile wide that swept away everything in its path. In the wee hours, the sheriff’s department received word from 20 miles […]
Posted inWotr
Big Sky country, bigger abuse
We seem to have a morbid fascination with news stories and photographs of dead, dying or distressed animals — something Montana has provided plenty of in the past two years. The number of animals involved has been staggering, the evidence of abuse extreme. The first news of abuse on a grand scale came last February, […]
Posted inWotr
Wolves: The debate is seldom rational
The wolf pot continues to boil in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Now, another state has been added to the stew. In Oregon, environmentalists are protesting the piecemeal removal of wolves from the Endangered Species list, hunters want less competition from wolves, and ranchers complain that wolves are killing their livestock. In eastern Oregon, where there […]
Posted inWotr
Good fences don’t mangle wildlife
This winter a small tragedy took place on a ridge above the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana near where I live. I was nearly home when two neighbors out for a walk frantically flagged my truck down. They’d found a deer silently struggling, hanging upside down by one back leg, gripped in a loop of […]
Posted inWotr
My dad and the quail he loved
Theirs is the call heard in the background of every Grade B western ever filmed, no matter the supposed location of the good guy vs. bad guy confrontation. It’s still a surprise to me, though, when I hear the California quail below my house on a blustery day that passes for spring in Montana. The […]