JOHNSRUD PARK - Pumpkin carving sunk to new depths on Sunday when the Mountain Sharks Dive Club of Missoula took gourd surgery to rock bottom in the Blackfoot River.
In 43-degree water, snugged up in dry suits and tanked up on oxygen, 10 hearty divers launched what they hope will be the first annual “Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest
October 31, 2006
Carving pumpkins underwater?
Montana: Hunt for hire
Sunlight filters through the high ponderosas and larch of the Selway-Bitteroot Wilderness as he points down the steep hill, where the switchbacks of the rocky trail will take him and his horses, Echo and Duke. Two elk dash through alders and pine needles, causing the silence of the forest to erupt with the sounds of branches snapping and hooves treading on fallen leaves.
Wyoming: GOP pours in money for anti-public lands Cubin
WASHINGTON — Facing the prospect of losing their majority in Congress and increasingly uneasy about Rep. Barbara Cubin’s re-election chances, national Republicans have poured nearly $250,000 into Wyoming to run TV ads against Democratic challenger Gary Trauner
Montana: Wilderness for the Rocky Mountain Front
Blixrud and others are worried that temporary measures in place to limit gas and oil exploration and hard-rock mining on the Front may be too easily erased. So he’s stepped forward as one of the local advocates in this small community, hoping to convince others of the need to create the first new wilderness designation in Montana in more than 20 years for small portions of the Front.
“We need to carve out our destiny,” Blixrud said, relaxing for a brief moment recently on a couch in his guest lodge. “We’re the gateway to the Rocky Mountains. Look at the sign as you pull into town (Choteau). You don’t see oil rigs on any signs. That just doesn’t go with the Montana mystique
Montana: TU unhappy over new Montana/USFS water deal
“It’s a really, really bad proposal,” Bruce Farling, the group’s executive director for Montana, said Thursday. Problems include inadequate in-stream flow rights, according to Farling, who said Trout Unlimited may propose amendments during the legislative session.
Colorado: Group seeks delay of Wolf Creek roads
DENVER - A Durango environmental group asked a court Thursday to call an immediate halt to any construction activities at the Village at Wolf Creek.
Colorado Wild sued the U.S. Forest Service last week to overturn the government’s approval of two roads leading to the controversial development. The group believes it is in a race against time to halt construction of a road to the proposed village.
October 30, 2006
Yellowstone elk (audio)
[audio:elk3.mp3]
On a recent trip to Yellowstone, I came across this giant bull elk. He was quite a sight to see.
Later that evening, I was camped at Norris Junction in the park. The campground is on a hill surrounded by a sea of meadows. It makes for excellent elk habitat. At around 1 AM, I picked up the sounds of numerous bull elk bugling in the chilly night. Click the media player arrow to hear these sounds for yourself. Images and sounds copyright@2006 wilderness-sportsman.com
California: Pombo battles to keep seat
The race is pulling closer. Visit McNerney’s site and help him get past Pombo the Clown.
“It’s become clear that this race is close (and) that it’s about more than just the district. It has become nationalized,” said Robert Benedetti, a political science professor at University of the Pacific in Stockton.
Idaho: Man fights for new wilderness in northern part of state
The Scotchman Peaks are a steep, rugged, 88,000-acre area located 60 miles south of the Canadian border.
For years, they’ve been recommended for wilderness by the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the territory.
Recently, the portion of the mountain range in Montana lost its recommended wilderness status by the Kootenai National Forest. The change is not yet permanent, and local groups including the Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness have been working in recent months to build local support for action by Congress.
California: Horse Creek dam removed, endangered species to benefit
Through the joint efforts of several agencies and organizations, the defunct Horse Creek dam in the San Rafael Wilderness within Santa Barbara County, was demolished Wednesday by a blasting crew. A Coastal Conservancy funded survey by Stoecker Ecological identified the small non-functioning dam as a barrier to steelhead trout and other aquatic species moving upstream on Horse Creek, a tributary of the Sisquoc River. The tributary and river are designated critical habitat for the Federally Endangered Southern Steelhead.