The Ravalli County Board of Commissioners has been sued in District Court over its decision on June 5th to settle out of court with eleven out of fourteen developers who have sued the county in federal court alleging that the county did not deal with their subdivision applications in a timely manner. The developers are also challenging the constitutionality of the citizen enacted Interim Zoning Ordinance which limits development to one dwelling per two acres.

Bitterrooters for Planning and Phil Taylor, author of the Interim Zoning Initiative, are asking a judge for a temporary restraining order to prohibit the Commissioners from filing the settlement agreement in federal court. They are also asking for a permanent injunction and that the settlement agreement be set aside or annulled by the court, preventing its implementation. They claim that the county violated the public's right to meaningful participation and comment by not providing the settlement documents for the public to examine before the meeting.

Attorneys for the county had been having closed meetings with attorneys for the developers to consider a possible settlement of the federal lawsuit for several months since that suit was filed last January. A public meeting was noticed for June 1, to possibly make a decision on the settlement agreement. That meeting was cancelled and a new date was set for June 4. At that meeting a draft copy of a proposed settlement agreement was presented and public comment was solicited. Most of those commenting noted that they had not had adequate time to review the material. The county commission suggested that those present could review the material during the two breaks that were taken to allow the developers' attorneys to consult with their clients over proposed changes. The meeting was then continued until the next day, June 5, so that a final copy of the agreement, including agreed upon changes made that day, could be produced. The next morning they approved a settlement agreement that would allow the developers to re-apply with priority status, some to be reviewed under old regulations and some under the new regulations, but all exempt from the emergency Interim Zoning restrictions.

In an affidavit accompanying the lawsuit, Phil Taylor states that he asked for a copy of the proposed settlement agreement when the county first announced a meeting on May 30, but was told that nothing was available. He asked again about half an hour before the June 4 meeting and got the same answer as the lawyers actually huddled behind closed doors. The doors did not open until after 10 a.m. and it was only at that time that the public was provided a copy of the documents to be considered at the meeting.

"The document was 7 pages of dense legal language that I was unable to digest and respond to," wrote Taylor in his affidavit. Although the meeting was continued until the next morning, Taylor notes that this was election day in which three new commissioners were being elected and he was committed to that process.

Sarah McMillan, attorney for Taylor and for Bitterrooters for Planning, argues that, by not allowing sufficient time for review of the documents prior to the decision making, the county had deprived the citizens of their constitutional rights to a meaningful opportunity to participate in the decision making process. She called their failure to make the documents available arbitrary, capricious and not in conformance with the law.

Stewart Brandborg, president of Bitterrooters for Planning, said in his affidavit that the county's failure to provide the documents in advance of the meeting "resulted in the Commissioners not receiving meaningful, informed public comment on a settlement agreement that seeks to exempt 1,600 lots from application of the citizen-enacted interim zoning ordinance." He called that "a matter of great public interest as evidenced by the voters' enactment."

3rd annual Bitterroot Birding and Nature Festival

By Michael Howell

Birds get up early. They are often heard chirping cheerily in the early dawn. Bird watchers get up early too, apparently. Those interested in going on the Early Bird Behind the Signs Birdwalk, for instance, the first scheduled event at the Bitterroot Birding and Nature Festival this weekend at the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge, are supposed to be ready to hit the trail at 6 a.m. That means they have to get up some time before that. That's early.

But you know what birders say about that. "The early bird gets the worm." If you are not a bird, or even a birder, however, that bit of wisdom may take some generous interpreting before it can be really appreciated.

The fact is, whether you are a worm, a bird, or a person, to be out in nature, at the awakening of the day on the bank of a river-fed pond, cupped between the Bitterroot and Sapphire mountains, and bathed in that very special early morning glow, as the world comes to life around you, is well worth getting up for. It only happens for a short spell in the early morning hours. There's no other time that it can be experienced.

As special as those early hours are, though, the neat thing about bird life, and all other life at the refuge for that matter, is that it goes on all day and in all sorts of places. And so do events at the 3rd Annual Bitterroot Birding and Nature Festival. If you don't want to go on the "Behind the Signs Birdwalk" at the Refuge, there is a simultaneous walk being sponsored up at Lolo Pass. You could attend a tour of St. Mary's Mission in Stevensville from 1 to 3 p.m. and still make the Wildflower Walk at the Refuge from 4 to 6 p.m. Or you could just blow off all those afternoon events and go play golf. Yes, there is a Tee Off with Birdie Golf Tournament being held at the nine-hole Whitetail Golf Course situated in the heart of the Metcalf Refuge. There are evening walks scheduled at the waterfowl ponds, the wildlife viewing area, and along the Kenai Nature Trail. Then, late in the evening, from 10 to 11:30 p.m., there is the Bats in the Bitterroot program. All of this is just on Friday.

On Saturday early birds can go on a Montana Woodpecker Tour or a Flycatcher Tour, or, a little later, the Peregrine Falcon Tour. There are several hikes offered and workshops on everything from bird banding to bird photography, from rare and not so rare mammals to landscaping for wildlife. There are educational programs on raptors, on avian influenza, and on the conservation efforts of Ducks Unlimited. Some things are geared especially for kids. There's Owls for Kids and a Children's Nature Adventure. There's kite flying and the Get Slimy in the Wetlands Tour for Children. For young and old there is the Kite Building Contest and the Bird Feeder Contest. There are also evening birdwalks planned on Saturday. And, if you're still up for it, there is even a late, late show, from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Yes, that's 2:30 in the morning. Its an Astronomy Program at the Blue Mountain Observatory, south of Missoula.

A few highlights on the Saturday afternoon schedule are the Junior Duck Stamp Awards Ceremony from 5 to 6:15 p.m. and the keynote program with Pierre Bottineau from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Bottineau was one of the founders of a settlement on the Red River near the Canadian/North Dakota border. His relationship to nature and the balance on which the fragile environment rests is portrayed, including the life histories of various fur bearers: beaver, muskrat, mink, weasel, skunk, lynx, coyote, and wolf. Children and adults will enjoy it.

Also scheduled on Saturday is the Biothon, a timed event navigating the back country of the refuge on trails not open during the rest of the year. There is a short and long course designed for the serious athlete, not-so-serious athletes, family recreation or just adventurous children. It's a learning event at stations along the way with quizzes to gauge what you've learned. Time credit is given for correct answers.

And of course, there is what many consider the central event of the festival, the Festival Flyway, with over 25 activities, educational booths and food. A Living History Lewis and Clark encampment will be on site. Lewis and Clark actually did pass through the area that eventually became the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge.

If all this is not enough, there is even more planned for Sunday. There is a Beginners Birdwalk in the morning, and a Butterfly Walk in the early afternoon. In the late afternoon there will be a theater program entitled, "Winged Migration" in the Okefenokee Room at the Refuge Visitor Center. There are also workshops on field sketching and nature journaling.

Some events require pre-registration and only accept a limited number of people.

Steve Whitson, Director of the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge, has worked hard to make this year's Birding and Nature Festival the biggest ever. He is hoping that his promotional efforts will draw people from around the country. Of course the success of his promotional efforts to draw people in is, in the end, based upon the what the real draw is. In this case, the draw is almost irresistible.

As is noted in the Festival program guide, it is a wildlife refuge located along the meandering Bitterroot River surrounded by majestic towering mountains. It offers an unparalleled experience of nature, especially of bird life. There are over 230 species of birds utilizing the area. And within minutes of all this there is Montana's first incorporated town, Stevensville, founded in 1841. Home to St. Mary's Mission and site of so many "firsts" in the history of the State of Montana. What promoter could hope for a better draw?

Whitson said that they have worked hard to integrate art and culture into the bird and nature festival. Which makes sense, since the refuge's mission is just such an intertwining. Not only is it the refuge's mission to manage habitat for a diversity of wildlife species with an emphasis on migratory birds and threatened and endangered species, but it is also the refuge's mission to provide compatible human benefits associated with refuge wildlife and wildlands. With its Visitor Center, its roadway, and its various trails, it works as sort of an educational interface between the community and nature, between the public and the wild.

Whitson has also worked hard on getting area businesses involved and has found not only an overall sponsor in Dollar Rent-a-Car, but also a sponsor for each individual program event. An Art Show and Auction has also been arranged as a fund raiser. The juried art show is on exhibit at Sacajawea Gallery and Bury's Montana West Gallery on Main Street in Stevensville until June 22. The Auction will be held at Chantilly Theatre, at 319 Main Street Stevensville, beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 23.

Whitson said that renowned local bird expert Wayne Tree has guaranteed good weather for the festival this year. Like the "early bird gets the worm" thing, though, it might need a little interpreting. I'll leave that up to you.

For more information about the festival go to www.bitterrootbirdfestival.com.

Forest Service firefighting strategy evolves

By Michael Howell

After watching naturally caused wildfires burn without suppression in designated wilderness areas on the Bitterroot National Forest for about 35 years, Forest Service officials are now ready to apply that knowledge to the rest of the forest and begin integrating the same wildland fire use into areas of the forest outside those designated wildernesses.

What this change in strategy does not mean, according to West Fork District Ranger Dave Campbell, is that the Forest Service is just going to sit by and watch as a fire destroys people, their homes, other structures, or any other valuable resources. All the traditional means of fighting a fire, such as creating fire lines, setting back-fires, dropping water and retardant, and such, will be used to fight fires on forest land where it is determined that there is a risk to human life, structures or other valuable resources. Human caused fires will still be fought. But where a natural caused fire does not present a risk of this sort, the latest tactic being considered on non-wilderness areas of the forest is going to be to watch it and, if possible, let it run its course. The fires will be allowed to burn only if fire behavior will be natural or typical for the location. In some cases this may mean fighting the fire on one front while letting it burn on other fronts.

The Gash Creek Fire of 2006 is a de facto example of such a strategy. In that case a major suppression effort was implemented on the eastern front of the fire where homes and structures were threatened while the fire was left to burn on other fronts as it moved toward the wilderness.

The rationale behind the new strategy is based in part on the growing confidence of Forest Service officials in their knowledge of how wildfires behave.

The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness has been a testing ground for wildland fire use since 1972. It began with the Bad Luck Fire, a lightning-caused fire that burned about 1,000 acres in Boulder Creek Canyon. The burned area is still visible today. On August 18, USFS researcher Bob Mutch was on the ground when the decision was made not to suppress the fire.

Mutch kept a journal at the time and filled it with extensive details documenting the fire's activity. He could also see the ecological value of fire on the landscape, even seeing no reason not to allow it in non-wilderness areas.

Since that time a lot of fires have been left to burn without suppression efforts in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. In 2005 alone, there were a record 45 fires that were left to burn themselves out. Last year there were 22.

Researchers have determined several benefits of periodic fire on the landscape. It leads to smaller less damaging fires and decreased fuel accumulations over time. It helps restore a full range of plant and animal habitats, it is safer than fighting fires, and it saves taxpayers money.

In the past, over 245,000 acres have burned as wildland fire use on forests in the Northern region. The average cost per acre was less than half of the cost of full fire suppression.

Land managers use tools such as prescribed fires and mechanical thinning to help reduce fuels near developed areas and communities, but the work force and money to do these kinds of treatments is limited. According to Campbell, wildland fire use is the only practicable way to implement fuel reduction on a large scale across major swaths of the forest.

Exactly where and when wildland fire use will be implemented or where and when suppression efforts of some sort will be used is not going to be a line drawn on any map. Temperature and wind condition, weather forecasts, the condition of the forest that stands to be affected, the intensity of the fire itself, the time of year, are all factors to be considered.

Low intensity fires can be very beneficial to the forest. For example, low intensity fires underneath large Ponderosa pines reduce the likelihood of a high intensity fire that might destroy the big trees. A high intensity fire can also have benefits if it creates an opening where hardwood trees like aspen and willows could thrive. Fire can also help in the regeneration of white bark pine by attracting Clark's nutcrackers that harvest seeds from cones and bury them in the ground.

New tools, such as webcams, which can broadcast 24-hour live views of a fire, have also enhanced the Forest Service's ability to monitor fires, shortening the response time if a fire should suddenly change course and become a threat to priority values such as homes and other developments. Webcams mounted at Hell's Half Acre Lookout and Spot Mountain Lookout have been used to monitor fires in the past. Campbell said that they are considering placement of a webcam on Pickett Mountain with cooperation from the University of Montana.

"We are going to be cautious in areas outside the wilderness where we consider allowing wildland fire use," said Campbell. "We are going to make sure that we see some real benefits and that we have a good chance of success."

Stevi town attorney resigns

By Michael Howell

Stevensville Town Attorney Art Graham turned in a letter of resignation at the last Town Council meeting on June 11.

Graham apologized for the short notice and said his resignation would be effective June 19. He said that it was because he was offered a "very challenging and exciting position on short notice."

"The position offers an opportunity in a dynamic environment to employ some teaching and other skills which I have put aside for many years; so, I must 'grab' this opportunity," he wrote.

Graham thanks both Mayor Meisner and former Mayor Pat Groninger, who resigned in the face of a recall petition, for their help and understanding. He praises the town's councilors and employees.

"It was quite enjoyable to serve as attorney from the outside because I could avoid the 'in town politics' and focus on the law and solutions for all elements. I enjoyed the experience and I enjoyed the people very much," he wrote.

Graham's tenure as Town Attorney was not always smooth sailing, however. He was the subject of intense criticism, at times, from various parties who felt offended by his methods and actions including the Stevensville Main Street Association, which wrote a letter protesting his handling of their contract with the town, developers of the Creekside Meadows Subdivision, Arlo and Jean Ellison, who were dismayed with his handling of their subdivision, and publisher of the Bitterroot Star, Michael Howell, who was strongly critical of Graham's attitude toward the public and the press.

In other business, the Town Council approved, on second reading, an ordinance amending provisions regarding the sale, display, and consumption of alcohol and authorizing limited sale, display, and consumption for the Creamery Picnic.

The ordinance exempts the Civic Club, or any other non profit civic centered organization, which sponsors the "Brew Fest" at Creamery Picnic, from the town's open container law which prohibits the sale, display or consumption of alcohol on city property.

The Council also accepted a bid of $1,381 from HDR Engineering of Missoula to update the town's zoning maps, upon recommendation from Planning Board Chairman Ben Longbottom. The motion passed unanimously. The council also gave Longbottom the green light to pursue updating the Town's current master/growth plan. The plan was adopted in 2003 and according to state law must be updated every five years.

Following a recommendation from Mayor Bill Meisner, the Council decided to consider amending the Community Development Block Grant Resolution to remove the Mayor from the CDBG committee. It will be placed on the next meeting's agenda. The Town will consider Chris Kelly as a replacement for the Mayor and she would join Arnie Polanchek, Greg Chilcott, Darlene Elespuru, Ed Cummings, Charles Wright, and Phil Bratton.

The Council also heard from Greg McFadden, representing the Stevensville Soccer Association. He presented a financial statement, a lease agreement with the Stevensville School and an estimate from Coleman Sprinklers for an underground sprinkler system. The association is requesting $10,000 from the CDBG funds for this improvement. The CDBG Board will consider the matter. No action was taken.

Gash Creek body identified

By Michael Howell

The body of a man found in the Gash Creek area on June 7 has been identified as 49-year-old John Jerome Mulligan.

On June 7, the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of human remains found in the Gash Creek drainage west of Victor. The body of an adult male was located at the base of a 600-foot cliff near the wreckage of a newer model pickup truck. Deputies from the Sheriff's Office and Forest Service law enforcement personnel, with help from the Ravalli County Search and Rescue team, made their way to the base of the cliff to investigate and recover the body.

While it is believed that Mulligan's death was the result of his vehicle traveling over the cliff some time during the weekend of June 2-3, the cause of that accident is still under investigation.

Wife arrested in shooting death

By Michael Howell

Ravalli County authorities have arrested 42-year-old Anna Marie Stout on suspicion of Deliberate Homicide, in connection with the murder of her husband, 52-year-old William "Bill" Stout. On the afternoon of Sunday, June 10, Mrs. Stout reported to the Ravalli County 911 Call Center that she had found her husband dead in their home south of Darby. The body was sent to the State Crime Lab in Missoula where it was determined that Stout died from a single gunshot wound to the head. Mrs. Stout is being held in the Ravalli County Detention Center, and was scheduled for arraignment on June 15.

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