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Connect With Your Community!
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A daily fishing restriction is in place, effective immediately, for the lower Madison River to reduce fish stress and mortality during high water temperatures. The hoot-owl fishing restriction, which prohibits fishing each day between 2 p.m. and midnight, applies from the dam at Ennis Lake downstream to the Madison River's confluence with the Jefferson River at Missouri Headwaters State Park. Water temperatures in the lower Madison have exceeded 75 degrees each day since June 21, meeting the criteria for hoot-owl restrictions. This restriction... Full story
There was only one candidate to file by deadline for November’s race for Three Forks Mayor. Randy Johnston was the only resident to file by June 25 for the position currently held by Mayor Sean Gifford. Appointed by the Council in 2019 to fill the term of Mayor Steve Hamilton, Gifford was elected in 2020 to serve the unexpired term through 2021. The new Mayor will serve through 2025. Four candidates will be vying for three four-year terms on the Three Forks City Council. Incumbents Gene Townsend and George Chancellor were joined in filing by A...
Representatives from agencies across Gallatin County will be holding a press conference on Wednesday, June 30. Officials will discuss current fire conditions in the area, fire and fireworks restrictions that are in place, and precautions to take during with our area’s dry conditions to safely celebrate over the upcoming Fourth of July weekend. They will also take questions from the media. The press conference will be held at 2:30 PM on Wednesday, June 30 in the Community Room on the third floor of the Gallatin County Courthouse (311 W. Main S... Full story
The Three Forks School summer lunch program had some special guests last week. Gallatin County Sheriff's Deputies Tom Pallach and Kaelin Kiesel were both on hand at the school to hand out lunches and visit local youth. According to Pallach, the Sherriff's Office recently received a Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant specifically for rural communities. In addition to their patrol duties, Kiesel said she and Pallach have been getting out to meet with area youth, and a primary...
Missouri Headwaters State Park will host a free presentation featuring guest-speakers Marisa Diaz-Waian and John Clayton on Saturday, July 3, at 7 p.m. in the park’s campground. Bring your own lawn chair. A marshmallow roast follows each program, weather permitting. Marisa Diaz-Waian and John Clayton will co-lead a discussion about the unique lives of John Muir and Gifford Pinchot, including the questions their contrasting philosophies raise about “the wild” and our place in it. Preservation-based philosophies associated with Muir celebrate the...
After a tumultuous year for all of us – (How is that for an understatement?!) – our communities and citizens of Gallatin County are now facing a historic opportunity. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which Congress passed in March, has delivered significant sums of federal stimulus dollars to our state, to Gallatin County, and to many of the towns. During the 2021 Montana legislative session, lawmakers appropriated $2.1 billion through House Bill 632. These funds will be spread across the state in support of services ranging from basic infr... Full story
To say it has been hot the past few days in Three Forks would be an understatement. I’m thinking not only could you have fried an egg on the sidewalk, but it was also warm enough to have cooked a complete Irish breakfast with ham, bacon, sausage, toast, and potatoes. I know many people do well in the heat, but I am not one of them. When I was little, my grandparents retired and moved to Arizona, and we would take a vacation there each summer. I’m not sure why we didn’t just go ahead and do this during Christmas vacation, but instead, we went... Full story
U.S. Senator Jon Tester last week re-introduced his Montana Headwaters Legacy Act, legislation that will protect 377 miles of rivers in the Custer-Gallatin and Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forests-the most significant wild and scenic designation in nearly 45 years. "Our outdoor heritage is not only central to our identity as Montanans, but a staple in our growing economy," said Tester. "This legislation, built from the ground up and with the backing of a diverse coalition of stakeholders, will ensure that some of our most pristine rivers wil...
Helen Louise Bellach Peterson, beloved wife, sister, mother, grandmother, aunt, and teacher passed away following a difficult battle with Alzheimer’s, on June 19, 2021, at the age of 83 to join her Heavenly Father. Helen Peterson was born to Edna and Edwin Bellach in Three Forks Montana on May 29, 1938. She grew up in the Three Forks community, with her four siblings where her parents ran the plumbing and hardware store. She graduated from Three Forks High in 1956 and continued her education at Montana State University and Eastern Montana C... Full story
We all were blessed to have Christopher join us on January 10, 1990 and he rode out his way on June 22, 2021. Beloved son, brother, uncle, cousin, grandchild and friend to many past and present. Chris was so proud to have had a dad and best friend that taught him to fish, hunt, drive, play baseball and mostly to be the man Chris wanted to be. Chris was also very proud to have served his country. In his life he was very much his own man and we are blessed that he chose to ride out peacefully in families loving arms at his home. A visitation and... Full story
In his last week in the position, Three Forks Superintendent Jeff Elliott had some fantastic news to report for the district. According to Elliott, the district just received their audit form for Fiscal Year 2020, and there were no findings. Elliott added when he took the position in 2018, and they had a “disclaimed” audit and 12 findings. “It is a huge accomplishment for our district and primarily the work of Lisa Morgan, our clerk,” he said. The School Board of Trustees voted to approve the audit results last week....
The Three Forks Area Historical Society will next meet Thursday, July 1 at 7 p.m. The meeting is scheduled for the Methodist Church Annex. Topics to be discussed are updates on the NP depot engine restoration, repairs to the orange Milwaukee caboose (VIC), summer plans, and the float for the July 17 Rodeo Days Parade. Refreshments will be served following the meeting....
HELENA – To prevent the spread of disease, such as salmonella, bird enthusiasts should consider either removing their bird feeders for the summer or cleaning the feeder regularly. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has received several phone calls recently about dead birds around feeders and birds with crusty eyes. Birds don't need supplementary food in the summer. They typically eat naturally occurring food, such as insects, during this time of year when they are nesting and rearing their young. I...
BOZEMAN – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks recently completed its annual report to NorthWestern Energy for the Madison River drainage. Through its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license, NorthWestern Energy provides mitigation funds to protect and enhance Madison River basin fisheries. FWP’s report details how these mitigation funds were used in 2020 to complete fish population monitoring in Hebgen Lake and in two sections of the Madison River. FWP uses these estimates — which have been conducted since the 1960s — to monitor the hea...
Some of the photos on the “Alumni Wall” in the Gilmore Room of the Headwaters Heritage Museum have faded over the years, and a project is now underway to restore them. The photos were copied from the museum’s collection of annuals (or yearbooks). While browsing through those annuals, I was reminded of doing the same for a booklet I put together for the 2008 All School Reunion. The following is that selection of annual “Tidbits” that I found to be interesting. The first annual was produced in 1919, and this class gave the book its name, “He... Full story
Amanda Grace Wilcox is an Ambassador for Crowns for a Cause and is the reigning Montana's Our Little Miss 10-12 Universal Beauty Queen. She has been involved with Crowns for a Cause since March of this year. As ambassadors, pageant title holders across the country have been raising funds and collecting band aids to donate to their local Children's Miracle Network Hospital. In April, Amanda, along with other young ladies with Montana's Our Little Miss, collected and donated over 300 boxes of...
I love fish - the way they look, the way they fry up, the secret lives they live under the water. And of all the fish in the sea, river or lake, I most prize those that descended from the great oceangoing salmonids, trout and char. For me, the king of them all is the Great Basin redband rainbow. It's not because they always grow to enormous size (some do) or that they're feistier than some of their cousins (many are). It is because they are the ultimate survivors. They're underdogs, plucky heroes surviving on sheer force of will. Due to their... Full story
The Environmental Protection Agency is taking a close look at a 2020 rule that removed Clean Water Act protections from a significant number of waterways across the country, including a huge number of smaller streams and wetlands in Montana. Earlier this month, the agency announced its intention to revise the rule's definition of "Waters of the United States," which outlines which water bodies fall under the regulatory purview of the Clean Water Act, the 1972 law that established pollution...
