The first mentions of the teacherage, according to publicly available school board agendas and minutes, came when the school’s newly-hired kindergarten and first grade teacher expressed interest in renting the building in January. For much of February, the board’s discussions about the property appear to have centered on renovation needs and how much the district should charge a tenant for rent.

But allegations emerged in March which, per a recording from the board’s April 8 meeting, had long percolated throughout the community that there had been methamphetamine use at the teacherage. (The Beacon was forwarded a copy of an email sent to the Lincoln County superintendent of schools raising concerns about previous tenants’ activities — a fight that occurred on the property, specifically — dating back to 2024. A teacher at the school wrote in a separate email “rumors from past tenants” had been a point of discussion between herself and a new hire in November of 2025.)

Methamphetamine, a stimulant, is a highly addictive drug, and its prolonged use can lead to cardiovascular damage, neurological changes and dangerous psychiatric conditions, like paranoia and convulsions.

Board chair Kris Glover on April 8 told the board she’d spoken with the school’s lawyers, who recommended testing the property. Glover explained the board could be held liable, since they were aware of the allegations, should they rent the property without testing it. So, the board approved spending $980 for discrete meth testing. It hoped the building would receive a clean “bill of health” from the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) at the end of the process.

Instead, the board called an emergency meeting April 25 to present the results of the methamphetamine testing. A copy of the methamphetamine report published in the school board’s publicly available materials stated, “the levels of meth or its known chemical derivatives were found to be above acceptable levels at one or more of the testing locations.” That result requires decontamination and retesting to ensure contaminant levels fall below DEQ’s standards: 1.5 nanograms per 100 square centimeters.

In the teacherage, several tested areas came back far above that standard. Testing showed results ranging from 13 to 280 nanograms per 100 square centimeters in various areas of the rental property.

Afterwards, the board opted to shut down the school building itself for testing. When the library tested above DEQ’s standards roughly a week later, the school shuttered its doors for the remainder of the year.

While testing can determine the presence of methamphetamine residue, it can’t determine how long it’s been there, nor can it determine the source, said a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) spokesperson. Residue typically covers surfaces post-cooking or -smoking methamphetamine, according to a report from the National Institute of Health. Methamphetamine residue remains on surfaces “until they are cleaned or remediated,” said DEQ spokesperson Nolan Lister.

“It is largely determined by how porous or exposed the surface is. For example, residue can be easily cleaned from a tile countertop, but can remain on more porous materials like drywall until remediated,” Lister wrote in an email.

Lister also stated there is “limited published information” about methamphetamine residue exposure, especially for children. One study from the Centers for Disease Control states living in a former “clandestine methamphetamine drug laboratory” did come with adverse health effects for those present. There was evidence of methamphetamine absorption among the members of a family that lived in such a home.

After methamphetamine residue is found, Lister said, DEQ helps projects “that either fall under or opt into the DEQ Clean-up Standards” develop a three-stage plan. Those plans consist of identifying rooms where contamination is present, developing a work plan for remediation, and developing a final clearance plan “that involves resampling the areas after clean-up to verify that all areas meet the clearance standard and are safe to be reinhabited.”

Trego Elementary School is in the throes of working through that process. At the board’s May 27 meeting, it approved a bid to remediate the library, with an estimated cost between $12,000 to $16,000. Those funds will come from the district’s building reserve funds, according to board meeting minutes.

Once remediation takes place, the board will have to retest the building for methamphetamine residue. That comes with an estimated cost between $9,500 to $12,500.

The board opted to hold off on remediation efforts for the teacherage, estimated to cost an additional $30,000.  

And in the more-direct wake of the findings, the board quickly had to find a solution for its students to finish the year. It was a challenge, as the state’s Office of Public Instruction has “certain requirements for where students attend school,” Cristina Jo Leib, a teacher at Trego Elementary School, wrote in an email to the Beacon.

Superintendent Joel Graves, of Eureka Public Schools, offered up his district’s resources to help Trego’s teachers and students wrap up the year.

Graves said Trego’s teachers used open spaces in Eureka’s high school and at the elementary school library to continue teaching their students. Graves also said his district provided bussing, Chromebooks for Trego’s teachers and helped supplement their curriculum needs, all at no cost to Trego Elementary School.

“We have not charged them anything and we won’t,” Graves said. “It’s a minimal cost with the amount of kids that they have and I’m sure they made some copies and everything, but it’s just something we do as a good neighbor.”

Leib, one of Trego School’s teachers, wrote that Graves and his staff “have been very accommodating, gracious, and helpful along the way.” Leib, who left a career as a teacher after the COVID pandemic, began working at Trego School at the start of the 2025-2026 academic year. She described the discovery of methamphetamine residue in the teacherage and the school as bringing “a lot of dissension, anger, sadness, and a whole lot of deep discussions.”

But Leib also described “resilient” Trego School students who finished out the year as best they could. The school lost one teacher, who did not opt to return for the next school year, and three of its thirteen students finished the year out by homeschooling, Leib wrote. Another student finished the year at Fortine. Nine students continued in Eureka.

“I can tell you that not only did some education happen, but these kids learned a LOT about getting along, dealing with changes, and knowing that the few adults in their lives cared deeply for these kids,” Leib wrote. “In my 30+ years teaching I can say I’ve never had an experience like this. It seems like these 9 months have gone on for 5 years with everything the Trego School has dealt with. I TRULY believe this is going to be the change that so many people, parents, and the community want for this school.”

And change has started already, according to Kristie Eggebroten, who writes for Trego’s Mountain Ear, a volunteer-run news site that has followed the fallout of the findings. Eggebroten told the Beacon eight people ran for the school board’s three open seats this spring. She described it as an unprecedented number of candidates in the small, unincorporated community. The board swore in three new members — Leilani Swan, Kaitlyn Haugen and Heather Brannan — at its May 13 meeting.

Still, questions remain.

Public commenters at the board’s meetings have found themselves at-odds with a school board they claim has been “negligent.”

Minutes from a May 4 emergency meeting show community members asking the district who was responsible for the methamphetamine contamination. Per those minutes, the board adopted the posturing that it could not definitively offer up an answer. In previous meeting recordings, some had mentioned rumors about previous teacherage tenants, while others worried doing so was defamatory.

The sheriff’s office will not investigate the matter. Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short told the Beacon it was being handled internally by the district, and the tenants who had allegedly used methamphetamine in the teacherage had moved out “long before.”

The Beacon reached out to Glover, the board chair, along with the school district’s clerk and the Lincoln County superintendent of schools, Suzy Rio for comment. Glover responded to a public records request for board meeting minutes from meetings in May and the bid packet for remediation. Those documents were made publicly available June 5, after the public records request was filed.

None answered questions about the timeline for remediation or whether the district is conducting an investigation.

mariah@flatheadbeacon.com

The post Methamphetamine Contamination Shutters Doors of Trego Elementary School appeared first on Flathead Beacon.

• No vehicle reservations are required anywhere in the park this year.  
• Glacier’s shuttles on the Going-to-the-Sun Road to Logan Pass will run on a reservation-only system during the summer season.  
• Beginning June 30, reservations for next-day shuttles will be released daily at 7 p.m. on recreation.gov.
• Parking at Logan Pass is limited to three hours starting July 1.  
• There will not be a Glacier National Park operated hiker/biker shuttle this spring, but local commercial operators with park permits will offer bicycle rental and transportation services during the hiker/biker season. 
• All Sun Tours and Red Bus tours that previously departed from the Apgar Visitor Center will now depart from the newly designated Quarter Circle Parking Lot. 
• Shuttle reservations are available only at www.recreation.gov.
• Official park information is available on the NPS website: www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/vehicle-reservations2026.htm

Glacier National Park closed out 2025 as its third-busiest year on record, surpassing 3.1 million visitors and marking the fifth time in Glacier’s 116-year history that it’s broken the 3-million-visitor barrier. Even so, park officials have decided to scrap a controversial vehicle-reservation system aimed at mitigating summertime symptoms of over-visitation in favor of a new approach: For the first time in five years, visitors can access all of Glacier National Park’s entrances without a vehicle reservation. But visitors will still have to navigate changes in 2026, including Logan Pass parking restrictions, a new reservation-only shuttle system, and construction-related closures. Here’s what to know.

The most dramatic change visitors will encounter this summer is the rollback of vehicle-reservation requirements that have, in some form or another, been in place since 2021 as part of an effort to manage congestion along the park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor. That pilot program took a slightly different shape each summer as park administrators refined the strategy, with a mixed reception from visitors and business stakeholders in a volatile tourism economy.

Although park officials described locating a visitor-use “sweet spot” as the adaptive pilot program ran its course over five years, allowing administrators the flexibility to troubleshoot bugs and iron out kinks from one season to another, they ultimately conceded that the vehicle reservation system hadn’t relieved congestion at the park’s most popular destinations, including the Logan Pass Visitor Center, park entrances and popular trailheads.

In dropping the vehicle reservation requirement, which will not go into effect anywhere in the park in 2026, Glacier is supplanting it with a reservation-only shuttle system, which is tailored to visitors seeking longer experiences in the alpine stretches of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The new reservation-only shuttle system replaces the park’s first-come, first-served shuttle system. Shuttles to Logan Pass will not pick up passengers who do not have shuttle tickets.

“With the new trial measures, we aim to improve the public’s ability to visit Logan Pass for short durations and allow the shuttle system to perform more reliably for a more specific purpose,” Glacier National Park Superintendent Dave Roemer said earlier this year when he announced the changes. “This initiative reflects our continued learning and listening as we refine park transportation and access to better serve the public and safeguard the integrity of the park’s resources.”

Tickets are required for each visitor over the age of 2 and are valid for one day. They will be available through recreation.gov for a $1 service fee.

Even though the new reservation-based express shuttle system isn’t scheduled to begin until July 1, assuming the Sun Road’s upper reaches are clear of snow by then, reservations became available to visitors 60 days in advance beginning May 2 at 8 a.m. and are released on a rolling basis thereafter. Shuttle reservations for next-day entry will be released daily at 7 p.m. starting on June 30.

Shuttle Routes and Schedules

The shuttle, which includes early morning express routes, will ferry visitors to the popular Logan Pass Visitor Center from both the east and west sides of Going-to-the-Sun Road, while the three-hour parking time limit is “intended to increase parking turnover and provide more visitors the opportunity to experience the area.”

“Three hours allows time to hike to Hidden Lake Overlook, visit the Logan Pass Visitor Center or attend an interpretive program, visitors planning longer hikes that begin at Logan Pass, including the Highline Trail to Granite Park Chalet or to the Loop Trailhead, must obtain a shuttle ticket,” according to Glacier National Park officials.

Overnight parking will not be permitted at Logan Pass except for permitted backcountry users and registered guests of Granite Park Chalet.

West side express routes will depart from Apgar Transit Center beginning at 6 a.m. and Lake McDonald Lodge at 7 a.m., with stops at the Loop in the afternoon and Logan Pass.

East side express routes will depart from St. Mary Visitor Center and Rising Sun. Riders may transfer between routes at Logan Pass.

Avalanche Lake and Trail of the Cedars will not be accessible by park shuttle in 2026.

Shuttles will depart Logan Pass every 60 to 90 minutes. The last shuttle to depart Logan Pass for the day to return to west side boarding locations is at 7:30 p.m. The last shuttle to depart Logan Pass for the day to return to east side boarding locations is at 8 p.m. There are no other public transportation services available if visitors miss the last shuttle.

Shuttles will stop in both directions at The Loop, allowing shuttle riders to start or end their hike at The Loop and return to their boarding location. The estimated travel time between The Loop and Logan Pass is 30 minutes. In the afternoon, shuttles headed up to Logan Pass will stop at The Loop to pick up passengers that need to get back to Logan Pass to transfer to eastbound shuttles. Eastbound shuttles will pick up passengers approximately every 60 to 90 minutes, with the first pick-up time at noon and the last pick-up time at 7 p.m.

Many Glacier, Two Medicine, and North Fork Vehicle Reservations

Because vehicle reservations will not be required in Many Glacier, Two Medicine or the North Fork in 2026, visitors may be “temporarily diverted when areas reach capacity,” according to park officials. Visitors with lodging, camping, boat tour, horseback ride, guided hike or backcountry reservations will be permitted entry during temporary restrictions but may experience delays.

Going-to-the-Sun Road Opening

Snow removal operations began in early April and typically continue until Logan Pass opens between mid-June and early July. Snowstorms and avalanches often continue through May, and the park cannot predict an opening date.

Road crews work across approximately 40 avalanche paths, and progress depends on snow and avalanche conditions.

“The park cannot predict when Logan Pass trails will open,” according to park officials. “Popular routes, including the Highline Trail, may remain closed due to hazardous snow conditions.”

Road Construction and Infrastructure Project Work

Road reconstruction typically requires warmer weather, meaning that construction season often overlaps with the primary visitation season of May through October in Glacier National Park. 

In 2026, there will be minimal road construction affecting travel times. However, a spring and fall closure for the Two Medicine area will occur due to a utility project in the developed area and campground.

Two Medicine Spring and Fall Closure

In 2026, a spring and fall closure will occur for the Two Medicine area due to a utility project and road rehabilitation project. The Two Medicine utility project will begin in May 2026. This project includes replacement of the full water distribution system in the Two Medicine developed area and campground. To facilitate construction, Two Medicine Road will be closed at the Running Eagle Falls Trailhead.

Closures in the Two Medicine developed area will occur outside of concession operating dates, May 29-Sept. 7. Concessioner operated boat tours will run and the Two Medicine Campstore will remain open from May 29–Sept. 7. The park will maintain access to hiking trails as feasible, but access to some trails may be limited. The Two Medicine Campground will be closed in 2026.

North Fork–Polebridge

Construction to replace the Polebridge Ranger Station area’s water supply system, water distribution system, and water tank is expected to begin August 2026. This work is expected to have minimal impact to visitors until October 4, 2026 when the water main and water tank installation work along the Inside North Fork Road is anticipated to start. This will require a full closure to all traffic traveling towards Logging Creek from the Polebridge Ranger Station. Trenching in front of the Polebridge Ranger Station is also expected in October 2026.

Public access to Bowman Lake and Kintla Lake will remain unaffected by construction. It is expected that all significant construction activities will be completed in November 2026. Heavy construction is not expected in the winter. Any remaining road restoration or area restoration work will be completed by summer 2027.  

The post Tips for Getting into Glacier National Park in 2026 appeared first on Flathead Beacon.

That is why the recent decision by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to withhold most Medicaid provider rate increases approved by the 2025 Legislature is so concerning.

The Legislature approved these increases because lawmakers recognized a reality that healthcare providers confront every day: Medicaid reimbursement often falls well short of the actual cost of providing care. The approved 3% increase was not a windfall. It was not a bonus. It was a modest adjustment intended to help providers keep pace with inflation and continue serving Montana’s most vulnerable residents.

Now, those increases will not occur for most Medicaid providers on July 1.

While this decision affects many healthcare sectors including nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living communities, behavioral health providers, and others, the consequences will ultimately be felt by the people who depend on these services.

Montana’s nursing homes have spent years navigating extraordinary challenges. We have faced historic inflation, workforce shortages, rising healthcare costs, and increasing complexity in caring for residents with greater medical needs than ever before. Yet providers have continued to show up.

They have recruited and trained caregivers, invested in quality improvements, and worked collaboratively with state leaders to strengthen Montana’s long-term care system. While facilities across the country have struggled or closed, Montana providers have fought to preserve access to care in the communities that depend on them.

The financial challenges are real.

At Immanuel Living’s skilled nursing community in Kalispell, our average cost of providing care is approximately $481 per resident per day. Medicaid reimbursement averages just $292 per day. That means we lose roughly $189 every day for every Medicaid resident we serve.

We are not alone. Nursing homes across Montana absorb similar losses every day because caring for vulnerable seniors is not optional. Providers make up the difference through fundraising, private-pay revenue, operational efficiencies, and an unwavering commitment to the people entrusted to their care.

The problem is that healthcare providers did not create the state’s budget shortfall.

Providers do not determine Medicaid enrollment projections. We do not establish state budgets. We do not decide legislative appropriations. Yet many of the organizations responsible for caring for Montana’s most vulnerable citizens are now being asked to absorb the financial consequences.

The timing could not be worse.

Healthcare providers continue to compete for employees in one of the most challenging labor markets in recent memory. Wages have increased substantially and rightly so. Montana caregivers deserve competitive compensation for the demanding and meaningful work they perform every day. At the same time, providers face increasing costs for food, utilities, insurance, pharmaceuticals, supplies, and regulatory compliance.

Unlike most businesses, healthcare providers cannot simply raise prices to offset those costs. Medicaid reimbursement rates are established by the state. When reimbursement fails to keep pace with expenses, providers have fewer resources to invest in staff, services, and facility improvements.

The long-term consequences should concern every Montanan.

When nursing homes and other Medicaid providers struggle financially, access to care is threatened. Rural communities are especially vulnerable. If providers are forced to reduce services, limit admissions, or close programs, families may find themselves traveling hours from home to find care for a loved one.

This is not merely a provider issue. It is a community issue.

Montana’s population is aging rapidly. Demand for long-term care services, behavioral health services, and healthcare supports will continue to grow in the years ahead. We should be strengthening the network of providers that serve our parents, grandparents, veterans, neighbors, and individuals with disabilities not weakening it.

I recognize that balancing a state budget requires difficult decisions. I do not underestimate the challenges facing DPHHS or the Governor’s Office. However, balancing the budget on the backs of nursing homes and other Medicaid providers ultimately shifts costs elsewhere onto seniors, families, hospitals, local communities, and the very people these programs are designed to protect.

Montana’s healthcare providers are not asking for special treatment. We are simply asking the state to honor the commitment that was already made.

There is still time to find another solution.

For the sake of Montana’s seniors and vulnerable citizens, I urge state leaders to revisit this decision and preserve the provider rate increases approved by the Legislature. The future of healthcare access in Montana depends on it.

Jason R. Cronk is president and CEO of Immanuel Living. Immanuel Living at Buffalo Hill is a faith-based senior living community in Kalispell, providing independent living, assisted living, memory support, skilled nursing, and home-based services.

The post Balancing the Budget Shouldn’t Come at the Expense of Montana’s Most Vulnerable appeared first on Flathead Beacon.

Inside the envelope he found decades of his grandfather Daniel G. Block’s writings, including a completed manuscript of his encounters living 70 miles up the North Fork of the Flathead River, six miles south of the U.S.-Canada border where he homesteaded near Trail Creek in a post-World War II era.

After flipping through the first few pages of the manuscript’s 16 chapters, Zach speculated his grandfather’s reflections on the North Fork would resonate with readers and started working toward its publication. 

With help from a local North Fork historian, a few hundred copies of “Trail Creek: A North Fork Saga” were printed in time for Christmas. 

As a retired University of Montana Western biology professor, Dan Block documented his life at the homestead he built with his wife, Gerane, recounting fishing for bull trout, hunting elk and surviving grizzly bear encounters.  

Dedicated to Gerane, the memoir also serves as a tribute to his wife, who was the youngest postmistress in the North Fork and was always dressed to the nines, whether posing with bull trout or sitting on top of old vehicles for photos. One of her duties was to hold the flashlight for her husband while he shot packrats in the cabin with a .22 rifle in the middle of the night.

“She was quite a fancy-looking lady 70 miles up in the woods,” Zach said. 

While he clarified there was “nothing tragic” about his grandparents’ lives up the North Fork, he described a somber tone in the memoir, which he said could potentially be attributed to the loss of wilderness that new generations won’t get to see. 

Since reading his grandfather’s manuscript, Zach said it’s had an emotional impact on his family and has served as a reminder to balance an authentic life with adventure and exploration.

“My grandpa had a big life and to see that he was the same person he was at 26 as he was at 96 as he sharpened through the years — he was the same guy,” Zach said. “He had the same ambitions. He wanted to strike into the unknown while being respectful to his surroundings.”

Although he doesn’t recall his grandfather pursuing the manuscript’s publication, Zach felt it was important to share his poetic and philosophical outlook on life up the North Fork, which he believes will resonate with younger generations.

“I think when somebody sits down to put their thoughts on paper, they obviously want it shared,” he said. “It’s had a pretty emotional impact on my family and it’s had an impact on my friends and people who didn’t know him. I assume he’d be thrilled.”

Today, the Trail Creek homestead remains in the Block family, which Zach said looks almost the same as it did when it was built 80 years ago, with the original floor and handcrafted fireplace, serving as a time capsule of his grandparents’ North Fork legacy.

“I think this was an end-of-life epitaph,” he said, referring to the manuscript. 

“Trail Creek: A North Fork Saga” can be purchased at all local Flathead Valley bookstores, as well as at Last Best Books and Fact and Fiction in Missoula. It is also available on Amazon. 

The post A North Fork Legacy appeared first on Flathead Beacon.

Where: 786 Fifth Ave.

Price: $449,000

What: Two-bedroom, two-bath home

Square Feet: 2,016

This charming two-bedroom home is being offered for the first time in decades. From its cozy spaces to its welcoming atmosphere, it offers the perfect blend of charm and comfort. This well-loved home is filled with character and timeless appeal. Keller Williams Realty Northwest Montana

MLS Number: 30065162

Eureka

Where: 321 Forest Lp.          

Price: $425,000

What: Three-bedroom, three-bath home

Square Feet: 1,824

This beautiful home sits on about a half-acre in the Crystal Lakes subdivision and is a work in progress. Many of the materials necessary to complete the home are included in the sale: master bath soaker tub, stainless cable railing system; and rough-in plumbing parts. Montana Properties LLC

MLS Number: 30069781

Essex

Where: 426 Parma Dr.        

Price: $445,000

What: Two-bedroom, two-bath home

Square Feet: 1,100

This mountain retreat offers views of the Middle Fork Flathead River and into Glacier National Park. The charming cabin is being offered turnkey and is currently operating as a successful vacation rental. Enjoy river access just steps away or hike directly into Glacier National Park via the Walton Ranger Station. Trailhead Realty Group    

MLS Number: 30070719

Columbia Falls

Where: 104 Second Ave. W.

Price: $439,000

What: Four-bedroom, one-bath home

Square Feet: 1,762

This beautifully updated home is situated on a generous downtown corner lot and blends historic charm with contemporary upgrades. It features updated electrical systems and new flooring throughout. Outside is a fully fenced backyard and detached garage that can be used for parking or additional storage. National Parks Realty

MLS Number: 30070677

Romy Caro, an agent with PureWest Real Estate, has been a Realtor since 2004. Her experience includes sales in residential, land, waterfront, vacation and recreational properties. Whether you are ready now or just thinking about making some real estate decisions, contact Romy at romy@purewestmt.com.

The post Floor Space: What You Can Buy for About $450,000 appeared first on Flathead Beacon.

Snowdrifts deep enough to bury a mansion often persist through the better part of the year. Small bits of its namesake ice formations, vestiges of the last Ice Age, still cling to shaded facets of its high country. The snow gives way during the park’s short summer to vibrant meadows of delicate, yet hardy alpine flowers. Standout flora include yellow avalanche lilies, erythronium grandiflorum, and scarlet Indian paintbrush, castilleja coccinea. The awe-inspiring megafauna cast includes grizzly bears, ursus arctos horribilis, mountain goats, oreamnos americanus, bighorn sheep, ovis canadensis and moose, alces alces.

Over the past seven years as a photographer for the Flathead Beacon, my wanderings have taken me to dozens of mountain peaks and lakes within Glacier’s wild depths. These frames are a handful of our staff’s favorites from the country’s 10th-most visited national park, a place that, in my opinion, is a contender for the list of prettiest corners of the planet.

To purchase a print, see the link in the caption below each image.

Morning Moon Over Cosley Lake

Cosley Lake, pictured above, is nestled in the northeastern quadrant of the park near the Canadian border is a lesser visited, but no less striking, corner of Glacier. The foot of the lake is about 8 miles from the nearest road, ensuring hikers work for the view. Captured at dawn, this image shows a nearly full moon hanging over the summits of Mount Kipp, Pyramid Peak and the lake’s cold, windwhipped waters in late June. The Mokowanis River, a short, 10-mile-long tributary of the Belly River, flows through the lake, which then meanders north across the border. Not pictured is the robust insect life of early summer, primarily mosquitoes, which feast on passersby in earnest as soon as the breeze dies down.

Summit of Siyeh

Siyeh roughly translates to “crazy dog” or “mad wolf” in the Blackfeet language. At 10,019 ft, it is one of six peaks in the park exceeding the five-figure mark in elevation. But the mountain’s sheer north face is its most striking feature. About 2,500 feet of thin air separate the summit from the top of Siyeh Glacier far below, while the turquoise waters of Cracker Lake pool another 1,500 feet below that, making Mount Siyeh host to one of the highest cliff faces in the contiguous United States. Groups of grizzly bears frequent its talus-filled southern slopes in summer to feast on thousands of the fat-rich cutworm moths, which hide among the alpine rocks.

Land of the Larch

Larch are a beautifully peculiar plant. Earth is home to as many as 73,000 species of trees, and of those, only about 20 are considered deciduous conifers, a tiny classification into which the larch, or larix, genus fits. Deciduous conifers have needles and form seed-bearing cones, but unlike evergreen trees, such as pines, they change color before shedding their photosynthesizing parts ahead of winter, mirroring the seasonal cycle of leafy, or deciduous, trees. The turning of the larch in Glacier National Park and the surrounding areas is a stunning study in contrast, making for a mesmerizing backdrop for hikers and shutterbugs. Regional photographers refer to the spectacle as “Larch Madness.” The corresponding hashtag propagates across visual social media channels when the trees’ golden transformation peaks in late October and early November. Pictured is a stand of along U.S. Highway 2 and the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, which form the southern boundary of the park.

Moose of Gunsight Lake

While this frame of a cow moose wading through the headwaters of the St. Mary River at the outlet of Gunsight Lake possesses all the hallmarks of a tranquil nature scene, the moments leading up to it were anything but. Within seconds of myself and my hiking partner fording the river, this moose, a big bull hot on her heels, and her calf trailing behind, all came thundering full tilt out of the brush. We pull-upped  ourselves to safety onto one of the towers for the river’s suspension bridge. The bridge, unfortunately, had already been stripped of its pedestrian deck planks for the season. Meanwhile, the camera, and our shoes, removed for the river crossing, were abandoned on the ground in the course of the evasive maneuvers. The stampede left massive hoof prints in the gravel within inches of the camera’s lens. After gingerly stretching down to retrieve it, I took several dozen photographs from our protective perch of the cow and her earnest suitor, who by then had discontinued his pursuit. He’d become distracted by the sight of the two wide-eyed, opposable-thumbed mammalians clinging to an unnatural looking tree, leaving her to rehydrate in peace.

Scenic Marmot Duel

Regular hikers and bikers of Glacier National Park are all too familiar with the mischievous nature of the hoary marmot, marmota caligata, large rodents about the size of house cats who lope about the high country. Marmots have a penchant for destructively gnawing on sweat-laced adventure gear the moment one takes their eyes off of it. I’ve witnessed marmots attempt to abscond with trekking poles, and even an e-bike along the Going-to-the-Sun Road during water breaks. Despite weighing only about ten pounds, a marmot clamped its strong teeth on the handle bar grip and managed to drag the 50-60 pound battery-powered bike nearly a foot within a few seconds before being shooed away. In this image, a pair of snarling marmots duke it out on top of Scenic Point, a popular hiking destination in the Two Medicine Area.

Chief Mountain

The lands from the continental divide in Glacier National Park and east out onto the foothills and plains of the Rocky Mountain Front are the traditional homelands of the Blackfeet Nation. Chief Mountain lies just inside the park boundary north of Babb. It is among the most sacred topographical features on the landscape for the tribe, and is the site of sweating and fasting ceremonies to this day. In recent decades, some of the Blackfeet, with varying degrees of success, have attempted to formalize access restrictions to the mountain for non-tribal members. In this frame, a rancher’s horses graze among the sagebrush and yellowing aspen in early autumn in view of the striking, squareish-shaped peak.

Bighorns Among the Lillies

A herd of bighorn sheep munches on avalanche lilies before Glacier’s iconic Reynolds Mountain, as viewed from the Hidden Lake Trail. The lilies are a traditional source of food for animals and humans alike. Indigenous peoples prepared and consumed them in a variety of forms: raw, dried, roasted, boiled and glazed. The nutrition from the flowers in part fuels the growth of the large, curved horns of the male sheep, or rams, which can weigh as much as 30 pounds. Come mating season, rams will use their armaments to fight for mates by running headfirst into one another at up to 40 mph. The sound of the horns making contact can be heard from a mile away. North American bighorn sheep numbers dwindled to just a few thousand individuals in the early 1900s from deadly diseases contracted from domesticated sheep herds and overhunting. Populations have since rebounded into the upper tens of thousands thanks to conservation efforts. 

Ghost Trees

In spite of all of Glacier’s vibrant floral color and wildlife splendor, the stark, skeletal geometry of dead whitebark pines is a personal favorite photographic subject of mine. Across their range, the trees are succumbing to a combination of proliferating mountain pine beetle, white pine blister rust, and droughts. Warmer average winter temperatures in recent decades have allowed the ravenous pine beetles to thrive, while a non-native fungus is the source of the blister rust epidemic. Whitebark pine is a slow-growing species adapted to harsh, high elevation climates. When healthy, they commonly live for up to 1,000 years. This ghostly tree is one of many along the Scenic Point Trail in the Two Medicine Area.

Red October

Pumpelly Pillar Spire rises over the crimson foliage lining the Dawson Pass Trail in the Two Medicine Area on a balmy October day. The trail is part of the 19-mile Dawson-Pitamakan Loop, a popular, but challenging day hike over two mountain passes. As with any part of Glacier, the  Two Medicine Area is inspiring any time of year, but autumn is arguably its finest season. Golden aspen leaves and reddening huckleberry bushes against a snow-dusted alpine backdrop is a maximal expression of natural aesthetics. Grizzly bears frequent the low elevation areas of the trail during this time of year, imbuing a wild element to what otherwise might be construed as just a long walk in the park.

Dawn at Gunsight Lake

The tonality of color brought out only by twilight is the impetus behind late nights and early mornings for the landscape photographer, as illustrated by this autumnal dawn scene of Gunsight Lake. The scene is awash in a perfect secondary color palette of green, orange and purple. The lake is the subject of a conservation controversy in recent years. In 2023, as part of a native trout conservation project, the National Park Service poured the piscicide rotenone into the lake to kill introduced, non-native rainbow trout. The park service then planned to populate the lake with translocated native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout as a way of providing an isolated, cold-water refuge from hybridization and warming climatic pressures. Two conservation nonprofits sued the government, putting the second phase of the plan on hold. The plaintiffs argued government agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, saying they failed to consider the consequences of collecting and propagating drainage-specific bull trout, precluding public comment. Gunsight is historically a fishless body of water, with no fish species occurring in the lake naturally.

The post Glacier’s Awe-Inspiring Landscapes appeared first on Flathead Beacon.

Passed in 1973, Section 504 was the first federal law to prohibit disability discrimination. Its principle is simple: any program or service that receives federal funding must be accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities. That includes public schools, colleges, hospitals, clinics, housing authorities, and state and local governments. In practice, it ensures reasonable accommodations, accessible facilities, and policies that do not exclude people because of disability.

In a rural state like Montana, these protections are essential. When a community has only one hospital, one school district, or one public transit option, exclusion is not an inconvenience—it is a barrier to daily life. Section 504 helps ensure that a student with epilepsy can attend school safely, that a wheelchair user can access a county office, and that a Deaf patient can communicate effectively in an emergency room.

Education is one of the clearest examples of its impact. Thousands of Montana students rely on 504 plans for accommodations related to chronic illness, mental health conditions, or learning differences. These supports are not special treatment; they are what allow students to participate fully and succeed alongside their peers.

Health care access also depends heavily on Section 504. The law requires federally funded providers to offer accessible medical equipment and effective communication, including sign language interpreters. In a state where people may travel hours for care, accessibility can make the difference between receiving treatment and going without.

Beyond individual services, Section 504 reflects a broader civil rights principle: people with disabilities have the right to live and receive services in their communities, not be separated or pushed into institutions. This was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1999 Olmstead decision, which recognized unnecessary institutionalization as a form of discrimination.

That legacy is now being challenged.

Montana’s Attorney General is a party to Texas v. Kennedy, a federal lawsuit seeking to invalidate key portions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2024 Section 504 regulations. These regulations clarify how the law is applied today, including reinforcing the right of people with disabilities to receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate. The lawsuit asks the court to block those protections and weaken their enforcement.

If successful, Section 504 could remain in name but be diminished in practice. It would become far more difficult for individuals to challenge systems that limit access or push them toward institutional care. For Montanans who rely on Medicaid-funded home and community-based services, the consequences could be immediate and significant.

This is not an abstract legal debate. It is about whether people can remain in their homes, attend school, access health care, and participate fully in their communities. It is about whether disability rights remain enforceable—or become symbolic.

Disability is not rare, and it is not someone else’s issue. Most Montanans will experience disability at some point in their lives or within their families. Section 504 is a safeguard many of us will rely on, whether we realize it now or not.

Montana’s values emphasize fairness, independence, and community. Those values are best reflected by strengthening protections that allow all people to participate, not by stepping into legal efforts that could weaken them. This is a moment to pause, to listen to those most affected, and to ensure that Montana stands on the side of inclusion.

Section 504 is more than a law. It is a promise—one Montana should choose to uphold, not walk away from.

Cassie Wick is the Public Policy and Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator for Ability Montana.

The post Section 504 Is a Promise Montana Must Not Abandon appeared first on Flathead Beacon.

Exceptions are the Flathead, Clark Fork, and Upper Yellowstone basins, which are holding 50% to 70% of median June 1 snowpack. Spring storms helped maintain snowpack in the Flathead and Clark Fork basins, while high elevations supported the Upper Yellowstone basin. 

“Late spring snowpack percentages rarely tell the whole story,” said Florence Miller, a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) hydrologist. “When evaluating a season’s snowpack, peak snowpack accumulation and snowmelt timing provide a more comprehensive picture.”

To that end, this year’s snowpack followed regional trends and varied depending on elevation. For example, higher elevation SNOTEL monitoring sites in the Flathead, Clark Fork, and Upper Yellowstone basins saw near- to above-normal snowpack accumulation, Miller said. Higher elevation SNOTELs across the rest of the state received 65% to 90% of a typical season’s snowpack. Statewide, warm temperatures depressed lower-elevation snowpack, with most lower elevation SNOTELs receiving less than 65% of a typical year’s snow. Most basins saw peak snowpack accumulation in mid-March, about a month earlier than normal. This continued into an early snowmelt season.

Still, an NRCS press release said some higher-elevation SNOTELs in these basins “have retained a respectable snowpack.” Due to warmer-than-normal temperatures in May, the majority of the state’s snowpack has already melted and transitioned into streamflow. Of the 145 SNOTELs associated with Montana basins, 111 have melted out, with 66 of them registering the earliest or second earliest melt-out date on record.

Inconsistent May precipitation patterns further accentuated the snowpack’s spatial distribution, the NRCS press release said. The northwest corner of the state and Upper Clark Fork received near- to above-normal precipitation in May, largely due to end-of-the-month storms. Year-to-date precipitation from water also remains above normal in these regions. Southwest Montana received well-below normal precipitation in May. Water-year-to-date precipitation is still buffered by the December atmospheric river but has settled to near or slightly below normal values.

The region west of the Continental Divide remains the only region of the state currently drought free. Drought conditions are widespread east of the Divide. Extreme drought conditions have intensified in southwest Montana and expanded into eastern Montana. However, the NRCS release said the late May precipitation event reduced the extent of extreme drought in the Golden Triangle region of north central Montana.

NRCS water supply forecasts on June 1 also varied with snowpack and precipitation statewide. The forecasts for regions west of the Continental Divide were more optimistic about normal streamflows. Specifically, regions that received significant rainfall from the late May storm, such as the Mission Mountains and Rocky Mountain Front, saw improvements to streamflow predictions. Meanwhile, regions east of the Divide, except for higher-elevation watersheds in the Upper Yellowstone and Bighorn, saw reductions in water supply forecasts from last month.

A wet June and July could increase forecasts toward the 30% or 10% exceedance values, while a dry summer could decrease forecasts toward the 70% or 90% exceedance values. Streamflow volumes are forecast for both the June-July period, reflecting early season irrigation needs, and the June-September period, which includes late season irrigation demands.

“When looking at streamflow forecasts, it is important to take into account the full forecast suite, not just the 50% exceedance probability forecast,” Miller said.

For the June-July forecast period at the 50% exceedance level, streamflows are largely expected be near normal in the Clark Fork and Kootenai basins, with some forecast points below normal. Streamflow from the Mission Mountains and Rocky Mountain Front is predicted to be near to above normal. The Flathead and St. Mary Basins are predicted to see 80% to 90% of normal streamflow. Rapid snowmelt decreased Bitterroot forecasts to around 60% of median streamflow. The Jefferson, Madison, Gallatin, Smith, and Musselshell basins are forecast to have 70% or less of normal streamflow. The Upper Yellowstone basin is forecasting 70% to 80% of normal streamflow, while the Bighorn and Lower Yellowstone are predicting 60% to 70% of normal streamflows. Higher-elevation watersheds draining the Absaroka-Beartooth and Wind River ranges are forecasting 75% to 100% of normal streamflow. The Powder and Tongue basins are predicting severely reduced streamflows of less than 60% of median.  

“Continued June precipitation could help improve these forecasts, though in most regions east of the divide, full recovery to normal streamflows is unlikely. Additionally, with snowmelt occurring earlier than normal, runoff volumes are likely to be shifted earlier in the season,” Miller said.

The full Water Supply Outlook Report is available on the Montana Snow Survey website. In addition, real-time snow survey data can be found at nrcs.usda.gov/montana/snow-survey. 

tscott@flatheadbeacon.com

The post As Warm May Temperatures Accelerate Snowmelt in Montana, the Flathead Basin Remains an Exception appeared first on Flathead Beacon.

“You’re talking about the cleanest lake maybe in the country, but it’s not going to be that way forever,” community member Deirdre Coit said. “I’m just asking you guys to take a better, deeper look and get some more in-depth information.”

The hearing was a chance for the public to comment on an Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared by Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) officials that reviews the sanitary facilities for the resort’s first phase. The EA assesses public water supply, wastewater and stormwater plans for 80 residential lots, roads and the utility corridor of the planned 359-unit subdivision.

The Lakeside County Water and Sewer District (LCWSD) will take on the wastewater from the 80 residential lots at the district’s existing facilities, according to a summary of existing capacity added to the DEQ’s list of materials on the proposal.

DEQ officials found no significant environmental impact, noting that additional capacity for the rest of Territory 1889 will trigger a separate DEQ review.

Representatives from North Shore Water Alliance, Citizens for a Better Flathead, and the Flathead Lakers said they were concerned about water rights and environmental impacts, pointing to concerns around the developer’s impact in other Montana properties.

Last year, the state sued Crazy Mountain Ranch in Shields Valley over illegal irrigation to its private golf course. This week, a district court judge gave the ranch temporary authorization to operate a headgate that provides water to the course while the development works with water commissioners to come to an agreement over water management. Several questioned the ranch’s unique request to operate its own headgates while much of the state suffers from varying levels of drought.

The Yellowstone Club in Big Sky has been accused of polluting the Gallatin River with its wastewater, though recent litigation has failed to substantiate any claims.

“We all know that growth and change is going to be a part of our lives here in this beautiful place,” Coby Gierke, executive director of the Flathead Lakers, said. “But when we see the same development company coming in, doing the same things in different places and just paying the tax for doing it wrong, we need to hold them accountable as the law allows us to do so.”

Mayre Flowers with Citizens for a Better Flathead requested DEQ review the multi-phase development in its entirety with an Environmental Impact Statement, a more rigorous review DEQ prepares when the impacts of a project are deemed to have a significant impact. In the EA, DEQ officials note that future phases will receive separate DEQ review.

“Subsequent phases of the Flathead Lake Club development would increase demand on the water supply and on LCWSD’s treatment capacity and would require separate DEQ review at that time,” officials state, referring to the project by its application name. “DEQ’s approval of the Phase 1 Certificate of Subdivision Approval does not authorize sanitary facilities for future phases and does not commit DEQ to any particular outcome for future applications.”

Flathead County Commissioners approved a preliminary plat for the subdivision last August. Citizens for a Better Flathead is currently in litigation with the commissioners on their approval of a variance for Territory 1889’s extended dock and commercial marina. A district court judge temporarily halted construction of the dock citing the need to undergo environmental review per the Montana Lakeshore Protection Act, while ruling that development on the marina can continue.  

At Thursday’s hearing, the resort’s sanitary and water facilities received a lone comment in favor of the proposal. Andrew Barinowski, a project manager for Malmquist Construction, compared the project to the developer’s private Iron Horse Golf Club in Whitefish.

“We’ve done some work up there, it’s helped a lot of our subcontractors just form a solid income,” he said. “There was a great deal of resistance to it, but I think even knowing the huge tax base that it’s brought us, I see those as benefits.”

DEQ is accepting written public comment on the EA for phase one’s sanitary facilities until June 15. Information on the project and where to submit public comments can be found on the DEQ’s website here.

zoe@flatheadbeacon.com

The post DEQ Hears from Public on Flathead Lake Club Sanitary Facilities appeared first on Flathead Beacon.

Montana Farm Bureau President Cyndi Johnson says Montana doesn’t usually have many farm bankruptcies, about two a year. But 2025 saw an increase of several more.

Montana Farmer’s Union President Walter Schweitzer says this is an indication of what’s to come if farmers don’t get more support.

“This year, it’s going to be worse, because many of them were able to squeeze by last year with the hopes of change this year.”

Chapter 12 bankruptcies allow farmers a way to restructure their debt, but that might look like selling off farm assets or land.

Schweitzer says these financial decisions take an emotional toll.

“If you have friends or family that is farming and ranching, give them a call, ask them how they’re doing,” Schweitzer says.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farm debt will reach a record high of $620 billion in 2026. Farm debt has continuously climbed since the mid ’90s but only recently surpassed the farm debt highs of the 1980s.

This story originally appeared on Montana Public Radio, which can be found online at mtpr.org. Montana Public Radio is a public service of the University of Montana. State government coverage is funded in part through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The post Farm Bankruptcies in Montana Spike Amid Economic Turmoil appeared first on Flathead Beacon.