A really big ball
I filed this story late last week:
Red Lodge, Mont. -- Almost 40 people braved cold April weather to attend a dedication and appreciation for the elk viewing site on Ski Run Road Wednesday, April 21. The event was sponsored by the Beartooth Front Community Forum (BFCF).
"We're here today to celebrate the completion of this viewpoint we call the Elk Viewing Area," said Ernie Strum, a BFCF steering committee member. "It's an elk viewing area because, for much of the year, the Silver Run Elk Herd is plainly visible across the canyon on the game management area of the same name." Strum, one of many community members instrumental in securing that game management area, then provided a history of that effort.
"In the summer and fall the elk found plentiful forage on the Silver Run Plateau on National Forest land. But in late winter and spring deep snow forced them down to lower elevations, to this small piece of critical winter range where the winds kept the pasture free of snow." But it was private land, and much private land in the area was being developed into residences. "These elk had nowhere else to go. If it was subdivided the elk would have been lost."
The Waples family owned 664 acres of the land; Vern Waples had put it in trust to his three children, Ross, Jeanne, and Scott. They had offered the land to the state as elk habitat, but the state wasn't interested.
In June of 1982, Strum said, the Red Lodge Rod and Gun Club spearheaded an effort to save the elk. "Roland Robertson, Ron Wolfe, Lee Fears, Don Schauber, and I and many, many others got involved." They lined up the support of numerous organizations: the Chamber of Commerce, the schools, the county commissioners, the Billings Rod and Gun Club, the Southeastern Montana Sportsmen's Association, the BLM, and state legislators.
The Forest Service agreed to include the range under their management umbrella -- indeed, evidence of a prescribed burn on the refuge two weeks ago was visible from the event.
The state Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioners were reluctant to purchase the habitat because they said it was too expensive for the number of elk. "We responded that this herd was unique in that it was so visible and accessible to so many people for so much of the year," Strum said.
What convinced FWP commissioners, Strum said, was a commission meeting in Red Lodge "where we packed the house. And not one person testified against it. That, plus the sincere desire of the Waples family and Ron Wolfe to see the land preserved for the elk went a long way" with FWP.
Wolfe, who owned 120 acres adjacent to the elk refuge, offered to keep it undeveloped. The Waples family turned down offers of developers to buy the land until FWP finally came around. It took several commission meetings, however, and the sale was not finalized until 1991.
"I want to thank Vern for his vision," Strum said to applause, "for wanting to pass something on, something that generations will get to utilize."
An elk viewing area had been proposed at that time, but the idea languished until the BFCF's Merv Coleman took it on, guiding the process through a slow but again exceedingly positive and wide-based process, full of volunteerism, that lasted another 12 years.
"It was a first easy project to show we were really on the ball," Coleman said. "Twelve years later, I can say it was a really big ball."
In that effort, Estelle Tafoya wrote grant applications; Rand Herzberg and Tom Highberger of the Forest Service provided the right-of-way and other support; Shawn Stewart of FWP provided information for the interpretive signs; Sherry Fears coordinated with the county and Red Lodge Mountain; the county commissioners, led by John Prinkki, donated gravel and equipment; Renee Tafoya and her students at Northwest College in Powell provided sign design and production; Skip Bratton contributed surveying; Sean Sheehan installed the signs, Susan Hovde coordinated work parties to install the signs and telescope; Josh Friendson provided landscaping; James McGregor and Chuck Sallade installed the bronze plaque; Larry and Trish Yung volunteered to do concrete work; and Lee St. Clair of S&T Concrete donated the concrete.
Strum also thanked Joan Cline, Jim Moore, Judy Smith, Anne Rood, Babette Anderson, Richard Gessling, and Elaine Higgins for their work.
Additionally, the following organizations provided grants and cash donations to the project: Red Lodge Mountain, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Travel Montana, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Bill Mytton, area lands program manager for RMEF, also spoke. "In my 30 years as a biologist, these are the most gratifying types of things to do. We work a lot with rules and regulations, but this took lots of people from different walks of life to make it happen."
Lee Fears, who helped push the legislation to provide the money to FWP to acquire the habitat, also spoke. "This is one of the greatest things sportsmen have ever done -- earmarking funds just for wildlife habitat." He explained that the money for the habitat purchase came from hunting licenses. ("If you don't hunt, you didn't pay for this land.")
Fears said the legislation has come to be a model for other states, but the bill "sunsets" in 2005. In other words, funds for additional habitat protection will no longer be available unless the legislature reenacts the law. He encouraged people to get involved in support of that.
Following a pizza buffet, the event concluded with an address from Rich Furber, a former Red Lodge game warden who recently retired from FWP as park manager for the Plenty Coups State Park in Pryor.
Furber described some Crow Indian traditions, including the sweat-lodge purification ritual that prepared them for major events such as the hunt. He also described the life and philosophies of Chief Plenty Coups (1848-1932), who shepherded the Crow people into the modern era. (Furber noted that Vern Waples, who was in the audience, was one of the few people alive today who personally met Plenty Coups.)
After a visit to Mount Vernon, Virginia, where George Washington had donated his home to the American people, Plenty Coups decided to do likewise, Furber said. Plenty Coups gave 200 acres, 40 acres of which would be a park, with the remainder to be leased to pay for the park's upkeep (quite an innovative solution in 1928).
"I see a cultural similarity," Furber said, "to the visionary quality of the Waples family, setting aside this land for habitat and recreation" to be enjoyed by generations to come.
What do YOU think? Drop a line to info@johnclaytonbooks.com. To receive these posts via email, write to johnclaytonoutreach-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. (You need not put any text in the message.)
Red Lodge, Mont. -- Almost 40 people braved cold April weather to attend a dedication and appreciation for the elk viewing site on Ski Run Road Wednesday, April 21. The event was sponsored by the Beartooth Front Community Forum (BFCF).
"We're here today to celebrate the completion of this viewpoint we call the Elk Viewing Area," said Ernie Strum, a BFCF steering committee member. "It's an elk viewing area because, for much of the year, the Silver Run Elk Herd is plainly visible across the canyon on the game management area of the same name." Strum, one of many community members instrumental in securing that game management area, then provided a history of that effort.
"In the summer and fall the elk found plentiful forage on the Silver Run Plateau on National Forest land. But in late winter and spring deep snow forced them down to lower elevations, to this small piece of critical winter range where the winds kept the pasture free of snow." But it was private land, and much private land in the area was being developed into residences. "These elk had nowhere else to go. If it was subdivided the elk would have been lost."
The Waples family owned 664 acres of the land; Vern Waples had put it in trust to his three children, Ross, Jeanne, and Scott. They had offered the land to the state as elk habitat, but the state wasn't interested.
In June of 1982, Strum said, the Red Lodge Rod and Gun Club spearheaded an effort to save the elk. "Roland Robertson, Ron Wolfe, Lee Fears, Don Schauber, and I and many, many others got involved." They lined up the support of numerous organizations: the Chamber of Commerce, the schools, the county commissioners, the Billings Rod and Gun Club, the Southeastern Montana Sportsmen's Association, the BLM, and state legislators.
The Forest Service agreed to include the range under their management umbrella -- indeed, evidence of a prescribed burn on the refuge two weeks ago was visible from the event.
The state Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioners were reluctant to purchase the habitat because they said it was too expensive for the number of elk. "We responded that this herd was unique in that it was so visible and accessible to so many people for so much of the year," Strum said.
What convinced FWP commissioners, Strum said, was a commission meeting in Red Lodge "where we packed the house. And not one person testified against it. That, plus the sincere desire of the Waples family and Ron Wolfe to see the land preserved for the elk went a long way" with FWP.
Wolfe, who owned 120 acres adjacent to the elk refuge, offered to keep it undeveloped. The Waples family turned down offers of developers to buy the land until FWP finally came around. It took several commission meetings, however, and the sale was not finalized until 1991.
"I want to thank Vern for his vision," Strum said to applause, "for wanting to pass something on, something that generations will get to utilize."
An elk viewing area had been proposed at that time, but the idea languished until the BFCF's Merv Coleman took it on, guiding the process through a slow but again exceedingly positive and wide-based process, full of volunteerism, that lasted another 12 years.
"It was a first easy project to show we were really on the ball," Coleman said. "Twelve years later, I can say it was a really big ball."
In that effort, Estelle Tafoya wrote grant applications; Rand Herzberg and Tom Highberger of the Forest Service provided the right-of-way and other support; Shawn Stewart of FWP provided information for the interpretive signs; Sherry Fears coordinated with the county and Red Lodge Mountain; the county commissioners, led by John Prinkki, donated gravel and equipment; Renee Tafoya and her students at Northwest College in Powell provided sign design and production; Skip Bratton contributed surveying; Sean Sheehan installed the signs, Susan Hovde coordinated work parties to install the signs and telescope; Josh Friendson provided landscaping; James McGregor and Chuck Sallade installed the bronze plaque; Larry and Trish Yung volunteered to do concrete work; and Lee St. Clair of S&T Concrete donated the concrete.
Strum also thanked Joan Cline, Jim Moore, Judy Smith, Anne Rood, Babette Anderson, Richard Gessling, and Elaine Higgins for their work.
Additionally, the following organizations provided grants and cash donations to the project: Red Lodge Mountain, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Travel Montana, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Bill Mytton, area lands program manager for RMEF, also spoke. "In my 30 years as a biologist, these are the most gratifying types of things to do. We work a lot with rules and regulations, but this took lots of people from different walks of life to make it happen."
Lee Fears, who helped push the legislation to provide the money to FWP to acquire the habitat, also spoke. "This is one of the greatest things sportsmen have ever done -- earmarking funds just for wildlife habitat." He explained that the money for the habitat purchase came from hunting licenses. ("If you don't hunt, you didn't pay for this land.")
Fears said the legislation has come to be a model for other states, but the bill "sunsets" in 2005. In other words, funds for additional habitat protection will no longer be available unless the legislature reenacts the law. He encouraged people to get involved in support of that.
Following a pizza buffet, the event concluded with an address from Rich Furber, a former Red Lodge game warden who recently retired from FWP as park manager for the Plenty Coups State Park in Pryor.
Furber described some Crow Indian traditions, including the sweat-lodge purification ritual that prepared them for major events such as the hunt. He also described the life and philosophies of Chief Plenty Coups (1848-1932), who shepherded the Crow people into the modern era. (Furber noted that Vern Waples, who was in the audience, was one of the few people alive today who personally met Plenty Coups.)
After a visit to Mount Vernon, Virginia, where George Washington had donated his home to the American people, Plenty Coups decided to do likewise, Furber said. Plenty Coups gave 200 acres, 40 acres of which would be a park, with the remainder to be leased to pay for the park's upkeep (quite an innovative solution in 1928).
"I see a cultural similarity," Furber said, "to the visionary quality of the Waples family, setting aside this land for habitat and recreation" to be enjoyed by generations to come.
What do YOU think? Drop a line to info@johnclaytonbooks.com. To receive these posts via email, write to johnclaytonoutreach-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. (You need not put any text in the message.)
