THURSDAYTHURSDAY lonepeaklookout.com AugustJuly 19,27, 2018 2020 FREEFREE VolumeVolume 3, Issue1, Issue 37 33 BigBig Sky, Sky, LONELONE PEAKPEAK LOOKOUTLOOKOUT MontanaMontana Cliff for meadow and Conservative a public trail through optimism RESORT TAX PROJECTIONS LOOK PROMISING the Crazy Mountains By JANA BOUNDS “We promised we would [email protected] evaluate our own budget and take a look at collections OVID-19 has caused each month to make sure organizations to sift they are accurate but still as YELLOWSTONE CLUB WORKS through budgets conservative as possible,” Resort with prudence. Big Tax Executive Director Daniel Sky Resort Area District (Resort Bierschwale said during the TOWARD LAND EXCHANGE C August meeting. “Knowing that Tax) has asked for that kind of budgetary scrutiny from its May came in as high as it did – applicants. The organization 28% above 2019 and June came is holding itself equally as in at 1% above 2019, we have accountable. made a conservative adjustment OPTIMISM | A2 Active enrollment for a COVID-19 study underway BOZEMAN HEALTH CLINICAL RESEARCH BECOMES PART OF A GLOBAL STUDY EFFORT By JANA BOUNDS Health Clinical Research [email protected] will be a study site for a new investigational vaccine sponsored cientific lingo is becoming by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE. household vernacular – this means that Montanans can while the world grapples help the scientific community with a staggering confront a thus far indomitable Spandemic. Hope for a vaccine adversary. intensifies as numbers climb The Bozeman study site will and experts eye the approaching be one of more than 120 global winter season wearily. Bozeman COVID STUDY | A2 Yellowstone Club’s Vice President of Development Mike DuCuennois shows the checkerboarding in the Crazy Mountains he hopes to solve with the land exchange proposal he helped bring to fruition. PHOTO BY JANA BOUNDS Changing By JANA BOUNDS public. This is the opposite of for 80 years and the landowners has already invested roughly attitudes key to [email protected] that,” he said, pointing on a map. in here got tired of trespassers $400,000 into this possibility, “This is rocks and ice, this is leaving Forest Service land and DuCuennois explained. If rom the beginning, nothing but a cliff band, and this coming into their ranches. So, the effort progresses, another addressing ageism Yellowstone Club skiers is as beautiful a meadow as you they looked into it and they $1 million will be invested have been eyeing a cliff can find in Montana. So, this is figured-out that [there were no] for the new 22-mile trail To age well, experts say, kids need band of expert-level the inverse of the stereotype.” easements going through there. that will connect Half Moon Fterrain adjacent to the club and The Madison Range land swap So, they shut the trail down Campground to an existing trail education about growing old thought, “If only…” However, was not compelling enough on and Backcountry Hunters and along Sweet Grass Creek. Montana is the oldest state west of the Mississippi, and that 500 acre stretch of land has its own; a high public interest Anglers has an active complaint “You can see on the front been untouchable – owned by against the Forest Service for not demographic projections show the state growing collectively project needed to be included. side that yeah Yellowstone older as more Montanans enter their senior years. The the United States Forest Service. The area in need of the most pursuing this right on this trail,” Club just wanted this land he explained. economic, cultural, and personal impacts of that trend present Yellowstone Club’s Vice help: The Crazy Mountains. swap, but the more you get the state and its residents with new challenges and, with those President of Development Mike A deep dive into the issues That group argues that the trail engrossed in the conflicts in challenges, opportunities. DuCuennois explained during and many conversations does exist and is falling back The Crazies, the more you want Graying Pains is a series of weekly stories and broadcasts exploring those challenges and opportunities in communities the Big Sky open house that the led to the creation of The on old railroad easements in its to be a part of solving them – club presented a proposal to the stance. to me, personally,” he said. A statewide. By investigating how other communities have East Crazy Mountains and responded to the issues raised by aging, Graying Pains hopes Forest Service a few years ago: Inspiration Divide Public “How do you clean that up? contiguous block of land in a those 500 acres of ski terrain place famous for conflicts from to point the way toward policies and innovations that can help Access Improvement Land You can sit and litigate this for Montana, and Montanans, improve with age. restricted by a conservation checkerboarding –the back and Exchange. The Crazy Mountains 10 years, and spend a bunch of The series is produced by the Montana Fourth Estate Project, a easement for 558 acres of mid- Access Project – a coalition of money with lawyers or just try forth between public and private collaboration among 13 Montana newsrooms and the University elevation private land east of ranchers, conservationists, tribal to solve it in a better way for the land – would mean real progress of Montana School of Journalism coordinated by Montana Cedar Mountain bordering two representatives and hunters – public. This plan puts a trail on for public interest. Free Press under the auspices of the Montana Newspaper miles of Inspiration Divide Trail was later launched to support Forest Service land 100% of the “We have an opportunity to Association and the Solutions Journalism Network. See #8, which extends off of Buck that effort. way, which to date the Crazies create this block in the middle montanafourthestate.org for the collected Graying Pains stories Ridge. and more information. Decades of tension between doesn’t have,” he said. of a mountain range that is “There’s this notion in land ranchers, the Forest Service and In other words, move the trail. going to be for all the public exchanges… they get stereotyped to use without worrying about By KATHI BEEKS, Valley Journal universal experience. public access groups culminated Two years of manpower, and some of it is true. A lot into a lawsuit. crossing over somebody’s private One hundred years ago life of times people will come in expertise, administrative work, property,” he said. ho’s getting expectancy was about 47 years. to exchange cliffs and alpine “This trail here (he gestured to appraisals, title work, wetland older? We all According to a report from the East Trunk Trail on a large map) studies and the design for the This proposal, if approved, are. Yet denial, country for prime riverbottom. would mean a gain of 1,566 Centers for Disease Control and That’s not a fair trade to the has been on Forest Service maps new trail means that the YC misinformation Prevention, by 2050 one in five acres of more consolidated Wand fear often characterize this CRAZY | A2 GrayING PAINS | A2 LONE PEAK LOOKOUT A2 August 27, 2020 CRAZY from A1 Big Sky, LONELONE PEAK PEAK LOOKOUT LOOKOUT Montana Established in 1982 BIG SKY, MONTANA Editor: Cori Koenig Publishers: Susanne Hill & Erin Leonard Advertising/Sales Rep.: Keely Larson [email protected], 406.465.2937 The East side of the Crazy Mountain range. PHOTO COURTESY ERIK PETERSON PHOTOGRAPHY Reporter: Jana Bounds, [email protected] Staff Writer/Customer Service: Keely Larson public land for a total of 5,205 DuCuennois was a part of the The section that contains said it took a tremendous [email protected], 406.465.2937 acres and about 30 square negotiations every step of the Crazy Peak will be put into a amount of technical expertise in miles. The agreement for land way – bridging personalities and conservation easement if the pulling [The Crazies proposal] Designer: Christine Dubbs consolidation and the trail exists helping them find a way forward. land exchange is performed together. “And just the trail : Carly Wilson entirely between the landowners “It wasn’t convincing anybody, and the Crow Tribe will have routing and the easements and and the YC. it was just understanding what unlimited access to the top appraisals and there has been a Round table discussions everybody wanted out of the of Crazy Peak whenever they lot of background research that Editorial Policy happened monthly between deal, whether public access or want. According University of has gotten us to the point that Guest editorials are intended to acquaint our readers with interest groups, ranchers and YC consolidating,” he said. “The Montana Professor Rick Graetz, it could even be presented on different viewpoints on matters of public importance. Guest representatives. one common thread to all these the Crazies are significant to the paper,” she said. “The parties at editorials and letters to the editor reflect the opinion of the people – they all love the Crazy tribe because in 1847 the great the table want to make this the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the “There are four families here Mountains. They’re all super Chief Plenty Coup climbed best deal possible for the public, editor or the staff of Lone Peak Lookout. and they are third and fourth Crazy Peak on a vision quest so I hope people engage in the generation ranchers of Montana. passionate about them, they will tear up talking about them. Their that he “might properly lead and process and provide comments.” Press Release Policy Aligning them is difficult. That’s kids were married there, and guide his people.” Public comments can • Lone Peak Lookout staff will give all press releases full why the Forest Service and everybody else has struggled for generations have been ranching “The Asaalooke Nation urges be sent to comments@ consideration, but ultimately retains the authority to there.