Bear Creek Council Newsletters

Next General Meeting
April 17, Tuesday, 7 pm @ Jim Halfpenny’s Track Education Center – on the Jardine Rd., on the left before Rocky Mountain Campground curve.

Highway Clean-up on Earth Day

April 22, Sunday, Earth Day - Meet at the Gardiner Airport @ 3 PM to pick up litter along Hwy 89, miles 2 to 5. Bring gloves & appropriate clothing; we’ll have bags, safety vests & logistics plan.

President’s Message
We had a great issue development meeting and potluck at Richard and Nancy Park’s on April 3rd. The Greening Gardiner issue was by far the most popular item identified by BCC members with the March newsletter mailer and at the March meeting as worthy of a concerted campaign. This meeting was to allow us to identify the elements for this campaign and set up some committee assignments. As expected folks stepped up and Richard Parks’ article below will give you more details. Additional issues will be ongoing, with some on the back burner waiting as opportunities develop.
I am the newsletter editor this month – our 3rd editor in the last 3 months. It is a position that still needs a more permanent presence, so contact me anytime to volunteer for this enviable task. Thanks to Carolyn for setting me up with the template from her excellent March newsletter. Hard copies of this edition will go to those with out e-mail, electronic copies to all others.
Thanks. —Rick McAdam

Greening Gardiner Committee – Richard Parks

The Greening Gardiner Committee met at Richard and Nancy Parks’ home on April 3rd. 11 members, plus Tom Torma , our NPRC organizer attended. We brainstormed potential campaigns and activities for the committee and came up with a substantial list, which suggested general ideas around which to organize subcommittees. Ideas were prioritized to give the committees some starting points.

BCC will adopt the following action plan:

1) Formally set up the Greening Gardiner Committee (Richard Parks, Chair) with 2 subcommittees: the Energy Subcommittee (Rebecca Pardo, Chair and members Mike Tercek, Sabrina Hanan, Craig McClure, Richard Parks); and the Recycling Subcommittee (Rick McAdam, Chair and members Nancy Parks and Bill Berg).

2) Each subcommittee will hold a meeting prior to the May General Meeting, to draft a campaign plan for BCC approval. The Energy Subcommittee will meet Tuesday, 4/24 at 7 PM at Rebecca’s. The Recycling Subcommittee is scheduled for Tuesday, May 1 at 7 PM at Rick’s.

The top priority for the Energy Subcommittee is “to increase local green energy (wind, solar, biodiesel) production and encourage conservation and make Gardiner energy independent (solar cells on public buildings, wind farms).”
The top priority for the Recycling Subcommittee is “to expand recycling efforts and accessibility in Gardiner (school, county, park; expand end uses).”

Additional subcommittee members are welcome anytime. Call Richard with any questions @ 848-7314.

Newsletter
BE A HERO! We need an editor!
You receive a newsletter monthly thanks to a couple of volunteers who are exhausted. Be a hero! Be loved by everyone in Bear Creek Council! Become the newsletter editor!
• The minimum requirement is having a computer and software. You choose which software to use; right now we are using Microsoft Word.
• You let members know the deadline, and then check with a few people each month to make sure they send in routine information such committee reports, president’s message, new & renewing members, etc.
• Sometimes the newsletter is one page, sometimes it’s four. Rarely is it six pages like this one.
• You can add all the photos, fun stuff, and other goodies that you can dream up. We’re just too tired to do it … (get the hint?)

You also decide how to send the newsletter:
email: We save a lot of time, money, and paper by emailing it as a pdf to most members; but we also have members without email. So, if you decide to email a pdf to most members, you’ll still have to print and mail a few (less than 10).
hard copy: requires more time, energy, and paper (we have more than 70 members), but it works well for editors who haven’t figured out their mail systems yet. The newsletter has to be printed and copied, assembled and folded, closed with tape, then labeled (preprinted labels) and stamped. This can take from 1-2 hours, unless you have access to a high-speed copier (our loaner copier is fine, but slow.) However, it’s a great time to invite friends to help!

Sign up TODAY! Rick McAdam, our president, is waiting to hear from you—344-7414, 406- 581-1180

or rangerrick88 @ earthlink.net

Be a hero!

Looking up bills:

• Northern Plain’s Legislature Page

• Montana State Gov Legislature Page

Upcoming Meetings & Events

General Meeting: Always 3rd Tuesday; next is March 20 at 7 PM, see page 1

Bison Meetings: Ongoing, usually but not always first or second Tuesday; call Carolyn Duckworth for information, 848-2270. A lot of recent notes, reports, and articles are on the BCC website.

Other committee meetings: As needed, set by each committee chair, usually announced at the general meeting or via email to committee members. If you are interested in an issue, contact the chair (if known) or one of the officers listed on page 1

Public Meeting, State Bison Hunt: sometime in March or April, organized by state Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to discuss the recent season and plans for future hunts. Although they are not in charge of the treaty hunt conducted by the Nez Perce, they probably have a lot of information about that hunt’s rules and regulations.

Next General Meeting
March 20, 7 pm • Home of Rick & Melissa McAdam
In Mammoth—house is second from the Chapel
Look for their name on the house.

President’s Message
Thanks to all of the attendees at the February meeting. It was a long
meeting, but we were all well-fueled by the potluck offerings and I think
the results proved it. The issues identified now provide us with a broad
base for our efforts and some really exciting possibilities. I hope all
members will use the self-mailer to let us know what you think. Many
thanks to Carolyn for taking on the newsletter duties this month while
Julia continues her assault on the legislature for Northern Plains and all
of us.
—Rick McAdam

ATTENTION! Special Section This Month
We need your opinion to establish BCC’s Issues & Projects
During the February meeting, members discussed what BCC should focus on for the
upcoming year. We agreed that a good issue is:

• specific
• achievable (winnable)
• measurable, and it: unites us
• motivates the membership
• builds the membership
• helps us reach more people
• educates us and others, and finally,
• is consistent with the group’s mission.

Full Newsletter here.

A Bear Creek Council Affiliate 2006 Report, presented 11/11/6 at the NPRC Annual Meeting. Condensed from President’s full length report to take no more than 3 minutes to read. Good Morning. I’m Carolyn Duckworth, Vice President of Bear Creek Council. We invite you to visit www.bearcreekcouncil.org for details about our activities. Current Issues

Bison

We are working to steer the governor’s bison management ideas toward maintaining family cattle operations in the Gardiner Basin . Hank & Dorine Rate, their daughters & spouses are spearheading this effort.

Tom Torma helped us focus our campaign on 2 goals: 1) pass legislation establishing bison as wildlife; 2) change APHIS brucellosis-free classification to zones, thus protecting cattle operators far from the Yellowstone area.

We continue monitoring bison management activities and the bison hunt, attending agency meetings near and far, and are training to beeffective media spokespeople on this issue.

Park County Planning: Several members helped craft the Park County Growth Policy Plan; unfortunately, the plan has been withdrawn until a public vote in 2008.

Darroch-Eagle Timber Sale : is underway and we are monitoring the cut.

Mineral Hill Mine : We continue to monitor the reclamation and real estate activity—nothing moving yet.

Recycling : We are working to better coordinate recycling among businesses.

Clean Energy Task Force Richard Parks and Abby Nelson are active on this committee.

Annual Jardine Ski Run raised a record $541 for BCC and everyone had a great time.

First Issues Field Trip: Rick McAdam organized this trip to bison capture and quarantine facilities, Mineral Hill Mine, and Darroch Creek timber sale; at each we discussed the issue with agency and other experts.

Michael Leach is now on the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Citizens Advisory Board.

We’ve reviewed upcoming projects with the Gallatin District Ranger; cosponsored a Candidate Forum; and urged Park County to quickly resolve a Gardiner sewage treatment problem.

2007 Priorities

Support state legislation favorable to our bison goals; continue to promote zone-based APHIS brucellosis classification; and pressure the governor to produce his bison plan this winter.

Continue monitoring bison management and the hunt; Darroch-Eagle timber cutting, Mineral Hill reclamation property proposals.

Consider a proposal to reduce the speed limit on Hwy 89 near Gardiner to 55 mph to reduce number and severity of wildlife/vehicle collisions.

Support NPRC efforts on CBM , Homegrown Prosperity, and other issues.

• Meeting Sept 19 and Rick and Melissa’s

• Fall bus tour October 1st

• Bison Update

• Planning Update

• I-154 Update

• Absentee Voting

Click for Newsletter.

• August General Meeting Aug 15th at Arch Park
• Highwood Generating Station
• I-154
• Coal Bed Methane Task Force Report
• Bison News
• Park County Growth Policy

Click here for newsletter.