Jack Buban, Mel Crichton, Jessica Hays, Rachel Hergett, John Klicker, Kris Moos, Benjamin Alva Polley, Allie Epstein Poalino, Andrew Robin, Shannon Steele, Tracy Stone-Manning, Kent Sullivan CONTRIBUTORS
TWO GRIZZLIES, ONE BLACK BEAR KILLED BY VEHICLES
In early August, a female grizzly bear was struck and killed by a car on Ousel Falls Road. The Sunday accident was the third vehicle collision with a bear in a span of seven days in Gallatin County.
BSOA ELECTION GUIDE
The Big Sky Owners Association will elect four new members to its board of directors this year, with elections open until Aug. 29. Candidates shared short bios with EBS for an election guide.
BSCO UNVEILS NEW PICKLEBALL COURTS
On Aug. 7, BSCO celebrated the grand opening of its renovated tennis and pickleball courts, recognizing major donor John Dancu, effort leader Mike Scholz, and more than 70 donors who contributed to the project.
NEW SCHOOL LAUNCHES IN BIG SKY
Led by longtime local teacher Jeremy Harder, the nonprofit Big Sky Community School will accept students starting this September, using a hybrid model of online learning through external providers combined with in-person experiential learning and an emphasis on community interaction.
BSSD IMPLEMENTS NEW CELL PHONE POLICY
This year, the Big Sky School District will use a cell phone free policy during the school day. The school board approved the new rule in July, and will begin enforcing it during the upcoming school year.
On Aug. 16, Cloudrest Lake was photographed as crews attacked the Cloudrest Fire in the Tobacco Root Mountains. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE USDA VIA INCIWEB
BRIEFS
NEWS IN BRIEF
BSFD EXTINGUISHES FIRE NEAR BIG SKY RESORT’S DAKOTA LIFT
EBS STAFF
Around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 13, the Big Sky Fire Department responded to a small wildfire on Lone Mountain just west of Dakota Lift at Big Sky Resort caused by the morning lightning storm that had quickly passed through.
When firefighters arrived, Big Sky Resort employees were already using fire extinguishers and water truck, according to a BSFD Facebook post.
BSFD crews deployed an engine, command unit and a small wildfire crew to the scene and quickly contained the fire to a 20-by-20-foot area, before fully extinguishing it.
“On a day with weather like today, [Big Sky Resort's] quick action likely prevented a much larger fire,” the BSFD Facebook post stated. “A huge thank you to the resort team for their fast thinking and teamwork!"
HARMFUL ALGAE BLOOMS REPORTED AROUND GALLATIN COUNTY
EBS STAFF
The Gallatin City-County Health Department has been made aware of suspected harmful algae blooms, or HABs, in Hyalite Reservoir, Hebgen Lake, Heather Lake in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, and in Elk Grove Pond, south of the Four Corners area. HABs are a type of algae, known as cyanobacteria, that can create toxins and pose serious health risks to humans and pets when ingested or in prolonged contact.
HABs form during hot weather and conditions can change rapidly. The GCCHD recommends regularly checking the HAB dashboard for reported sightings before heading out to a body of water.
Children and pets are most likely to ingest HAB infested waters. Direct contact, ingestion, or inhalation of cyanotoxins may irritate the skin, eyes, nose and respiratory system or cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or headaches. If you suspect someone has a HAB-related illness the GCCHD recommends calling call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 and to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Individuals can report HABs they see at hab.mt.gov or by calling 888-8492938, as well as on the GCCHD website.
GALLATIN COUNTY EXPLORES
REGULATION OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS IN FOUR CORNERS
EBS STAFF
On Thursday, Aug. 21, the public is invited to share feedback to the Gallatin County Commission on a proposed zoning change for the Four Corners area west of Bozeman. The proposal would set rules for short-term rentals, outlining where they would be allowed in the Four Corners Zoning District.
The meeting will take place at the Monforton Elementary School cafeteria from 6 to 8 p.m., and will include information about the updated proposal and an opportunity for public questions and comments.
County Planning Board on June 10 and county commission on June 24, according to a Gallatin County press release, “based on the feedback received, they asked for some changes and decided to offer another chance for the public to weigh in before moving forward,” the release explained.
After receiving this additional round of public input, the updated proposal will move on to a formal public hearing with the Gallatin County Planning Board and Gallatin County Commission.
BOZEMAN MUNICIPAL COURT, HRDC TO HOST FOOD FOR FINES DAY
EBS STAFF
On Sept. 5 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., defendants who are making monthly payments on fines can bring in food donations and receive credit towards those fines during the inaugural Food For Fines event. Food For Fines is made possible by a partnership between the Bozeman Municipal Court and Human Resource Development Council and will take place at the Bozeman Public Safety Center, 901 N Rouse Ave. Defendants will receive a $10 credit per item with a maximum credit of 20 items or $200. Donations must be non-perishable. Defendants are ineligible to participate if they are paying only restitution, have an active warrant, are in collections for fines or restitution, have a deferred prosecution agreement or are completing community service in lieu of fines.
CLASSIFIED
NOW HIRING: WATER & SEWER OPERATOR
Big Sky County Water & Sewer District 363 is seeking a fulltime Collection & Distribution Operator to join our team. This position plays a vital role in maintaining the community’s water distribution and sewer collection systems.
Position Highlights:
• Full-time, non-exempt position with excellent benefits & competitive pay
• Work includes operation, inspection, repair, and maintenance of pipelines, pumps, valves, and related infrastructure
• Use of SCADA and GIS systems, heavy equipment, and tools
• Participation in emergency on-call rotation required
• May need to work extended shifts due to emergencies that could include holidays and weekends
Ideal Candidate:
• 1–5 years of experience in water/sewer utility operations or related trades, no experience, no problem we will train the right person.
• Valid Montana driver’s license
• Certifications in water distribution/treatment or wastewater preferred—or ability to obtain within 2 years
• Strong safety awareness, communication skills, and teamwork
• Work involves physical labor in outdoor and confined space environments, often in extreme weather.
• Join a skilled, supportive team working to ensure safe and reliable water and sewer service for our community.
To learn more, visit: bigskywatersewer.com. Questions or to apply? Email: office@wsd363.com
LETTER
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: JOE SWIATEK FOR BSOA BOARD
Dear editor,
I am running for a seat on the Board of the Big Sky Owners Association. My family has been in BSOA since the mid 1980s and I have seen many changes to the area. I recently retired and decided it was time to give back to the community which has provided us so much enjoyment over the years. For more about my current involvement, please see my bio featured in this newspaper edition.
After attending the governance meetings last year and looking into some of the issues, I realized the relationship among the major stakeholders in the community could be better. Over my career I became skilled at building collaboration, an ability which could be used to enhance this relationship. When I researched the BSOA mission, I learned of other areas where I could help, particularly Traffic. If elected, these are my first two goals:
First, use my experience in building collaboration to enhance the BSOA relationship with the other major stakeholders which would result in our members having greater input on community wide decisions and actions.
Second, to work on ways in which to provide our members a stronger voice when it comes to traffic issues; particularly safety on 191, repairs to 64, and developing of bike routes.
Space does not allow me to go into further specifics on how I would address the above, but if you would like to discuss or have ideas to share, I can be reached at joe_swiatek@yahoo.com.
Thank you for your time,
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that as of July 31, 2025, Caliber Coffee remains delinquent in remitting required Resort Tax to the Big Sky Resort Area District. The account has been past due for 210+ days.
Joe Swiatek Big Sky, Montana
While the commission already held public hearings before the Gallatin
OBITUARY
ALAN SHAW
JUNE 16, 1943 — JULY 26, 2025
Floating the Bighorn River with his precious golden retriever Woodrow—in pursuit of the perfect hatch, fly and cast—Alan Harris Shaw passed away on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at the age of 82. For Alan, fly fishing was more than a hobby; it was a meditation, a patient conversation with the river and a lifelong connection with nature. We find peace in knowing his last memory was doing the thing he loved most in one of the places he loved most.
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, to his loving parents, Sylvia and Martin Shaw, Alan built a life defined by curiosity, kindness and deep devotion to the people and places he loved. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Alkire; his daughters, Allie Kline and Julie Shaw; his treasured grandchildren, Ellie Bohrman, Logan Kline, Lexi Kline, and Bridger Bohrman; and his sister, Lauren Shaw and brotherin-law Paul Feinberg. To each of them, and to countless friends, he leaves memories as enduring and powerful as the rivers he cherished.
After attending the University of Alabama, Alan set out to Oakland, California, to pursue his medical career. He quickly excelled to the top of his field, opening his own multi-office practice back in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, becoming a global authority on new surgical techniques and leading multiple industry associations to advance the field
of foot, ankle and sports medicine and serving as president of the American Academy of Foot and Ankle surgeons. He also found countless ways to channel his expertise for good in the community whether it was convincing PepsiCo to start the annual Diet Pepsi Road Race which attracted global athletes, or creating an annual road race for Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital with the mission that “strong legs will run so that weak legs may walk.”
While he was one of the most driven and motivated professionals, his passion was always for America’s
public lands and waters and the experiences they afforded everyone. He spent decades committed to their preservation and working to improve the lives of the communities closest to them. He devoted countless volunteer hours with the Sierra Club, served on the Yellowstone Association board which focuses on the preservation and education of Yellowstone National Park, was a driving force behind the Upper Missouri Watershed Alliance’s mission, chaired the Fort Smith Water and Sewer District, and was a tremendous partner to the Bighorn River Alliance and tribal communities. Everyone that knew Alan knew that, if there was an opportunity or need to serve public lands and rivers, and the people that treasured them as he did, he was at the ready.
He will be greatly missed by all those that loved him and called him friend, including many of the 25-inch browns and rainbows in the Bighorn, Missouri, Yellowstone, Gallatin, Madison and Wind Rivers. He would have wanted us all to honor his legacy and memory by modeling his perseverance, passion and commitment to causes and communities we can impact. In lieu of gifts or flowers, the family suggests a donation to one of Alan’s favorite causes: the Bighorn River Alliance, bighornriveralliance.org/support, and the Upper Missouri Watershed Alliance umowa.org/donate/
Alan, Dad, and Grandpa, may your adventures in the next life be as rich as the ones you’ve given us in this life. Roll Tide. We love you.
LOCAL
BIG SKY WELLNESS LEADERS PUSH GALLATIN COUNTY PETITION IN WAKE OF SB 260
GALLATIN COUNTY PETITIONERS MUST SIGN TO CREATE WELLNESS DISTRICT BY EARLY DECEMBER
BY JACK REANEY
BIG SKY—Months after many Big Sky residents celebrated the passage of Senate Bill 260, essential work remains to actually create a hospital or “wellness” district, the planned—and legally required—next step after Big Sky’s withdrawal from the Madison Valley Hospital District.
“This is a massive effort, and will require a lot of help from our community,” said Sarah Blechta, Big Sky Resort Area District board chair during the Aug. 13 board meeting. “A lot was done with SB 260… we have a lot to do to keep this train on the tracks.”
SB 260 created a new withdrawal process that allows petitioners to vote themselves out of certain special districts. Previously, approval to withdraw was required from county commissions. Under an agreement made in the recent legislative process, Big Sky taxpayers will gradually contribute less to MVHD each year over an eight-year reconciliation period as they withdraw from MVHD.
On the Gallatin County side of Big Sky, at least 30% of qualified signors will need to sign a similar petition before Dec. 8—not to withdraw from any pre-existing district, but simply to start the process of creating a Big Sky Wellness District.
The goal of the wellness district is to improve Big Sky’s capacity to fund local health care and wellness services, many of which have not been able to keep up with Big Sky’s population growth, especially in the past 10 to 15 years, according to a document shared by the Big Sky Wellness District Coalition. Service providers that could receive district funding include Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center, Big Sky Community Food Bank, Wellness in Action, Big Sky Fire Department (ambulance) and Be Well Big Sky; eligible services
include hospital inpatient and emergency care, primary care, behavioral health, substance abuse care, counseling and other social wellness services.
Gallatin County petition details
To create a hospital district in Gallatin County, qualified petitioners must be registered voters and property owning individuals—renters cannot sign— within the Big Sky Resort Area District boundary and Gallatin County. The petition must be signed in person. Community members interested in signing can reach out to Resort Tax or the wellness coalition, or sign in person at local events including the Big Sky Farmers Market and Big Sky Community Week.
If Gallatin County is successful, registered Big Sky voters in both counties will see the issue on their May 2026 ballot. If unsuccessful, Madison County residents will still vote on the initiative, and Gallatin County residents would need to restart the petition again ahead of the 2027 election.
As currently designed, the Big Sky Wellness District would be created separately in both counties, although BSRAD officials expect the pair would cooperate through an interlocal agreement similar to the Big Sky Trails, Recreation and Parks District. Eventually, it would be possible for the districts to merge.
“There is a legal process and an annexation process—one has to annex into another and you basically blend them. That was a big step to try and do at the front end,” Kim Beatty, BSRAD attorney, explained at the BSRAD board meeting. “… The concept is, once the two hospital districts are set up and approved, they will work together to ensure that health and wellness issues in Big Sky are addressed and funded.”
Each county will need to find a three- or five-member board of trustees, responsible for allocating tax collections to service providers across the community with respect to community feedback.
“We are working on gathering signatures for the petition… We’re still waiting to find out the final numbers, in terms of how many people we need for the petition,” Beatty said.
“THIS IS A MASSIVE EFFORT, AND WILL REQUIRE A LOT OF HELP FROM OUR COMMUNITY. A LOT WAS DONE WITH SB 260… WE HAVE A LOT TO DO TO KEEP THIS TRAIN ON THE TRACKS.”
- Sarah Blechta, BSRAD board chair
Beatty explained that although SB 260 was negotiated between interested parties, the Madison County Commission chose to abstain because “they didn’t want to be an active participant in how the bill would look.” Now, BSRAD is “working with all parties in Madison County” including Madison County Commissioners regarding the terms of the withdrawal from MVHD and the creation of the wellness district, according to a follow up email from BSRAD to EBS.
“We’re waiting for them to join with us, so that we can file one joint motion with the court that then would allow us to take the next step,” Beatty told the board. “So people who are thinking that Senate Bill 260 kind of resolves everything and there’s nothing left to do in Madison County—that’s not true, we do still have a few more steps.”
If legal proceedings are successful to get the issue on May 2026 ballots and Big Sky’s Madison County voters choose to create the new hospital district, the district would begin receiving tax dollars in November 2026.
The same could be true for Gallatin County if a complete petition is filed and voters say “yes” to the wellness district.
In terms of property taxes, Madison County residents may see their mills decrease as soon as 2026, and Gallatin County residents may or may not see a slight increase depending on the actions of its elected board, according to the wellness coalition.
Real Estate Redefined
ACCIDENT MARKS THIRD BEAR KILLED BY A VEHICLE IN GALLATIN COUNTY IN ONE WEEK
BY JEN CLANCEY
BIG SKY—Early Sunday morning, Aug. 10 a female grizzly bear was struck and killed by a car on Ousel Falls Road. The bear was removed by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on Aug. 10.
According to Montana FWP, reports of the incident noted that the female grizzly bear was accompanied by two smaller bears, presumably cubs. When FWP arrived at the scene to remove the deceased grizzly on Sunday morning, they also began a search for the cubs.
The female grizzly was the third bear struck and killed by a vehicle in Gallatin County in the span of seven days earlier this August; on Aug. 5, a male grizzly bear was struck by a car north of West Yellowstone, and on Aug. 4, a black bear was struck in Big Sky near the U.S. Highway 191 and Montana Highway 64 junction.
At the most recent site along Ousel Falls Road, FWP was unable to find the two accompanying bear cubs despite a thorough search.
“We have an infrared drone that we use in circumstances like that, so we can do a pretty exhaustive search of the area, even … in places where there’s dense vegetation and limited sight, we can still do a pretty exhaustive search and weren’t able to turn up anything,” said Greg Lemon, Montana FWP’s communication and education administrator.
He noted the Big Sky community can give FWP a call if they do see the bears, but reminded them that they should keep a safe distance and assume a mother is nearby.
According to FWP bear specialists, conflicts with bears occur this time of year in late summer when they intuitively search for Montana’s wild berry offerings. Bears will search for berries in vegetation away from people but if frost or drought impacts berry crop, they’ll begin to move toward more populated areas, resulting in an increase in conflict and consequentially, wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Lemon said drivers can avoid wildlife-vehicle collisions by paying attention to the road at dawn, dusk and nighttime, especially when the line of sight ahead is limited and vegetation is close to the road’s edge.
“The main thing is just being aware, so early morning hours, evenings, right at dusk and then at night is when most of the wildlife that cause problems in vehicle collisions—deer, elk, moose, bears, maybe bighorn sheep up in that area—they move, they’re more active in those hours,” Lemon said.
Lemon emphasized the public’s access to FWP data, including the Montana Grizzly Bear Mortality Dashboard, which identifies the bear’s sex and often notes the cause of death.
The Aug. 4 black bear death along U.S. 191 is another casualty within a known hotspot for wildlife-vehicle collisions. A study by Center for Large Landscape Conservation identified one of
the top priority sites for wildlife crossing solutions at a spot just north of the Big Sky junction between U.S. 191 and Montana Highway 64. Elizabeth Fairbank, road ecologist for CLLC, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting wild lands, described the research site.
“It’s got a high rate, both of reported crashes as well as carcasses that are picked up by maintenance crews, and then also scored highly in terms of the connectivity and suitability modeling that we did,” Fairbank said.
In 2024, CLLC teamed up with Montana Department of Transportation to apply for federal funding of a wildlife crossing overpass just outside the canyon entrance in Gallatin Gateway to Spanish Creek between mile markers 68.1 and 73.7.
“There’s opportunity there because there’s conserved lands on both sides of the road,” Fairbank said of the top priority site.
Land ownership at priority sites like the one near the Montana Highway 64 and U.S. 191 junction can complicate projects. “…So you really need to have conserved land, whether it’s public or private land that’s under a conservation easement to have a project be feasible,” Fairbank said.
While the project was not selected for funding through the federal Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program in 2025, CLLC is still looking for ways to make the crossing possible in their efforts to avoid collisions like the three Big Sky experienced between Aug. 4-10.
BSOA ANNOUNCES CANDIDATES FOR AUGUST BOARD ELECTION
EBS STAFF
BIG SKY—The Big Sky Owners Association will elect four new members to its board of directors this year, with elections open until Friday, Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. Ballots were distributed via mail and the online MCGOne Portal on July 30 to members in good standing.
Voting instructions and more information are available at BSOA’s website.
BSOA also looks forward to inviting the BSOA community to its annual meeting on Aug. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at The Wilson Hotel, “a vital touchpoint for members to receive updates, hear from the Board and staff, and connect with fellow owners,” according to a BSOA press release. Topics will include financial report and strategic updates, an open forum, and speakers regarding Big Sky Resort, Resort Tax, Yukon to Yellowstone ecosystems and second-home property taxes.
The elected candidates will help guide the BSOA’s strategic direction, budget priorities, and community initiatives over the next three-year term.
“We really hope all eligible members will take a moment to read through the candidate bios and cast their vote,” Executive Director Holly Coltea stated in the release. “This is your opportunity to directly influence the leadership and priorities of our Association. We are so thankful that so many qualified candidates have stepped up and are willing to serve.”
Board candidates share background Candidates for BSOA board of directors submitted short bios to EBS, displayed below in their original writing.
ERNIE CHAPPELL CASCADE AREA PROPERTY OWNER
Ernie brings extensive board governance experience and proven financial expertise as a current BSOA Board of Directors and Architectural Committee member. His 35-year career founding and operating an agricultural technology company demonstrates strategic leadership and business management skills essential for community governance. His distinguished service includes 21 years as board of trustees member at Faulkner University and leadership roles on multiple school boards and homeowners associations, with extensive finance and executive committee experience. His accounting background and decades of board service across diverse organizations provide the financial stewardship and collaborative leadership skills needed for effective BSOA governance in Big Sky’s Upper Cascade community.
FERDINAND
Eric brings essential financial expertise and strategic oversight capabilities crucial for effective BSOA board governance. His experience in real estate investment and portfolio optimization directly applies to managing community assets and making sound financial decisions for the organization. His proven ability to navigate complex financial transactions and risk management translates to evaluating development proposals and community investments. As a former board Chairman of the Sue Duncan Children’s Center, he demonstrates hands-on governance experience and collaborative leadership skills. His analytical mindset and expertise in regulatory compliance position him to provide the financial stewardship and strategic vision needed for responsible BSOA decision-making during Big Sky’s period of rapid growth.
BRENNA KELLEHER MOUNTAIN VILLAGE AREA PROPERTY OWNER
Brenna brings deep Big Sky expertise as a native resident with comprehensive knowledge of the community’s evolution and needs. Her work as a real estate agent for Pure West Christie’s provides extensive insight into local property markets, development trends, and community concerns affecting homeowners. Her leadership experience as treasurer for the Sylvan Springs Bozeman condo board offers practical knowledge of property management, fiduciary responsibilities, and board governance essential for BSOA service. As a longtime local resident, she understands the challenges facing both year-round residents and seasonal homeowners. Her professional background in real estate transactions and community governance positions her to effectively represent diverse stakeholder interests while supporting thoughtful community development.
MICHELLE HORNING
Michelle brings over three decades of Big Sky experience and proven board leadership as current Vice Chair of the BSOA Board and Executive Committee. Her work as a real estate agent has provided comprehensive knowledge of development processes and construction practices vital to community growth decisions. Her diverse business background includes serving as business manager for a Big Sky construction company and founding several local daycares and preschools. She chairs Benefit Big Sky, the organization’s fundraising arm, and helped oversee BASE Community Center completion through BSCO. Her combination of current board experience, business management expertise, and 28 years of local knowledge positions her for continued effective BSOA leadership.
GEORGE MUELLER MEADOW
George brings 22 years of Big Sky homeownership and extensive BSOA Board experience, including service as former Board Chair. During his three and a half years on the Board, he has missed only one meeting, demonstrating exceptional commitment. As Board Chair, he successfully negotiated complex agreements that facilitated workforce housing development and secured funding for community infrastructure improvements. His committee involvement includes three years on the Executive Committee, two years on the Architectural Review Committee, and current service as Chair of the Legal Committee. As the only attorney on the Board, he brings unique legal expertise essential for navigating Big Sky’s complex development and governance challenges.
SARAH TURNER-MALHOTRA
Sarah brings a decade of Big Sky residency experience as both tenant and homeowner, with deep understanding of Mountain Village community needs and perspectives. She is committed to strengthening connections between Mountain Village/Madison County owners and the Gallatin County/Meadow Village community while improving transparency and communication between BSOA and all homeowners. Her ten-year career in Big Sky’s tourism industry, including five years as Group Reservations Manager at Big Sky Resort, provided substantial experience in stakeholder relations and operational management. Her professional background gives her insight into balancing resident needs with the tourism economy, positioning her to make informed board decisions serving all community stakeholders throughout Big Sky.
Joe has deep Big Sky roots, with family connections dating back to the 1980s and an Aspen Groves property owner since 2005. His distinguished 20-year FBI career included 13 years in executive leadership positions, developing expertise in collaborative problemsolving and stakeholder engagement essential for effective board governance. From 1992-2000, he served as executive director of a nonprofit medical response organization, managing a million-dollar budget and complex operations. His proven ability to listen to experts while facilitating respectful decision-making processes directly translates to board leadership. Since retiring in 2020, he actively participates in the Big Sky Chamber’s Infrastructure and Advocacy Subcommittee, gaining hands-on experience with community governance and policy development.
Architectural committee candidates
In addition to the board, three candidates are running for the Big Sky Architectural Committee under BSOA.
“BSAC is a member-elected body that balances individual property rights with collective community interests to preserve the distinctive character and values of all properties within BSOA jurisdiction,” the release explained.
“The committee operates with pre-approval authority, providing comprehensive oversight of all construction and modification projects. BSAC exercises discretionary power to review and decide on proposals based on established community compatibility standards and architectural guidelines that maintain Big Sky’s unique aesthetic and environment.”
GINA DEE
MEADOW VILLAGE AREA PROPERTY OWNER
Gina brings four decades of construction design and build experience as Director of Design & Special Projects for Provincial Architectural Millwork. An architectural technologist, designer, and interior fit-out builder, she has extensive knowledge of design, contract documents, building materials, and interior construction. She served on the Board of Directors for AWMAC Woodworking Institute (2015-2017), handling drawing vetting, specification changes, and factory inspections. With 27 years serving clients, she’s completed projects in 48 states, including leading the Yellowstone Club Village Core Project with 47 condos and comprehensive amenities.
CASCADE AREA PROPERTY OWNER
Cindy brings direct architectural oversight experience as a current Architectural Committee member, combined with a professional background in data analytics and product development essential for complex building project decisions. Her thirteen years on school councils involved extensive work with state regulations and policy advocacy, providing crucial experience navigating building codes and zoning regulations. She contributed fifteen years to Science Center building policies and finance committees, and led an investment group for twenty-two years, developing expertise in construction financial stewardship and long-term building planning. Her regulatory review experience and analytical skills enable her to guide architectural decisions that balance growth with preserving Big Sky’s unique character.
KELLEHER
Brenna brings community roots and development expertise as a Big Sky native and real estate agent for Pure West Christie’s. Her extensive real estate experience provides valuable insight into property development standards, zoning regulations, and building aesthetics that preserve community character. As treasurer for the Sylvan Springs Bozeman condo board, she gained hands-on experience with building maintenance standards, construction oversight, and regulatory compliance—skills directly applicable to architectural review processes. Her proven ability to facilitate collaborative decision-making while maintaining professional standards positions her to guide thoughtful development projects that honor Big Sky’s distinctive character and pristine natural setting.
BSOA recently hired Coltea to replace longtime executive director Suzan Scott.
CINDY MILLER
PHOTO BY JACK REANEY
JOE SWIATEK
BY JACK REANEY
BIG SKY—Pushed across the finish line thanks to a major gift from community member John Dancu, the Big Sky Community Organization’s multi-year effort to renovate its pickleball and tennis courts is now complete.
The old courts had outlived their prime, becoming cracked and often crowded, and a community-wide fundraising effort resulted in a $1.3 million project highlighted by eight pickleball courts and two tennis courts with post-tension construction to prevent cracking, protected under a 50-year warranty.
The “courthouse” shack was also renovated to include bathrooms, but will remain closed temporarily until the completion of further Big Sky Community Park renovations, beginning Aug. 11.
Dancu moved to Big Sky two years ago from Atlanta, and found a welcoming community through pickleball.
“I met just a great community of people, all young and old, they didn’t care that I wasn’t good… They didn’t care that I didn’t know how to keep score,” Dancu told an audience of a few dozen racket sport enthusiasts and BSCO employees at an Aug. 7 ribbon cutting event.
He thanked those people for their “massive participation” in fundraising, counting more than 70 of his peers who contributed in varying amounts to the renovation.
“I’m real proud of y’all, and how everybody came together and donated money, it was a real team effort,” Dancu said. “… The courts are just amazing and beautiful, and the construction and everything—what you all did there is just fantastic.”
The most exciting feature of the new facility, he told EBS, is its promise to serve as a gathering place for friends and visitors. He made a point to include the word “community” in the facility’s name, to remind users to carry on their welcoming culture and tradition.
“I love it here. And I love it here because of the community and the people that I’ve met,” Dancu said.
Madeleine Feher, CEO of BSCO, thanked BSCO staff and partners including Mike Scholz for leading the whole effort, Two Bear Construction for its vision to bring the courthouse “back to life” including restrooms and a roof installed by Cornerstone Management Services, Renner Sports for the court construction and Big Sky Rotary Club for volunteering to stain the wooden deck.
Most of all, she thanked Dancu for his crucial support.
“John, you showed up with heart, you changed our lives, and you made this project possible,” Feher said.
BSCO will host a community pickleball tournament over Labor Day weekend, with scramble-style play on Aug. 31. Community members are encouraged to join BSCO’s WhatsApp pickleball group to stay up to date on pickup games and events.
BSCO staff and board join John Dancu (middle) in cutting the ribbon on renovated courts. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY
PHOTO BY
LOCAL LOCAL
BIG
SKY COMMUNITY SCHOOL TO LAUNCH
BY JACK REANEY
BIG SKY—When Jeremy Harder officially retired from his 25-year teaching career at the Big Sky School District, the last thing he expected was to jump right back into education. But in July, he received a call from local parents Jamie and Patrick Sullivan to gauge his interest in a head of school role with their new K-12 school, and for Harder, the opportunity was too intriguing to pass up.
“It’s a lifelong dream to have my own school. I think any educator would say that,” Harder told EBS.
The nonprofit Big Sky Community School will accept students starting this September, using a hybrid model of online learning through external providers combined with in-person experiential learning and an emphasis on community interaction.
The Sullivans signed on July 25 to purchase commercial space in the Franklin Building recently constructed in Town Center, and they are finalizing designs for a facility to support flexible learning. Construction is expected to finish in January. In the meantime, students will learn in a smaller office space next door.
The founders hope the school space can be a useful community asset and will offer it to nonprofits and community members outside of school hours.
To start, the staff will be Harder plus Julie Edwards, former education director with the Arts Council of Big Sky, with a third staff member expected in January.
“I feel like we’ve won the lottery with Jeremy and Julie’s involvement,” said Patrick Sullivan.
Jamie added, “100%. A true lottery ticket… Jeremy and Julie are going to really run with it, because they have the vision to bring it to what it needs to be.”
Vision of flexibility
The community school’s daily schedule is designed to enable mentorships, apprenticeships, volunteer commitments, athletics, entrepreneurship and any opportunities that students feel drawn to pursue.
“Use the flexible schedule to follow your worldly passion,” Harder said, echoing Jamie’s sentiment: she believes Big Sky residents, including their kids, are ambitious with a particular desire to be outdoors. Enabling students to spend more time exploring their passions inspired the Sullivans to enter the education world—an endeavor that feels to them like a courageous leap, hand-in-hand with the families who will enroll their kids in year one.
offer strong learning environments, and the community school is merely an alternative—not necessarily better, just different.
Harder hopes the announcement of the new school feels like “an invitation” to come learn and explore the school’s offerings, even for local businesses and nonprofits that might engage with students or use the facility. The school aims to host an open house to share its mission with the community.
The concept originated from the Sullivans’ personal experience.
Jamie and Patrick’s daughter, Catherine, spent the past two school years homeschooling through AEON Prep, and they saw how it supported her learning style and her passion for ski racing.
As the Sullivans talked with other families about the balance and success they saw in Catherine’s learning, they saw interest in bringing similar students together under one roof.
“I never set out to start a school, this just naturally evolved,” Patrick said.
Aside from the learning structure, the Sullivans’ primary vision is financial accessibility.
“Our vision is to raise enough financial aid so that any kid in Big Sky who wants to go to the Big Sky Community School, can go to the Big Sky Community School,” Patrick said, adding he’s continuing to build fundraising to support interested families. More than half of the founding class will receive financial aid.
More than a dozen kids are interested in the first fall semester. Eventually, the school will have a capacity of 45 students.
With less than a month before classes begin, t he founders said nothing is being rushed—nothing is fully figured out, either, as they continue to explore opportunities.
“The team that we’ve assembled has really been able to meet many of our intentions and our goals,” Patrick said.
His core vision for students is to be fearless:
“Taking that first step gets you halfway there,” he said. Big Sky Community School has taken that first step, and will spend its opening months in the exciting process of learning what works, and where to improve.
“It’s gonna be messy. It’s gonna be really messy and loud, energy-wise, as far as things coming together,” Harder said.
He views his return to education as an opportunity to take all he learned in 25 years with BSSD and give it back in a purposeful and intentional way, and from a new angle.
“I know the timing looks weird to some people, probably even looked weird to me,” he said. After retiring from BSSD in June, Harder committed to finishing his counseling degree at Montana State University—he has two semesters left, and the community school is encouraging him to finish up this year.
Before this opportunity, Harder picked up a couple shifts at Roxy’s Market, gave an occasional Yellowstone National Park tour for a friend’s new business, but overall, he felt himself falling apart for lack of clear purpose.
“I think [flexibility is] the way of the future to educate kids, and I think it really resonates in mountain towns because we want to get our work done and still have time for whatever we’re passionate about,” Jamie said. “And hopefully we’re a space that can help kids figure out what they’re passionate about.”
Students will spend mornings, Monday through Thursday, completing online classes through one of two providers: AEON Prep and Pacific Preparatory School. Then, the community school will host communal lunch, followed by project-based flexible learning to reinforce online lessons with real-life application, the founders explained.
During afternoons, the school will encourage students to pursue a balance of “worldly passions” and “essential life skills” including the staff’s “magic web” of expertise in art, Spanish, outdoors, community and wellness, Harder explained. Personal pursuits may require students to wrap up coursework at home in the evening. Fridays will resemble the flexible schedule of weekday afternoons.
“The structure of the day enables kids to build a very strong educational foundation, while also pursuing their passions… It’s inherently openended,” Patrick said.
If students need to travel away from Big Sky for a period of time, they will be able to continue their classes online. The community school is classified as “homeschool” by the Montana Office of Public Instruction.
Julie Edwards said her goal is for students to feel comfortable learning in a supportive community, with lessons tailored to their level and interests.
“It’s a comfortable place where they can come in and learn,” Edwards said.
Invitation, not competition
Anyone familiar with the eccentricity of Jeremy Harder will not be surprised to see the school take on a bit of his personal flair. He looks forward to sharing daily nuggets of wisdom with students, helping teach them to learn by doing, to find the truest form of themselves, to abandon self-doubt and embrace self-care, and to believe in the purpose of everything they do.
Encouraged by his parents, he wrote a mantra: “Our engagement in the process is what allows the result. The ‘work’ reveals itself as you go.”
Three days later, he took the Sullivans’ call and dove into a surprising challenge, and now looks forward to welcoming students to learn with him.
LMLC OPENS NEW WORKFORCE
BY JACK REANEY
BIG SKY—New workforce housing has opened behind Buck’s T-4, a longtime Big Sky establishment undergoing renovations by its current owner, Lone Mountain Land Company. The Knight Building is named after Buck and Helen Knight, who founded Buck’s T-4 Lodge in 1946.
LMLC announced the building’s completion in an Aug. 8 press release, stating it will house 95 residents as part of “LMLC’s ongoing $400-plus-million effort to help make Big Sky livable year-round.” Other LMLC housing developments include Powder Light, RiverView, Town Center, Golden Stone and Gateway Village, with additional plans to construct 688 units serving 1,700 Big Sky residents, for a total housing capacity above 4,000 “not exclusively for employees under the CrossHarbor umbrella,” according to the release. CrossHarbor Capital is the parent company of LMLC.
The Knight Building will primarily house employees of One&Only Moonlight Basin, which was developed in affiliation with CrossHarbor and LMLC.
“The Knight Building is an embodiment of our vision for a sustainable, thriving Big Sky
community,” LMLC President Matt Kidd stated in the release. “Its efficient construction and innovative sustainable design set a new standard for workforce housing and shows our commitment to supporting those who want to make Big Sky home.”
The Knight Building is comprised of 120 prefabricated mass timber modules using “sustainable, durable” cross-laminated timber, which reduces carbon emissions in conjunction with a 70-kilowatt rooftop solar array and fully electric utilities. The building is airtight and thermally efficient with daylight-driven design, according to the release.
The modular design and robotic fabrication reduced onsite labor by one-third and construction time by one-half, making the Knight Building “a
breakthrough in the construction industry,” the release stated, noting the innovative process was developed in Europe and applied for the first time in the U.S. on the Knight Building.
“Constructing the Knight Building with and for LMLC was a game-changing experience for us,” stated Rob McRae, co-founder of Highline Partners, a construction firm based in Bozeman and Big Sky. “… We were able to build a high-quality building more efficiently and quickly than anything we had done before. For Highline, this was more than just construction—it was about creating a space that minimizes environmental impact and maximizes long-term value for the community. We are excited by this way of making buildings and the possibilities of it for the future.”
The release included a statement of support from David O’Connor, executive director of the nonprofit Big Sky Community Housing Trust, although the housing trust is not involved with the Knight Building.
In addition to constructing housing on the Buck’s campus, LMLC still plans to open the historic restaurant onsite—rebranded to Buck’s Road House during recent renovations—but is still working out plans to successfully operate, according to LMLC representatives.
BIG SKY SCHOOL DISTRICT PREPARES TO ENFORCE NEW CELL PHONE POLICY
BY JEN CLANCEY
BIG SKY—On July 9, the Big Sky School District board approved policy 3630, which bans cell phone use during the school day.
Spurred by Gov. Greg Gianforte’s call for cell phone free schools in August 2024, the Big Sky School District had previously discussed how to implement a rule to limit the distraction of cell phones in the classroom and social environment during the school day. The board landed on a bellto-bell ban of wearable or handheld devices “that emit an audible signal, vibrate, display a message, or otherwise send and receive information and/ or access the internet.” Examples of those devices include devices like wireless earbuds, tablets, smartwatches, and of course, cell phones.
Soon, on Aug. 25, students will fill the halls of Ophir Elementary, Ophir Middle and Lone Peak High School, just without sounds of text pings. BSSD Superintendent Dr. Dustin Shipman explained the purpose of the new rule for students.
“We really want the students to know that this policy has nothing to do with punishment, but is
based on research that indicates social relationships, academic achievement and emotional health all improve when there are large chunks of time that students are not engaged with a device,” Shipman wrote in an email to EBS.
“We want them to know that we, as a school community, have their best long term interests in mind whenever we make any decision about how they will go about their days while in school,” Shipman stated.
Policy 3630’s enforcement includes several consequences when a student violates the policy outlined in Student Parent Handbooks—the first infraction requires the student to do a reflection in the front office and further infractions require detention and later on, in-school or out-of-school suspensions if violations continue to occur with a student.
Big Sky isn’t the only Montana school district to get on board with cell phone screen-free days. In May, Missoula County Public Schools’ Board of Trustees approved restrictions on phone use in the school day, prohibiting elementary and middle schoolers from using devices throughout the day
and prohibiting device use for high schoolers only during instructional time.
Gianforte’s 2024 letter referenced a Common Sense Media report that found that 97% of study participants between 11-to-17-years-old admitted to using cell phones during the school day.
According to a Pew Research Center study, school cell phone bans are being seen as more favorable, with 74% of U.S. adults supporting banning middle and high school students from using their devices during class. A majority of people in the study believed that the bans would improve social skills, academic performance and behavior.
Effects of cell phone use and social media on mental health and cell phone use has been discussed in research and bestselling books like “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, as well.
Shipman noted that as with any major change to school policy, the district will constantly review any challenges posed by cell phone free days and meet those challenges. The school will also review and acknowledge successes of the new policy.
AGENCIES RESPOND TO WEST FORK FIRE ABOUT 20 MILES SOUTH OF BIG SKY
“This is an emerging incident. The fire does not currently pose a threat to Big Sky,” the Aug. 20 release stated, urging residents to sign up for Gallatin County Emergency Management’s Community Notification System to receive updates about their area.
The U.S. Forest Service
The West Fork Fire, located about 20 miles south of Big Sky in the southern Madison Range, produced a large
ordered.
EBS STAFF
BIG SKY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT ADVANCES ‘ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION’ PLAN
RESORT TAX AWARDS $24K MICROGRANT TOWARD
BY JACK REANEY
BIG SKY—A project to improve non-vehicle connectivity between neighborhoods, activity centers and trailheads earned $24,650 from the Big Sky Resort Area District on Aug. 13.
The microgrant funding will go towards a $100,000 implementation study, to be commissioned by the Big Sky Transportation District—BSTD is best known as the operator of Skyline Bus—in collaboration with the Big Sky Trails, Recreation and Parks District.
“Our goal is to try to figure out alternative ways for people to get around, so they don’t have to get in their car,” said Bayard Dominick, BSTD board member and chair of a committee focused on active transportation that emerged from destination management workshops more than two years ago.
The committee aims to create a plan to improve non-vehicular—walking and running, biking, rolling, perhaps pogo stick bouncing—routes to reduce car and truck traffic, and enhance Big Sky’s livability.
During the destination management workshops hosted by Visit Big Sky and the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, “Alternative transportation came up in almost every topic of conversation, whether it was culture and arts, or sustainability, it was a repeat topic in every one of our public engagements,” Dominick told the BSRAD board on Aug. 13.
Active transportation became one of six topics assigned a follow-up committee, led by Dominick and representatives from the Big Sky Community Organization, Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association, TerraFlow Trail Systems, Big Sky Resort, Big Sky Owners Association, Lone Mountain Land Company and small HOAs.
The committee decided to bring in the experts, sending an RFP to four transportation consulting firms. Two responded with bids around $100,000, and after an interview, the district selected Alta Planning and Design, a firm with prior experience on BSCO’s master trails plan in 2019.
“The plan will be world-class, informed by models such as Amsterdam and Bend, Oregon,” BSTD’s application for BSRAD funds stated. “Ideally, it will incorporate recreation trails and paths designed for foot, bike and wheelchair transport, ensuring a holistic approach to the entire mobility system.”
Lacking funding, the BSTD committee applied for two grants: one from the Montana Department of Transportation through its Transportation Alternatives Program, and another from Montana State University’s Western Transportation Institute through the federal Safe Streets and Roads For All program.
Both grants require matching funds from an authority such as BSRAD, according to BSRAD microgrant application documents.
The BSRAD board quickly moved and voted to approve the microgrant request unanimously.
Based on a contingency of the grant’s approval, if the project receives a grant from MDT, BSRAD’s commitment would be nearly halved. However, the committee believes chances are “slim” given MDT’s $8.4 million budget with more than $20 million in requests, documents show.
“We’re very proud to be a part of this ask,” said Darren Brugmann, executive director of the Big Sky transportation district. “And very thankful for you all to provide this opportunity.”
Holly Coltea, new executive director for BSOA, voiced public comment in support of the project at the BSRAD board meeting. She said one of the immediate tasks in her first month on the job has been reading through responses to the BSOA member survey, and transportation is a top priority.
“Both traffic congestion and active transportation,” Coltea said. “This grant and this application came across my desk—I am thrilled to support it. I think it is such a need for our community. We have actually formed a transportation committee ourselves... I am in full support and really excited to partner with you guys as BSOA.”
The committee expects to hear back on both l arger grant applications by late September or early October.
REGIONAL
A JOURNEY OF HEALING IN THE OUTDOORS
WHY BOZEMAN’S SHRAUGER FAMILY HIKES FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER RESEARCH
BY MIRA BRODY
BOZEMAN—When I ran into the Shrauger family on Baldy Peak, the Bridger Range’s most locally prominent appendage, the three had that thousand-yard stare carried by those marred by many miles.
“Did you guys do the whole thing?” I asked, referring to the popular 19-mile Bridger Ridge Trail that begins at Fairy Lake, and stretches south to the ‘M’ Trailhead. Nineteen miles is even an understatement for the route; with 6,000 feet of gain and 9,000 of loss, and mostly uneven, exposed terrain, it’s a leg pulverizer.
The family, consisting of Pam and Jason, and their son Caden, nodded in affirmation, small, fabric flags with the words “Ask me about pediatric cancer research” clipped to their backpacks. So I did.
“That was the hardest hike of my life,” Pam told me with a laugh later on over the phone. “It was so hard. But we did it because my son, Caden, really wanted to do it.”
Caden, now 17 years old and healthy, was diagnosed at age three with stage-four, high-risk neuroblastoma, a type of pediatric cancer, which he battled for five years. It was a dark period of time that Pam often recalls when her son encourages them, along with little sister Camryn, to partake in the long-distance ventures he is so passionate about. His health and love for hiking, Pam said, is “a dream come true.”
“It was beyond what I could have imagined when he was sick,” Pam said. “So it was really impactful.”
Their endurance hikes aren’t only to celebrate physical achievement as a family—the Shraugers are participants in CureSearch for Children’s Cancer’s Ultimate Hike endurance events, "a life-changing, lifesaving event that combines the joy of hiking with the mission of raising funds for pediatric cancer research,” according to CureSearch’s website.
About 10 events take place every year all over the country, in which friends and families impacted by pediatric cancer team up and raise money for the nonprofit’s mission. For the events, CureSearch provides expert coaching and training plans and fundraising resources. The Shrauger’s next event is Sept. 13 in Jackson Hole.
CureSearch has been an organization raising money for childhood cancer research for more than 35 years. It specifically addresses the urgency needed for new and better childhood cancer treatments, putting preclinical research to work in hospitals. While hundreds of nonprofits focus on helping those battling cancer, from passing legislation to providing resource and monetary support to families, the Shraugers appreciate CureSearch’s direct focus on pediatric research and getting new and effective treatment options to children, quickly.
“Cancer is horrible at any age. We've just lost Caden's grandmother a couple months ago to cancer, and it was horrible,” Pam said. “But it's
different for kids. They haven't had a chance to live their lives and they have a whole future ahead of them. And I think that there is something especially heartbreaking as a parent to see your child go through something like that, versus a parent or an older adult.”
Pediatric cancer research is “a significantly underfunded area of medical research,” Pam said. Children’s cancers are less prevalent, and affect a smaller portion of the population, she explained. However, it was pediatric cancer research that saved her son’s life.
The Bozeman family discovered CureSearch in 2012 on one of their many trips to Seattle during Caden’s treatment, which included six rounds of high-dose chemotherapy and surgery. While there, they participated in a CureSearch walk. Her recollections of CureSearch Ultimate Hike events since then are described as milestones in Caden’s journey.
Like when Caden was eight and he pointed to the Bridgers’ Sacajawea Peak and told his mother “I want to hike that.”
“At the time, CureSearch had their create-your-own Ultimate Hike. And I said, hiking Sacajawea Peak with an 8-year-old and a 5-year-old is an ultimate hike for us,” Pam said, laughing.
The family succeeded, and in 2017, raised their first dollars for CureSearch.
Nearly seven years later, during the family’s first time attending the Jackson Hole event, a 15-year-old Caden took off, and led the way to the finish line.
“He crossed the finish line first, and there wasn't a dry eye there,” Pam said. “My big memory in all of that is that when Caden was so sick, when he was first diagnosed, he couldn't even walk.”
Another memorable event was this past June in California, at Mt. Tamalpais State Park in Marin,
GROWTH ON THE HORIZON: ALLISON NEIGHBORHOOD ENHANCES BOZEMAN’S SOUTH SIDE OP NEWS
a stone’s throw from UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in neighboring San Francisco—the city where Caden had previously received an experimental intravenous radiation treatment where he remained in a lead-lined room for four days.
While the road to remission was not quick nor easy, Pam believes it was that treatment—and the research that made it possible—that kickstarted her son’s ability to finally beat the cancer that had stolen nearly five years from his young life.
“[We thought] that this might be the last shot at getting ahead of this,” Pam said. “And so we were kind of feeling a lot of stress and a lot of pressure for it to work. And thankfully it did.”
“It just was special on that hike to just be back there in a happier occasion to celebrate how far he had come,” she said of their endurance event years later. “Because when we were there during treatment, it was a really scary time.”
Today, Pam hopes their fundraising enables other families to reach the point they have—watching their children thrive, “and hopefully help other kids get to do crazy things like hike the Ridge like Caden does,” she said. “The fact that he's a cancer survivor and we get to do this is pretty awesome.”
Like many touched by pediatric cancer, or cancer of any kind, CureSearch’s Ultimate Hike events are gatherings of solidarity and healing for the Shraugers. It’s a way for Pam to process, and create a purpose for what her family, and her son, endured. She also hopes every dollar raised helps not only find a cure, but save another life the way research donations saved Caden’s so many years ago.
“I often think about the people who donated to pediatric cancer 15, 20 years ago and how that saved our son,” Pam said. “And we just give thanks for those people who did that. They may never know that what they did is the reason my son and others are still alive.”
RENDERING COURTESY OF OUTLAW REALTY
OUTLAW REALTY
BOZEMAN—Bozeman’s south side stands on the brink of another transformation with the arrival of the new Allison Neighborhood. Just minutes from downtown and walking distance from Montana State University, it offers attainable new homes for residents looking to buy in a neighborhood that focuses on community. Built by E.G. Construction, the development integrates a residential community that features 40 spacious homesites. Outlaw Realty is the listing brokerage representing Allison Neighborhood.
Eugene Graf, a fourth-generation Bozeman resident and a seasoned developer leading his family’s business, is the vision behind the project.
“This neighborhood is the newest installment of what my family has been doing in Bozeman for a long time,” Graf said. “My father did the Figgins addition just east of the Allison Neighborhood in the '70s. Being able to remain involved in this industry and the future of Bozeman means a lot to my family. We take a lot of joy in being able to drive through neighborhoods throughout Bozeman and see families enjoying their homes and neighbors.”
The development plans are flexible and comprehensive for prospective buyers, with spacious
lots and thoughtfully designed floor plans for single-family, three- and four-bedroom homes.
“The goal is to create a development that fits seamlessly with the surrounding neighborhood,” Graf said.
For Graf and his family, this project is especially meaningful.
“To see this neighborhood being built, knowing that we can provide homes to people in Bozeman, there is nothing more satisfying for a builder,” Graf said. “Handing the keys to a family’s new home and knowing that they are on the path to a future they have probably been dreaming of is very rewarding. In their eyes, you can see what they envision their future in this home to be.”
Graf emphasized the longstanding connection his family has with Bozeman.
“Knowing that this land has been in my family for generations and seeing it as an infill project is incredible. The proximity to MSU and local schools makes it unique. We hope to preserve that sense of community,” Graf said. “Watching neighbors walk to an MSU football game or along the trails highlights what makes Bozeman special. We aim to keep that friendly, connected atmosphere alive in this new neighborhood.”
Graf added that E.G. Construction prioritizes every project and home with thoughtful planning. He said the Allison Neighborhood reflects that vision for the future of Bozeman’s overall development plans to develop a neighborhood that enhances the lively and welcoming environment the Bozeman community is known for and that attracts new residents.
“For over 120 years, there’s been Eugene Graf building projects in Bozeman. We look forward to continuing that legacy,” he said.
The development is situated close to trails, toprated schools, Montana State University and the downtown area of the city. Graf added that the neighborhood features attainable homes for growing families, which feature flexible layouts, quality craftsmanship and outdoor space, combining the convenience of amenities with a strong sense of community.
“The Allison Neighborhood reflects a vision of growth that respects Bozeman’s history and its future,” Graf said. “It promises to be a dynamic and connected place where families can thrive for generations to come.”
For more information on the Allison Neighborhood, visit allisonbzn.com.
Pam, Jason and son Caden hike the entire Bridger Ridge Trail to raise awareness and fund for pediatric cancer research. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SHRAUGER FAMILY
SPORTS
BIG SKY’S JUNIOR GOLFERS SHINE IN GROWING PGA JUNIOR LEAGUE PROGRAM
BY LESLIE KILGORE EBS CONTRIBUTOR
BIG SKY—Since 2019, Big Sky Golf Course has proudly hosted the PGA Junior League, a national program launched in 2011 by the PGA of America to introduce kids to the game of golf in a fun, team-oriented environment. Under the guidance of PGA professional Tom Conway, the Big Sky team continues to thrive, drawing local kids to the course each season.
“Big Sky Golf Course has been participating in the PGA Junior League for several seasons now. The program has stayed strong with signups growing each year,” Conway told EBS.
This year, 13 junior golfers aged 6 to 13 participated in the program. Weekly practices and interclub matches formed the backbone of the season, as the Big Sky team competed against Cottonwood Hills Golf Course and Riverside Country Club in Bozeman.
“We had practices every Friday for an hour-anda-half and had two-hour matches once a week at either Cottonwood Hills, Riverside or in Big Sky,” Conway explained.
The format for junior PGA tournaments is a twoperson scramble, which helps build camaraderie and confidence in young players.
“Golf is usually an individual sport, but with this program, the kids get to be part of a team and can lean on each other for support,” Conway said. “It’s a great way for kids who are feeling a little shy or scared to team up with a more confident kid to get some experience.”
Conway said he was particularly proud of the accomplishments of Big Sky seventh graders Finley Holtz and Ethan Singer, who earned the most match wins for the team this season.
Another standout moment for Conway this season came from returning player Quinn Malinowski, who is a long-time junior league player.
“I loved watching Quinn grow to become more of a team leader for the younger kids this year. Her confidence has grown so much over the years, and it has put her in a position to mentor some of the younger kids,” Conway said.
As a coach and mentor, Conway sees junior golf as more than just a seasonal sport. He said it’s a way to build character, confidence and community.
“I have always been a big proponent of junior golf. I had some wonderful coaches and mentors as a kid, and I feel like it’s my duty to give back to the kids now that I am in a position to do so,” Conway said.
“I love watching the kids grow to love the game and their excitement when they hit a great shot.”
Conway is optimistic about the future of the Big Sky program, and aims to grow the team and bring in more regional courses to expand the league.
“Cottonwood Hills and I have been trying to get other courses in the area on board as well. Riverside Country Club was a new addition for this past year,” he said. “I would love to see this program grow. I have enough space to get up to 25 kids in
the program, and my goal is to get there at some point. There are a lot of different options for sports in Big Sky, and I’m hopeful golf can compete with super popular sports like soccer in the future.”
Conway has worked with junior golfers for over a decade and has seen an increased interest in the sport each year.
“There has been a strong demand for private lessons and tee times for our junior golfers this season, which I see continuing,” he said. “Kids want to be outside in the summer, contrary to popular belief, and the golf course provides a safe place for them to come hit some balls and play some golf.”
Looking ahead, Conway is focused on continuing the momentum.
“I look forward to adding more courses to our league so the kids can get to experience some different holes and play with different kids in the area. I really want this program to grow and last, and I’m thankful for the continued support from the Big Sky community.”
Ethan Singer takes a swing. PHOTO COURTESY OF JILL SINGER AND CATHERINE HOLTZ
Ethan Singer, Finley Holtz and fellow teammate at Big Sky Golf Course. PHOTO COURTESY OF JILL SINGER AND CATHERINE HOLTZ
Members of the PGA Junior League at Big Sky Golf Course. PHOTO COURTESY
LPC WINS BIG SKY SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT FOR SEVENTH TIME IN NINE YEARS
BY JACK REANEY
Editor’s note: Jack Reaney played for LPC and also reported on the end-of-season tournament.
BIG SKY—The Big Sky Softball League held its end-of-season tournament on Aug. 9 and 10, gathering dozens of community members for the annual tradition of intense competition, timehonored rivalries and friendly banter.
The champion is familiar: the Lone Peak Cannabis Co. Golden Goats emerged victorious for the seventh time in the past nine years, defeating a perennial contender and defending tournament champion in the Hillbilly Huckers.
Manager Charlie Gaillard said the Huckers are “an all-time great” and summed up the feeling of victory: satisfied.
“Really impressed with this team. This is by far one of the best teams I’ve ever been a part of,” he said in the dugout, reflecting on an undefeated season. “Really good group of people that played well together all year long. Never got up, never got down, just played ball—played really good softball.”
The road to Sunday afternoon wasn’t easy, including a back-and-forth quarterfinal matchup against the Herbaceous Smokey Bears that finished with a 26-24 LPC victory despite the Bears’ early 10-2 lead in the second inning. Gaillard called the Bears’ performance “super impressive.”
Sunday’s championship was a rematch of the 2023 championship, when LPC defeated the Huckers, 22-6. The rivalry goes both ways—the Huckers eliminated LPC decisively in the 2024 tournament on their way to an improbable climb from the losers’ bracket to glory.
“You had to play a perfect game to beat [LPC],” Huckers manager Lee Horning told EBS after Sunday’s loss. “They have hitters all through the lineup, great defense… it’s a great team.”
Horning said losing the first game of the doubleelimination tournament put the Huckers in a tough spot, but they fought all the way back despite long days of competition.
“I told them, just one game at a time,” Horning said. “And that’s what they did. We got behind in two of the first three games, and came back and won.”
The Huckers faced the resilient and young Kenai Kangaroos in Sunday’s semifinal game. Kenai led 14-6 entering the final inning, but with their backs against the wall, the Huckers mounted an improbable comeback to take the lead, 18-14, and held on to eliminate Kenai.
“The young kids, they had the game where they wanted it,” Horning said. “… We just kept plugging away, everybody in the lineup got on base, and that’s all you can do in softball.”
Horning thanked league volunteers and especially Steven Reid, recreation coordinator for the Big Sky Community Organization which organizes the league.
“Steven does so much. He plays, he does the fields, he runs the whole thing—he got the umpires to come up [from Bozeman], that was great,” Horning said. “And just everybody who helps out with the running of the whole league.”
Reid said passionate softball fans always make the tournament special. He also thanked his softball committee for tasks like operating scoreboards and manning the grill to feed the teams.
“Really appreciate the all-around effort from the whole team,” Reid said, listing key volunteers who kept the league running. “Queen [Jean] is here every game, and I can always depend on her, I can take a day if I need it here and there, [Dave] Schwalbe for training my umpires, we had a really good showing for umpires this year… Tim Dietz was probably my leading umpire this year in terms of games, he did a ton. All of them are dependable.”
Reid mentioned the Mooseketeers—the team sponsored by Hungry Moose Market and Deli— for their standout performance in the tournament.
“Most of the season they were asking me to rent out fields for practices, and they really put in some work and improved a lot over the season. Became a problem in the tournament, they won a game… Really good on them for putting in the work,” Reid said.
He also highlighted Milkies for their first-round win, and near-upset against a strong contender in the Westfork Wildcats on Sunday morning.
Field construction begins on Big Sky Community Park
With the Big Sky Softball League season now complete, BSCO immediately began its next phase of renovations to Big Sky Community Park on Monday, Aug. 11.
The project includes upgrades to softball fields such as improved drainage and multi-sport accommodations. BSCO announced detailed plans in March, highlighted by the decision to plant natural grass instead of artificial turf.
“We’re jumping right into it,” Reid said. The fields will be completed during the summer of 2026, according to the project webpage, but Reid noted the timeline will depend on weather, including next spring’s snowmelt.
Lone Peak Cannabis Co. won another tournament championship on Aug. 10. COURTESY OF LPC
Matt Hockinson of the Huckers drives a ball in an elimination game against the Herbaceous Smokey Bears on Sunday morning. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY Vanessa Tracey tosses a pitch for the Wildcats. PHOTO BY JACK REANEY
ENVIRONMENT
A BIG WIN FOR WILD AND WONDERFUL PLACES
NONPROFIT PARTNERS THANK WILDLANDS ATTENDEES, OUTLAW FOR SUPPORT
CENTER FOR LARGE LANDSCAPE
CONSERVATION AND AMERICAN RIVERS
Accepting a record-breaking $1.3 million check to support conservation while being cheered onstage by thousands of Wildlands concertgoers this summer was an unexpected surprise—and an incredible privilege we will never forget.
“Double it.”
Those two words spoken by Eric Ladd, founder and CEO of Outlaw Partners, will reverberate in our memories. They will also provide a critical springboard for our future efforts to protect the landscapes and rivers of southwest Montana and beyond.
This year’s Wildlands event included a charity dinner and auction, and two nights of music featuring Dave Matthews, Lukas Nelson and Molly Tuttle. The planned events raised $650,000. Dave Matthews doubled it moments before we accepted the check in front of 6,000 attendees.
This money raised by Outlaw Partners and the match from Dave Matthews will support the work
of both American Rivers and the Center for Large Landscape Conservation. We're grateful for the opportunity to share our missions with thousands of Wildlands attendees.
Wildlands is more than just a concert: it’s a commitment to conservation that raises community awareness, inspires action, and celebrates wild lands and waters. We are grateful to have been a part of this event and would like to thank Outlaw Partners for their visionary efforts to unite conservation with world-class music.
We’d also like to thank Dave Matthews, Lukas Nelson, and Molly Tuttle for bringing the magic to life on stage, and legendary actor Michael Keaton for speaking on the charity night panel. Finally, we are thankful for all those who supported both of our organizations by bidding at the charity auction, making donations over the course of the event, or purchasing concert tickets.
American Rivers will use funds from the event to work with local partners to protect nearly 100 river miles in the Madison and Gallatin River watersheds, which provide clean water and essential habitat for native species, as well as thousands
of miles of streams on our National Forests.
The Center for Large Landscape Conservation will work to establish wildlife crossings on U.S. Highway 191 and U.S. Highway 89, two of the busiest highways in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and work to secure safe passage for species worldwide.
The impact of this amazing weekend isn’t only represented by the funds raised. Wildlands also sparked hope that people care for our natural world, and it demonstrated what we can accomplish when people come together to protect wild and wonderful places. Each member of our teams felt the encouragement in every connection we made with old and new friends. So many of you share collective commitment to conserve and reconnect our treasured landscapes and rivers. We were blown away by the outpouring of support.
We want to thank Outlaw Partners again for the colossal effort and dedication that this event took. We can’t wait to see what you dream up next.
Deb Davidson, Chief Strategy Officer, Center for Large Landscape Conservation
ENVIRONMENT
DISPATCHES FROM THE WILD: SPRUCE BUDWORMS’ PROS AND CONS
BY BENJAMIN ALVA POLLEY EBS COLUMNIST
Out here in the West, have you ever looked at a green forested hillside and wondered why so many conifers are red, dead or dying? Many of these trees have been defoliated, primarily due to the spruce budworm.
In the western United States, spruce budworm infestations affect approximately five million acres annually, with about 247 million acres considered susceptible to infestation. This native moth species primarily targets Douglas fir and white fir trees, but it also affects Engelmann spruce, blue spruce and subalpine fir. The larvae of the spruce budworm consume the needles of these trees, resulting in reduced growth rates, decreased lumber quality and increased mortality, particularly when the trees are under stress.
Spruce budworms play a crucial role in the coniferous forest ecosystem by thinning forests and influencing the composition of tree species. While
outbreaks can lead to significant defoliation and tree damage, they are part of a natural cycle that promotes the removal of weaker trees and creates opportunities for new growth.
These insects undergo periodic outbreaks, with populations fluctuating between endemic (low) and epidemic (high) phases, typically every 30 to 60 years. During epidemics, budworms feed on new growth, causing defoliation that can weaken or kill trees, thereby thinning dense stands and allowing more resilient species to thrive.
By favoring particular tree species, such as balsam fir, spruce budworms help shape the overall composition of the forest, promoting the growth of more resilient species, like spruce. The dead trees and snags created by budworm outbreaks provide valuable habitats for various wildlife, including cavity-nesting birds like chickadees, small mammals and insects. However, the presence of dead and dying trees can also increase wildfire risk by providing additional fuel, a complex issue influenced by multiple factors, including climate and forest management practices.
Natural predators, parasites and diseases help keep spruce budworm populations in check, preventing constant outbreaks. Historically, long and cold
winters regulated larval populations, but climate change and warmer winters have diminished this natural control.
Despite the potential damage caused by spruce budworm outbreaks, they are essential for maintaining forest health and diversity. Management strategies often aim to minimize the impacts of these epidemics while recognizing the ecological importance of the budworm. The spruce budworm typically has a one-year life cycle, causing significant defoliation that weakens trees and makes them more vulnerable to other pests and diseases.
In areas like Montana, the emergence of adult spruce moths is significant for fly fishermen, as these moths become a food source for trout.
Spruce budworms, like many natural phenomena, experience good years and bad years. Although the bad years can be a nuisance, the good years highlight their role in sustaining western forests.
Benjamin Alva Polley is a place-based storyteller. His words have been published in Rolling Stone, Esquire, Field & Stream, The Guardian, Men’s Journal, Outside, Popular Science, Sierra, and other publications, and can be seen on his website.
Tom Kiernan, President and CEO, American Rivers
CLLC and AR accept a check at this summer’s Wildlands event. PHOTO COURTESTY OF CLLC
PHOTO BY ERIC LADD
THE WEST IS ON FIRE AS WASHINGTON FANS THE FLAMES
BY TRACY STONE-MANNING WRITERS ON THE RANGE
This summer, millions of Americans are hiking, camping, fishing and making lifelong memories in our national parks, forests and other public lands. But something troubling is taking place behind the beautiful views: The federal agencies that safeguard these places for us are being hollowed out.
Staffing and budget cuts at the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. They are empty ranger stations during peak season, trail crews that never arrive and wildfire teams stretched so thin they can’t keep up.
During the four years when I led the BLM, from 2021 to 2025, I saw what it takes to care for hundreds of millions of acres of public lands. It takes committed, dedicated people—wildfire crews, wildlife biologists, planners, law enforcement rangers—and it takes funding. Today, both are being stripped away at historic rates.
We can already see the consequences. As I write, flames tear through the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, burning down the historic lodge and scarring over 100,000 acres. The fire has raged for weeks since a lightning strike started it on July 4, and it may continue for weeks more.
Fire is part of the West’s natural cycle, but climate change and decades of suppression have made today’s fires hotter and more destructive. It just doesn’t make sense that the Trump administration is gutting the agencies responsible for managing fire risk when we need these experienced and dedicated people most.
More than 1,600 wildfire-qualified staff have been driven out of the Forest Service in recent months, and as many as one in four firefighting jobs remain vacant. To make it worse, firefighters are being pulled from the fire lines to tend to logistics for some forests, even in one of the most dangerous wildfire seasons in memory.
The administration has even proposed removing firefighting from the Forest Service entirely, a dangerous move that separates the rangers who know the land best from those dousing the flames.
People of all backgrounds celebrated when we collectively stopped Congress from selling off our public lands earlier this summer. But now, a clear and dangerous pattern is emerging: Shrink these agencies until they break, then claim that selling off or industrializing our public lands is the only fix.
This should alarm anyone who values the freedom these lands provide. Public lands are a great equalizer—places where all Americans have the same right to hike, hunt, fish or camp. And to unplug and touch nature. If we lose the people who manage these lands, our access will shrink under wildfire closures, roads will be gated and campgrounds will close. We’ll lose our freedom to wander.
It’s also a direct threat to conservation. Our public lands deliver clean water, clean air and wildlife habitat. Cutting conservation programs and abandoning fire-smart management will leave forests overgrown and ready to burn—with wildfires too big and too hot.
Worse still, future generations are going to inherit the choices made today. When the administration guts our parks and public lands to pay for tax cuts for billionaires, they saddle the future with parks and trails that are closed, crumbling roads and buildings, forests prone to even worse fire, smoky skies and “No Trespassing” signs. The cherished traditions we pass down—teaching a child to fish or hunt, camping under a night sky, chasing butterflies—will no longer be available to all.
Westerners know what’s at stake. Poll after poll shows that people across the political spectrum want to keep our public lands public, healthy and accessible. That consensus is powerful, but only if we use it now. Either we protect the agencies that protect our public lands, or we watch the slowmotion sell-off unfold.
We must demand full staffing and funding for the agencies that manage our lands, and we must all stand together—hunters and hikers, ranchers and rafters, anglers and climbers—in defense of the places that belong to us all, and to future generations.
Tracy Stone-Manning is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. She is president of The Wilderness Society and a former director of the BLM. Like millions of Americans, she is spending her summer vacation on public lands.
3,562 Deer and Elk were killed by vehicles in Gallatin County since 2008.
EVERY DROP COUNTS: BENEATH THE SURFACE—BUGS AS THE MEASURE OF A HEALTHY GALLATIN ENVIRONMENT
BY JACK BUBAN GUEST COLUMNIST
The Gallatin River isn’t just a scenic backdrop to our lives; it's a vibrant ecosystem that supports a world-class trout fishery and everything that depends on it. And if there is one thing that can help us better understand the health of this sensitive and living environment, it’s the bugs that call it home.
While we can use what is visible to us in and along the river as indicators of how healthy the Gallatin is, what we can’t see—the life beneath the surface— is arguably more, or equally, important. To get to the bottom of bug health in the river, the Gallatin River Task Force embarked on a partnership with The Salmonfly Project, a Missoula-based aquatic insect conservation group. The big takeaway? That this is a great place to start in our quest to find out the baseline, and trends, in bug health.
More data collection will be necessary to get an adequate handle on what people want to know: are the bugs in the river declining, and if so, what does that say about the Gallatin’s health overall?
Why bugs matter
Aquatic insects aren't just fish food; they are the foundation of the river's food web. Without a healthy and diverse insect population, the fish and other animals that call the Gallatin home simply cannot thrive. Certain species, like salmonflies, western green drakes, and golden stoneflies, are also indicator species. Their presence in high numbers signals that the river's water quality is excellent, as these bugs don’t do well in oxygen deprived environments, and factors like algae blooms decrease available oxygen in the water.
The problem is, we don't have much historical data on the Gallatin's aquatic insects. While some exists, and more is being collected by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality as part of the ongoing algae study, it's not detailed enough to track changes in individual species or communities of insects over time.
Given the river's high ecological and human value, it's essential to fill in this knowledge gap to
learn more about the foundation of the Gallatin’s food chain. When anglers express concerns about potential shifts in major insect hatches, it’s a sign that something might be changing in the river's health. And ultimately, no bugs equals no fish.
What we found
In this recent study, we collected data from nine sites along the Gallatin—both upstream and downstream of Big Sky—from the boundary of Yellowstone National Park to Spanish Creek. Our findings revealed that the overall abundance of aquatic insects is comparable to other well-known trout streams in the Greater Yellowstone region. That's the good news.
The more nuanced finding, however, is that while the Gallatin has a very high number of insects, there's a distinct skew towards pollution-tolerant species such as midges and blackflies, both up- and downstream of Big Sky. This means the Gallatin has a healthy number of sensitive bugs like stoneflies, mayflies, and caddisflies but the numbers of less-sensitive species are higher than expected for a healthy mountain river.
Without more historical data, we can't say for certain if the populations of sensitive species are declining or if the tolerant species are simply increasing. What we do know is that the river still supports a much higher density of salmonflies and other stoneflies than rivers like the Madison and
Big Hole. This is a testament to the river's overall health, and suggests that recent algae blooms have not caused a severe decrease in population size for these insect groups.
The data we've collected has given us a valuable snapshot of the Gallatin's current state, and continued data collection will be critical to understanding any shifts in these populations. The Gallatin River is a gem, with invaluable socioeconomic and environmental values, and by working together, we can ensure its health for generations to come.
How to get involved
The health of the Gallatin River is a community effort. If you're interested in learning more, we have two great opportunities for you to join us. The Gallatin River Task Force and The Salmonfly Project will be hosting a presentation and Q&A session at the new Big Sky Center for the Arts on Monday, Aug. 25. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the presentation begins at 5:15 p.m.
We will also be out on the Gallatin River collecting data for the 2025 season from Aug. 25 to 28 and are looking for volunteers to help. To learn more, reach out to me at jack@gallatinrivertaskforce.org.
Jack Buban is the Community Engagement Manager at the Gallatin River Task Force.
The Salmonfly Project and Gallatin River Task Force collect insect data in 2024. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SALMONFLY PROJECT
GRAPH COURTESY OF THE SALMONFLY PROJECT
Pteronarcys californica (Giant Salmonfly). PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SALMONFLY PROJECT
ENVIRONMENT
WILDFIRE WIRE: RED FLAGS AND SMOKEY BEAR
BY MEL CRICHTON EBS COLUMNIST
Originally, I planned to interview Big Sky’s Wildland Fire Chief Jon Trapp for this month’s column, but his job got in the way. It’s common for fire departments to share resources in wildfire situations, as Big Sky Fire Department did last January when it sent a crew to Los Angeles. This time, Jon has been helping firefighters in Colorado, and he reports that fuels— vegetation and trees—are at record-low levels of moisture. Colorado has several big fires right now, but Jon’s assignment is a modest 25,000 acres— roughly the size of Big Sky.
So, without Jon’s wisdom, let's talk about the weather. We can’t do anything about it, but weather has a lot to do with wildfires.
We’re six weeks into fire season with about 10 more to go before cooler temperatures and fall precipitation reduce our risk. Even then, a wildfire could break out if fuels remain dry. Lately, we had enough rain and cool weather to keep our fire hazard at “LOW” to “MODERATE” at the Smokey Bear sign, but as I write this in early August, our fire risk has moved up to “HIGH.”
Just a few miles south in the Park, fire hazard is currently “VERY HIGH, ” so let’s hope that Big Sky dodges another bullet this year, just as we have in past years when fires were popping up all around, sometimes a bit too close.
But fires are popping up, in places they weren’t expected, and in months when they never have started before. The winter fires in L.A. last year and in the Boulder, Colorado area a few years ago are proof that fuels, weather, and topography remain ripe for fire later in the year. Those three agents determine the potential for wildfire spread, and are used in determining the hazard rating on Smokey’s sign.
We can’t do anything about our topography— hills and valleys—or the weather. If it’s too dry, too hot, and too windy, a fire can easily spread. If the weather forecast calls for low humidity, warm temps, and winds above 25 miles an hour, the weather service issues a Red Flag Warning. If fuels on the ground are already dry and there are no barriers to a fire’s spread, fire risk creeps past MODERATE to HIGH. If the situation persists, the risk becomes VERY HIGH. And in California,
risk has been EXTREME too many times, with disastrous results.
We’re lucky now. Our risk is lower than in neighboring areas. But still, vigilance is needed. Dust off your evacuation plan, pack your go-kit and keep the gas tank full, because a few days of hot and dry weather can push our risk upward, and that’s when a fire can really spread out of control.
Check out the Fire Adapted Big Sky Wildfire Hub for basic information. The info is in there, and I encourage you to search around on the website. And while you’re there, click on the link to get county emergency alerts through Everbridge and near the bottom, sign up for a homesite risk assessment.
Current Big Sky wildfire action
Recently, a crew from Nature Conservancy and Greater Yellowstone Fire Action Network filmed wildfire mitigation efforts in Big Sky, along with other locations in the Greater Yellowstone. The video will be used to promote
wildfire programs and influence policy makers. You’ll probably see some Big Sky locals in the final product later this year.
We now have 35 Fire Adapted Big Sky neighborhood ambassadors in two dozen neighborhoods, and hopefully you’re in contact with an NA already. Ambassadors are identifying neighbors needing help evacuating and setting up buddy systems. NAs have organized local hazard mitigation projects, like Claire Thayer, who worked with a neighbor to remove flammable bushes for an ailing resident in the Meadow. Aspen Groves residents pitched in to help a neighbor reduce risk to his firewood stash. Hidden Village benefited from a day of fuels removal by BSFD’s fuels crew, seasonal wildfire fighters that help residents with reducing flammables when they are not fighting fires. They chipped homeowners’ slash in the Meadow, Cascade and Aspen Groves. Tons of potential fuels have been chipped through BSOA and the fire department, but there are dozens of neighborhoods yet to act. Contact your HOA to schedule a chipper day with the fire department.
I’ve seen a few residents clearing pine needles out of gutters. Woodpiles are disappearing from porches and from under decks, but there are many more to go. You folks are making a dent in our overall wildfire risk. Later this year we’ll talk about what that can do for your homeowners insurance.
Mother Nature is fickle. She blesses with cool rains to keep fire danger low, then on a whim sends a blast of hot dry air to set the stage for a wildfire. It only takes a few days for grasses and brush to dry, and once those fuels ignite, the fire’s heat can dry other fuels. Be happy that our fire risk has been relatively low, but don’t count on it staying that way. Vigilance is key.
Mel Crichton acts as neighborhood ambassador coordinator for Fire Adapted Big Sky. He may be reached at kj9c@comcast.net.
COMMUNITY EVENTS CALENDAR
ART FOR EVERYONE SALE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, AUG. 30-31 THE WILSON HOTEL
On Aug. 30-31, the Big Sky Artists’ Collective will hold its seventh annual Art for Everyone sale at The Wilson Hotel.
Starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, the public can view paintings, mosaics, photography and sculptures by artists living locally and purchase pieces that start at $50.
Smokey Bear fire danger sign in Big Sky on Aug. 12. PHOTO BY MEL CRICHTON
BSFD fuels crew working at Hidden Village to clear flammables from a neighbor’s home. PHOTO BY MEL CRICHTON
BSFD Wildland Fire Chief Jon Trapp filming an interview for the Nature Conservancy and GYFAN. PHOTO BY MEL CRICHTON
PHOTO BY JACK REANEY
‘SOLASTALGIA’: THE EMOTIONAL DEBT IN THE WAKE OF MEGAFIRES AN
INTERVIEW WITH LOCAL WILDFIRE PHOTOGRAPHER JESSICA HAYS
BY MIRA BRODY
On Sunday, Aug. 17, Bozeman photographer Jessica Hays went out to the smoldering, but still active McAllister Fire outside of Ennis. The fire had already scorched 3,500 acres and despite some helpful weekend rain, was still giving fire crews plenty to do since lighting ignited it on Aug. 16.
“Sometimes the fires come to me,” Hays said. “Other times I go to the fires purposefully … like the fire season of 2020 and then 2021, a lot of places that I was really personally connected to were on fire.”
Hays has been following fire with her lens for five years, culminating into her book, “The Sun Sets Midafternoon,” documenting the rise in megafires due to climate change and examines the immediate aftermath on surrounding communities. It includes essays by fellow photographer Tim Carpenter and environmental historian Stephen J. Pyne and is heading to print with Fall Line Press as a limited edition run after its kickstarter closes on Aug. 28.
Hays has photographed over 50 fires, and counting, across all contiguous states. There seems to be no shortage.
Her photos capture the orange-tinged skies, charcoal black trees, billows of smoke and the stillness that follows the chaos of wildfire. Interwoven into the visual destruction of a landscape is solastalgia, she explains: emotional or existential distress caused by negative environmental change.
Watching the Bridger Mountains burn during the Bridger Foothills Fire in 2020, a mountain range she grew up in as a Bozeman native, Hays became fascinated with documenting the psychological effects of dramatic change in a place that defines you as a person.
“I think this idea that we can grieve a place or have emotional responses to negative environmental change is rather new,” Hays said. “I'm hoping to connect with people to just talk about how they relate to a landscape. I think that and land in general—the places underneath our feet—are very important to us even when we think they're not.”
Hays recalls her own moment of solastalgia upon visiting Bridger Canyon shortly after the foothills fire.
“I was so overwhelmed by it,” Hays said of her emotional reaction to the starkly altered landscape.
“I think I didn't have a language or words to understand that when I started this.”
That language she once couldn’t find ultimately translated into her book.
Five years later, Hays has driven across the U.S. many times documenting fires or their aftermath in states like Colorado, Texas and Oregon, meeting others who have experienced loss due to fire. In her conversations with them, she finds a shared empathy. She heard from woman recently in Monroe Canyon, the site of a devastating fire currently active in central Utah, and the community
near the Mullen Fire in southern Wyoming that torched over 176,878 acres just west of Laramie in the fall of 2020.
“I have a very vivid memory of being on a highway pullout, photographing this pyrocumulus column from several miles away and being set up there for several hours and speaking to dozens of people who were from the area about their experience,” Hays recalled of watching the 2020 Mullen Fire. “That was really powerful.”
After moving around a lot over the last few years due to work and school, Hays is pleased to be back in her home state, and in the West, where her roots are deeply buried and where the landscape inspires her work. It feeds that relationship to place that “The Sun Sets Midafternoon” speaks to.
The title of the book is a nod to the eerie, false “nightfall” caused by thick layers of smoke that shroud a community during a massive wildfire: the blotted sun, orange, ashy skies and dampened acoustics. She recalled a shot she captured in Oregon in 2020 of birds flying across an otherwise barren roadway. The shot, called “Murmuration,” is featured in her book.
"I saw those birds and I hadn't seen any animals the whole time I was there,” Hays said. “It felt like this moment, after I had spent a week in this really heavy emotional state. It was really difficult and devastating, but these birds felt so hopeful. This moment of seeing these living creatures moving together felt so symbolically hopeful of being able to move forward and grow from this.”
GRIZZLY 399 COLLECTION Pre-order items only APPAREL WITH A PURPOSE. PRE-ORDER NOW
$10 from each item purchased goes directly to the Center for Large Landscape Conservation and their Hwy 191 Wildlife Crossings Project.
“Mullen.” PHOTO BY JESSICA HAYS
“Murmuration.” PHOTO BY JESSICA HAYS
“Downed Line.” PHOTO BY JESSICA HAYS
New book cover. COURTESY OF JESSICA HAYS
DINING
A LA CARTE: THE WIGGLES ARE WRONG
BY RACHEL HERGETT EBS COLUMNIST
In 1993, Australian children’s musicmakers
The Wiggles released a song called “Fruit Salad” on video. The next year, “Fruit Salad” was highlighted on The Wiggles’ fourth album “Yummy Yummy,” which takes its title from the song lyrics. It starts, as many of The Wiggles tracks do, with the catchy refrain, this time repeating “fruit salad, yummy, yummy” three times.
For many, fruit salad the food is synonymous with “Fruit Salad” the song, and elicits a call and response of sorts. Say “fruit salad” and people of a certain age are sure to respond “yummy, yummy.” Versions of “Fruit Salad” have been released around the world in a variety of languages. There is even a version where The Wiggles collaborate with “Sesame Street” characters. “Fruit Salad” is a big deal.
Let’s break down the song a bit. The Wiggles’ first verse is an invitation of sorts, urging kids to make fruit salad and eat fruit. “Let's make some fruit salad today,” they sing. “It's fun to do, it's the healthy way / Take all the fruit that you want to eat / It's gonna be a fruit salad treat.”
I like the song. I like the message. But when it comes to fruit salad methodology, The Wiggles are wrong.
The song’s fruit salad includes four fruits: bananas, grapes, apples and melon. This is all fine—if you
do as the lyrics say and eat all the fruit you cut up until there’s nothing left on your plate. But if you make a big bowl like they do in The Wiggles video, intending to save some fruit salad for later, things are sure to go pear-shaped.
Bananas, for example, are not a friend to fruit salad. Delicious, yes, but they quickly turn into banana mush. If you love them, don’t mix them in. Instead, slice some on top of the portion you are eating. Apples bring a nice, lasting crunch to a fruit salad that is a textural boon, but they will also go brown in a matter of minutes unless exposed to some acid—a problem fixed in my method. And finally, The Wiggles’ fruit salad is simply boring. It is cut up fruit with nothing to enhance the individual flavors or marry them together.
We can do better. While it may not come with instructions in song form, let me teach you how I build a fruit salad. This is one of my favorite summer dishes. It’s cool and nutritious, especially if you shy away from the Cool Whip version. It can help use up the contents of your fruit bowl and give new life to any neglected item therein.
Aside from bananas and delicate berries like raspberries, I throw whatever fruit is laying around into the salad. The version I made for this week included apples from a friend’s tree, strawberries, kiwi, blueberries and pineapple. I always start a fruit salad with a fresh pineapple, loving how it is both sweet and tart and how the juices blend with the other ingredients. Pineapple is my one non-negotiable—though haters can certainly leave it out. Instead ask what fruits you love. What is growing on the trees outside, or looking fresh in the grocery store? What do you need to use in your kitchen? Possibilities include—but are certainly not
limited to—pears, peaches, oranges and tropical fruits like mango and papaya. You could even add grapes and melon, like The Wiggles.
The biggest chore here is prep. It feels like a labor of love and a test of patience to chop all of this fresh fruit into bite-sized pieces. But once done, completing your salad is easy. Put all your fruit into a bowl with room to stir. To bring it together and marry those flavors takes three extra ingredients: lime, mint and honey. And it doesn't take a lot. Chop up a handful of mint and throw it in, drizzle a little honey over the top, and squeeze the juice from about half that lime. If you really like lime, zest the peel in there as well. Stir and adjust to your taste and the fruits you chose for your salad.
Now it’s ready, and as The Wiggles song says, “It tastes so good that you just can't beat it.”
Fruit salads are always different, yet always delicious. They are a celebration of the variety of fruit available and the personal preferences involved. Along those lines, The Wiggles did a 2021 re-tooling of the song for the group’s “Greatest Hits” album to celebrate their 30th anniversary. It’s called “We’re all fruit salad.”
“It's not just one fruit that makes a fruit salad,” they sing. “It takes all different kinds of fruit to make a perfect bowl.”
Rachel Hergett is a foodie and cook from Montana. She is arts editor emeritus at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and has written for publications such as Food Network Magazine and Montana Quarterly. Rachel is also the host of the Magic Monday Show on KGLT-FM and teaches at Montana State University.
ENJOYING THE RIDE: FALL INTO FINANCIAL STABILITY
HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR FINANCES AHEAD OF AN UNCERTAIN 2026
BY KRIS MOOS EBS CONTRIBUTOR
Sponsored article
As summer fades and the crispness of fall sets in, it’s not just the seasons that are shifting, the financial landscape is too. Many individuals and families are entering the final months of the year feeling financially unsettled. Market volatility, rising living costs, and sweeping tax changes on the horizon in 2026 have created an environment of uncertainty.
With persistent inflation, rising interest rates, election-year volatility, and escalating tariff threats disrupting global supply chains, there’s a lot for individuals and families to process. Uncertainty may be the only constant right now, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless. In fact, fall is an ideal time to take control of what you can.
At Shore to Summit, we help clients navigate today’s unpredictability with clarity and confidence. Here’s how you can “fall into financial stability” and prepare your finances for whatever lies ahead.
1. Revisit Your Financial Foundation
The past few years have brought economic whiplash all around. Persistent inflation, geopolitical conflict, interest rate hikes, and fears of a recession have made many feeling squeezed.
This fall, I encourage clients to ask:
• Do I have a well-funded emergency savings cushion?
• Is my spending plan still aligned with today’s costs and my long-term goals?
• Have I reviewed how rising interest rates may affect any variable debt?
• Financial stability starts with clarity, and clarity starts with knowing where you stand today.
2. Adjust Your Investment Plan for Global Uncertainty
With new tariffs under consideration and global trade tensions rising, economic ripples are being felt at every level, from gas prices to tech stocks to supply chain disruptions. This adds another layer of unpredictability to an already complex environment.
In this landscape, it’s important to:
• Stay diversified across industries and regions to reduce concentrated risk
• Review exposure to sectors likely to be impacted by tariffs (manufacturing, agriculture, tech)
• Keep short- and long-term goals aligned with your risk tolerance
Market uncertainty can spark emotional decisions.
That’s why we emphasize steady, values-based
planning and discourage reactive pivots.
3. Rebalance Your Portfolio for Today’s Conditions
Economic headwinds have changed how portfolios behave. Fall is a great time to check if your current investment mix still fits your goals, especially if:
• Your risk tolerance has shifted
• You’ve had major life changes
• You haven’t reviewed your portfolio in 12+ months
Consider:
• Rebalancing to maintain your target asset allocation
• Harvesting losses or gains strategically before year-end
• Reassessing your cash positions in light of interest rate trends
Think of your portfolio like your home before winter–a few small adjustments now can prevent bigger issues down the road.
4. Use Open Enrollment Season as a
Planning Tool
This time of year also brings open enrollment, which can act as an annual opportunity to make sure your healthcare and workplace benefits support your financial wellbeing.
Use this moment to:
• Reevaluate your health plan, especially if your needs or providers have changed
• Max out contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
• Review your life and disability insurance coverage to reflect your current responsibilities
These are often overlooked tools that can help protect your financial plan and reduce future stress.
5. Approach Year-End Spending with Intention
The holidays can be a time of joy, and overspending. With inflation still elevated and economic conditions in flux, financial discipline is more important than ever. Some ideas to keep your budget grounded:
HEALTH
LIVE BETTER: THE POWER OF MOVEMENT AND EXERCISE FOR ARTHRITIS RELIEF
BY ALLIE EPSTEIN POALINO EBS COLUMNIST
Sponsored Article
Did you know that osteoarthritis, commonly called “arthritis,” affects one in five adults in the United States? As we age, the prevalence of arthritis increases dramatically, impacting 54% of people over the age of 75. Warning signs of arthritis include pain, tenderness, joint swelling and stiffness especially first thing in the morning or after a long workout or hike.
While our instinct might be to rest an achy joint, such as a stiff knee, research shows that the best remedy is actually the opposite: movement. Gentle, low impact, consistent motion can help reduce stiffness, improve mobility, and decrease pain.
Breaking it down: What is “osteoarthritis”?
Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis that occurs when the cartilage, the smooth, protective tissue that covers the ends of the bones that come together to form a joint, begins to wear down. This loss of cushioning within the joint can lead to pain, tenderness, stiffness, swelling and reduced flexibility in the affected joint or joints. Common joints in the body to develop arthritis are knees, hips, areas in the spine, as well as shoulders, wrists and hands.
What causes someone to develop “osteoarthritis”?
While genetics, family history, and type of occupation can contribute, the biggest factors in developing osteoarthritis are overuse of certain joints and adverse joint mechanics over time. When these things occur together, they create excess friction in a joint, gradually wearing down the smooth cartilage that cushions the two ends of the bones.
A simple way to picture this is to imagine two pearly-smooth surfaces rubbing together so much that they start to act like sandpaper against each other. In the early to middle stages of arthritis, people may notice mild to moderate symptoms, often after intense outdoor activity or long periods of sitting, like during car or airplane trips. In the most severe cases, the cartilage can wear away completely, creating a “bone-on-bone” situation. Individuals with this level of arthritis often have dealt with issues in the affected joint for a long time and now feel extreme symptoms and experience pain when doing things like stairs, squats, kneeling, and even walking, sometimes resulting in limping to get around.
Movement is medicine for osteoarthritis!
As physical therapists, we often hear how frustrated clients feel after an arthritis diagnosis. Some statements are common in the Lone Peak Therapy clinic: “I can’t hike anymore—won’t I make it worse?”; “I can’t ski like I used to because I have arthritis,”; or “I got an x-ray and they found a lot of arthritis, what does that mean?”
Here in Montana, staying active and enjoying the outdoors is a big reason why we are all here in the
NEW CONSTRUCTION AT GALLATIN FOOTHILLS
ONE HOME UNDER CONTRACT! ONLY A FEW REMAIN
first place. We understand that, and we’re here to help you find a path forward to keeping you moving and enjoying the activities that you love.
Staying active doesn’t mean pushing through severe pain, it means moving smart and safely to keep your joints healthy and your body strong. Some activities we give the “Green Light” for, regardless of arthritis severity, include swimming, biking or cycling, yoga, or using an elliptical machine at the gym. These exercises are low-impact and gentle on your joints, protecting the healthy cartilage you still have. Ideally, these activities should cause minimal to no pain and leave you feeling better afterward.
Beyond low-impact activity, physical therapy is a powerful way to promote healthy joint movement through purposeful exercise. A physical therapist can address the root cause of your symptoms and help prevent your arthritis from progressing. The first step is identifying why your symptoms are occurring—most often due to overuse or improper joint mechanics. Healthy joints require motion in all directions to function optimally, and our job is to identify which movement patterns aren’t working properly in your body and fix it. Using a combination of manual therapies including, but not limited to, joint mobilization, soft tissue work, dry needling, cupping, along with targeted and custombuilt stretching, motor control, and strength training, we will guide you back to the activities you love to do with confidence.
If you have any questions or wish to learn more about osteoarthritis, speak to an expert at our Big Sky + Performance or Bozeman + Performance locations today.
Nestled in the heart of Big Sky, Montana, Gallatin Foothills Phase 2 offers a rare opportunity to own a homesite that combines natural beauty, outdoor adventure, and convenient access to local amenities. With spacious lots ranging from 1 to ± 2 acres and over ± 75 acres of open space, this neighborhood is designed to provide privacy, stunning mountain views, and a connection to the outdoors.
Residents will enjoy a professionally built trail system by Terraflow, sledding hills, open space for XC skiing, and access to public lands for activities like snowmobiling, ATV riding, and hiking. The Gallatin River is just 5 minutes away, while Big Sky Town Center and Big Sky Resort are a 10 and 15-minute drive, respectively, creating the ultimate home base for your year-round recreation.
Scan the QR code to visit the website and learn more!
Listed with Michael Pitcairn michael@outlaw.realty | (406) 539.6060
PHOTO COURTESY OF LONE PEAK PHYSICAL THERAPY
DID YOU KNOW?
500 years ago, at least 30 million bison roamed the plains. That number is now less than 30,000. The depletion of free range bison has been attributed to:
•Decades of over-exploitation
•Decline in genetic diversity
•Habitat loss
•Human Interaction
Yellowstone National Park boasts the nation's largest free range buffalo herd, but only two others remain - the Henry’s Mountains and Book Cliffs herds, both in southern Utah.
Respect. Protect. Cherish.
Paid for by the animals in your backyard.
to Protect Our Waters I'm Liz Lewis & I “
Experience: 28 years fly-fishing Montana Waters.
Favorite River: Upper Madison.
Favorite Species: Cutthroat. They are gorgeous, native and like dry flies.
Largest catch on the Fly: Taped 24 inch Brown Trout on a salmon fly, Upper Madison. There was also a bigger Cut-Bow from a lake that measured 25 inches.
Importance of Clean. Drain. Dry.: Professionals and non-profits work exceedingly hard to maintain the health of every water system in the state of Montana. We can undo all that in one careless instant. By cleaning our boats, waders, boots, and gear, we can prevent the spread of invasive species from one body of water to another. We have to do our part, particularly with so many more people coming to enjoy our rivers.
LET’S TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH: ‘SPACES IN BETWEEN’—
LIVE STORYTELLING RETURNS TO BIG SKY
‘YOUR STORY IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU, BUT WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME, GIVEN ALL THAT YOU HAVE SEEN.’ - UNKNOWN
BY SHANNON STEELE EBS COLUMNIST
On the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 30, the Ranch Hall at Lone Mountain Ranch will welcome a diverse stage of voices, each one offering a glimpse into the quiet gaps of life—the places between chapters, the unspoken middles, the awkward moments and the tender transitions. With the theme “Spaces in Between,” Be Well Big Sky’s second annual storytelling event will bring together our brilliantly ordinary, wildly complex community members—who step up to the mic not because life made sense, but because it didn’t. Through laughter, vulnerability, and a healthy dose of ‘wait, what just happened’ moments, they remind us that in the chaos of being human, stories are how we make sense, and how we stay connected.
Be Well’s inaugural storytelling event last year breathed life into what had once felt invisible. Those stories—raw, honest, moving—weren’t just entertainment. They were invitations to lean in, let our guard down and truly see one another in unfiltered reflection.
I kept returning to the words shared by those who were there:“It was so amazing to see these people—who you might pass on the street without knowing their story—stand up and share their most vulnerable moments with courage. I think it opens the door for real sharing in such a beautiful way,” one attendee reflected.
Another said, “I love sharing the human experience with others. Life is beautiful—but woven into that beauty is the hustle, the chaos, the emotion… and ultimately, the appreciation. This felt like such a needed space in our community.”
I can’t help but think this is what we’ve all been longing for. Not perfection. Not performance.
A chance to simply be oneself—and to be met there, by someone else’s truth.
Here we are again, answering that call.
Be Well Big Sky started from a place of real need, when access to care was scarce, stigma was even more potent, and loneliness quietly moved through our beautiful mountain town, community members came together to build something different. Be Well was created to nurture belonging, strengthen shared systems of care, and uplift the voices that make Big Sky brave enough to ask hard questions—and stay to listen for the answers.
That’s the heart behind Spaces in Between—a night that honors our messiness, our resilience, and the healing power of telling the truth out loud.
Diverse storytellers—selected from across Big Sky—will bring stories shaped by transitions, awkward starts, grief, joy, humor and quiet moments of growth. Each storyteller is supported
by Be Well’s Navigator Network and guided through their narrative arc by storytelling coach, Bonnie Bishop, with Mazí Health Consultants.
This night is co-created through an intentional process with care, vision, and with the steady pulse of what this community needs most right now.
Planning began with the lived experience and perspectives of Be Well Navigators who walk beside community members every day. In a visioning workshop guided by Bishop, they listened to what was stirring in Big Sky, sensing into the seasonal rhythms, joys and tensions that mark life in our mountain town. What emerged was the theme: Spaces in Between—a phrase that holds so much of what it means to be human in uncertain times.
On June 21, in partnership with the Arts Council of Big Sky, we hosted a Story and Art Workshop led by arts educator Julie Edwards and Bishop. Through prompts, conversation, and art, participants began shaping stories they wanted to tell. Edwards reflected, “By sharing your story visually, you are offering a healing, expressive vision to someone who may be looking for connection, belonging… or simply a moment to reflect on their own story in between.”
These visual stories will be displayed at the live event—a glimpse into the event’s spirit in a new form.
Then came the pitch: not a polished proposal, just a two-minute voicemail. A voice cracking, trembling or strong. It was the moment of opting in, and as Bishop said, “If you’re on the fence about pitching, just do it. On the fence means there’s part of you that wants to share. Pitching is an invitation to let your story breathe.”
We received 12 incredible pitches, each raw, real, and resonant.
Now, our selected storytellers will be working one-on-one with Bishop, rehearsing together, and building a circle of support. When they stand on stage, they’ll be held—by each other, by the Navigators, and by you.
Last year’s sold-out event sparked something powerful, and stood as a clear example of Be Well’s ripple effect: designing events not just to inform, but to transform as stigma falls away while stories are shared. In the days following the event, two attendees reached out directly to storytellers, seeking help. Those storytellers responded,offering support, navigating resources, and reminding us what’s possible when the community shows up in this way.
This year, Spaces in Between goes deeper, rooted in Big Sky’s unique rhythms and real-life messiness. These aren’t polished speeches. These are real people, telling the truth from the middle of it all.
We’re deeply grateful to Lone Mountain Ranch for generously hosting this evening and providing a delicious dinner—a chance to connect over good food with old friends and new. Special thanks to Bozeman Health and Patrick Sullivan for their sponsorship and belief in this work. If you want to support, sponsor, or lend a hand, please reach out to us at hello@bewellbigsky.org. Can’t attend, but want to contribute? Visit bewellbigsky.org/support. Tickets are available now. Seats are limited, and that’s intentional. This is an evening designed for presence, warmth, and being reminded that someone else has been where you are.
In the spaces between heartbreak and healing, the trailhead and beer at the end of the ride, fear and courage—there’s a story.
And in that story, you might just find yourself. And your people.
We hope you’ll join us.
Shannon Steele has called Big Sky home for seven years. She runs a collaborative business focused on community organizing and creative problem-solving, and serves as the contracted director (and co-creator) of Be Well Big Sky, a grassroots effort to embed care within the community. Shannon finds grounding and play in the outdoors—usually with her griffon, Greta—and draws endless inspiration from nature’s lessons on resilience and joy. She’s also part of Big Sky’s search and rescue community.
Last year’s inaugural live storytelling event at Lone Mountain Ranch. PHOTO BY ANDREW BELLI
