A very special holiday MTN Outdoors
[Music] foreign welcome to MTN Outdoors [Music] what are you doing here [Music] [Music] problems yeah that does seem like a great episode I can't wait to see it but you know the rules get off my property and stay at least 200 yards away from me and my family if I see you again I'm calling the cops Merry Christmas creep Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks says as grizzly bears expand their presence across Montana it's important to have an updated plan to guide management while the species remains listed as threatened and lay out a future policy in case Grizzlies are eventually federally delisted the draft plan calls Grizzlies a species that will always require intensive management and one prone to conflict until now the state has had two separate plans one for Western Montana and one for southwest Montana but leaders say Grizzlies now occupy many areas outside the original recovery zones so it's time for a Statewide policy the plan doesn't set a Statewide population goal fwp argues Grizzlies have reached their recovery Targets in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem and the northern Continental Divide and they support plans for reaching the goal in the cabinet Yak area the plan says they'll support connectivity between those populations but they'll be ready to recommend controls on bears in areas that don't contribute to that when conflicts occur particularly east of the identified habitats fwp also said if Grizzlies are delisted they'll be prepared to consider a quote small in scope hunting season though they acknowledge not all montanans would be supportive of the plan they said any hunting would be in line with their commitment to maintain a thriving population of Grizzlies fwp is set to answer questions about the plan at an online webinar on December 15th they'll be accepting public comments online through January 5th in Helena Jonathan ambarian MTN news and as it turns out wildlife management doesn't end quite when you hit the concrete I don't know if you've noticed this but Urban deer have made themselves quite comfortable in towns all across the state and now Helena is doing something about it Tom Buchanan has our story if you've taken a walk through the neighborhoods of Helena recently you may have been joined by some unintended walking partners with one of the biggest deer populations seen in Helena since the program's Inception held in a police department has begun the month-long process of deer culling in October a survey was done of the area's Urban deer population the density per square mile coming back at 64 deer per square mile this year and it nor in the socially tolerable distance on the upper side is 25 deer per square mile it's also up from last year's estimate of around 40 Deer per square mile to bring the population down traps will be set to capture deer and they will be killed based on this year's population estimate Helena police department and Fish Wildlife and Parks will remove 250 deer it's among the highest number ever for the program chief of police Brett Petty says this program is important for keeping the population within acceptable limits and limiting conflict between people and the deer I think it shows that there are a lot of deer coming in and out of the city limits and I it just it makes it tough for not only residents but vehicular traffic in not only on the people but as a deer as well you know to freely move around while the deer will be killed they won't go to waste any deer killed will be processed for meat and donated to Helena food share to provide food for the community the program will run from December 5th to March 31st reporting in Helena Tom Buchanan MTN news [Music] elsewhere in the capital city the tradition of decorating trees along some of our more popular hiking trails has really taken off in the past few years but what started out as a fun thing to do with the family during the winter has quickly turned into a headache there is a solution though and for those answers we'll send things back to Tom Buchanan in years past the decoration of trees along the trails on Mount Ascension in Mount Helena have created a bit of a litter problem but this year the city of Helena is working to keep the Christmas spirit alive with the goal of keeping the areas free from litter the city wants to stay in the spirit of Christmas and we're excited to have people decorate we just want to put some sideboards on it and try to keep it in these two areas designated decoration trees with orange flags have popped up along some popular hiking trails on the city's open land system one area is on Mount Ascension near the Beatty Street Trailhead and the other on Mount Helena near the Mount Helena parking lot well we chose the area on Mount Ascension because it had been the most popular area and then we just picked a logical site on Mount Helena that was real accessible for everyone this is in response to randomly decorated trees throughout the mountains around town and the subsequent littering that can occur officials found that many of the decorated trees weren't being cleaned up after the holidays for example last year more than 30 trees were decorated the city says they had to clean up many of them the reason we've asked people to stick to these areas is if we come in up here after the 8th of January and the decorations are not removed at least we don't have to Canvas the entire Mountain looking for decorations that's why they're trying this new approach it's a way to keep the decorated trees Consolidated for easy cleanup while still celebrating the holidays the city is asking that no glass ornaments or tinsel be hung up they highly encourage biodegradable decorations like dried cranberries the city is asking that all decorations be cleaned up by January 8th reporting in Helena Tom Buchanan MTN news [Music] stick around everybody because when we come back we'll head out here to the hard water and see how ice Anglers are getting a little refresher course on how to catch some fish stay safe and have a little bit of fun this winter there's plenty more MTN Outdoors to come right after this welcome back everybody as temperatures continue to absolutely plummet all across the state a lot of people out there are starting to think about ice fishing and as bodies of water like Lake Helena here start to really freeze over now is the perfect time to brush up on some of those ice fishing Basics including ice fishing safety and it's also a good time to remember that our First Responders are doing the same thing mtn's Kiana Wilson starts things off for us ice fishing is a tradition that families across Montana enjoy it's fun to get out and experience the Montana winter but there are many things to learn before you head out to the lake safety is so important when it comes to ice fishing or anything outdoors you owe it to yourself and your family to take the time and think about it and prepare and prep safety and gear seminars like the one held at Snappy Sports Center in Kalispell are a free way to learn all you need to know about fishing well I think it's important because it helps educate the community also you know Montana has awesome resources and starting with its water tributaries it's there for our use it's montanans and that's what it's there for and we should utilize it as much as we can the biggest safety concern with ice fishing is the thickness of the ice fishermen can utilize online resources as well as local fishing shops to check ice conditions before heading out if you're going with the family most importantly make sure they're going to be comfortable and warm fishing can be as competitive as you want it to be but most importantly make it fun for everybody in the family and enjoy it whether you're out there making snowmen or having snowball fights or whatever just have fun out there and enjoy it fishing is a great family past time and a way to get kids excited about the outdoors even during the winter favorite you can catch fish and you can keep them Mom you can eat them and you can let it go and one side you can catch a big fish and you can and you can let him go it's it's fun to catch some big fish while fishing can be a serious sport sometimes it's just about the bite I do not discriminate against any fish that wants to bite my line in Kalispell Kiana Wilson MTN news Spring Middle lake on Tuesday Helena firefighters practice the critical skills necessary to quickly and safely navigate the ice in an event of a winter rescue with all the proper safety equipment hell no firefighters took turns jumping into the frozen lake and pulling each other out to safety we train things in a consistent way and Coach our our members to do things a certain way so that when it comes time to do it they remember it the pressure doesn't take away their ability to do the work ice rescues are not common making this type of yearly training critical is to keep their skills sharp it's it's an infrequent thing that happens but super dangerous there's a lot of time when you hit the cold water to get you out of there so we need to be ready there are some things you can do to increase your chances of survival if you do fall through the ice you need to hang on to the edge of the ice the best you can and you know so that we can so you stay above the water we want you to stay above battalion chief Corey O'Brien says that checking the weather and ice is a must if you're doing anything over a large body of water Spring Meadow Lake for for example has Springs underneath it and it'll make thin spots in different parts of the lake so you just need to be aware that ice conditions are changing depending on the weather it doesn't necessarily mean that because it's cold like it is now that the ice is thick and that goes for all the other waterways around Helena the Helena fire department does this training every winter to make sure they refresh their memory on their ice rescue routine in Helena reinberg MTN news and if your winter activities don't involve the ice then maybe the mountains are more your style and mtn's Sean Wells has you covered first with a preview of Blacktail Mountain ski season which actually kicked off last weekend before he skates on over to Whitefish to see just how important that ski resort is to the town's economy [Music] it's Christmas Eve for skiers and snowboarders at Blacktail Mountain ski area as the mountain officially opens up on Saturday one of the earliest opening days on record conditions are excellent It's been a long time since we've opened with this much snow we're really excited about it it's been 10 years I looked it up but 10 years ago we opened on December 10th and here we go again on our 25th season we're going to get an early opening so we're excited Blacktail Mountain ski area general manager Jesse Woods says only the Olympic and Thunderhead chair lifts as well as the handle toe will be running this weekend she expects full operation by next week the following Friday the 16th will open up the whole Mountain we'll go 100 Jesse says one new item this year will be a reloadable lift ticket with the hope of getting skiers on the hill as quick as possible once you have that card you can skip the lines entirely load your card online and go skiing so we've done a lot of things to try to improve the experience here and continue to be the place with no lines with no man-made snow black tail relies on mother nature to get the job done The Upside Down Mountain gives us the ability to open you know because we're at the top and going down the best nose at the top and we have a Midway station at Thunderhead so we can open just the top half of our ski area and still be skiing on good snow Jesse says 25 years in business wouldn't be possible without the passionate skiers and borders that call Blacktail home we are a community ski area and we feel the love of this community um in a big way at Blacktail Mountain ski area Sean Wells MTA news [Music] opening day on the mountain means another busy season starts in downtown Whitefish as hotels bars and restaurants see an uptick in visitors we are seen by many as a summertime resource certainly that's when we just run Full Tilt the last couple months have been what we call our off season you know our slow season but things kick back into gear again this week Whitefish Chamber of Commerce executive director Kevin gartland says it's always a welcoming sight to see Whitefish Mountain Resort up and running for the ski season attracting visitors from around the world our hotels restaurants and and retailers depend on and other skiers who are coming to Whitefish to ski for two three four seven days and and that's what we're really looking forward to this year's Edna white director of sales and marketing for Averill hospitalities working for both Whitefish Lake Lodge and the Firebrand Hotel says skiers and snowboarders make up the majority of guests during the winter months well the significance of first day of ski season is really the kickoff of winter and when we start to see a lot more visitors in the area we have a lot of skiers here at the lodge and we have a lot of visitors that come specifically for that purpose as well gartland says a strong snow season goes a long way in boosting the local economy attracting visitors to enjoy downtown and stay overnight in the shoulder season they're running 20 30 occupancy in the summertime they run 100 occupancy if we did not have the resort there to attract folks to our area didn't have that attraction they'd be running in the in in the low digits let me assure you so it's a it's critical that we have a good snow season in terms of snow on the mountain but also in terms of skiers as well in Whitefish Sean Wells MTA news before we thought it was oh 20 kilometers long we discovered just this year that it's two and a half times bigger 2.5 times it's 90 kilometers long we all know that Yellowstone sits on top of a super volcano so when we come back we'll take a look at the possibility of a future eruption and see what is potentially even more dangerous there's plenty more MTN Outdoors to come right after this welcome back to MTN Outdoors everybody As We Gather with friends and loved ones this holiday season it's important for all of us to remember that Yellowstone sits on top of a super volcano Penny Preston explores the potential dangers of a future eruption [Music] National Park in 1872 because Congress was impressed with its amazing and Scenic thermal features indeed Yellowstone has the largest concentration of thermals in the world and people come from all over the world to see them still the geysers funerals and hot springs are part of one of the world's largest active super volcanoes Dr Robert Smith is considered a leading expert on Yellowstone's super volcano he started studying Yellowstone's geology in the 50s is the only person to photograph from the air the world's tallest geyser Steamboat as it erupted it was July 6 1984. Smith says his plane was running out of fuel and he was about to return to West Yellowstone when he took the picture of the eruption and that's a very spectacular picture because it shows the hot water height to about 500 feet and then the steam height to about another 500 feet and there was a Mist Cloud another 500 feet above that when Smith studies revealed the magma pool beneath the super volcano was much larger than previously thought before we thought it was oh 20 kilometers long we discovered just this year that it's two and a half times bigger 2.5 times it's 90 kilometers long people were concerned it meant the super volcano might erupt again sooner than previously thought in several interviews Dr Smith said it again and again the probability of a large giant eruption superb is .000 one four percent per year so dying from the big one is not likely anytime soon but Smith pointed out Yellowstone area geological features can kill how it's earthquakes Dr Smith says a magnitude 7 earthquake hits the area every 700 to A Thousand Years 1959 the habibian lake earthquake ruptured only a fault was 40 kilometers long it killed 28 people but these things dominate the hazard they are 95 of the total risk of Yellowstone we're MTN news I'm Penny Preston reporting with Yellowstone revealed well for many of us not in the AG production industry right now might seem like the perfect downtime for our Farmers but that couldn't be further from the truth because when there's snow on the ground they're making sure all their equipment is ready to go for next year mtn's Ryan Gamboa has our story foreign is the backbone of the state in a combine like this one is vital to having a successful Harvest but before the spring rolls around it's important to ensure that your equipment is running properly on the sprayer like this they range but it's close to like 600 000 is the investment on one of these machines ahead of the spring season Tad Beckman of Frontline AG Solutions says getting equipment into the shop early is best as dealers fight to find parts what covet has done to us with the world is created we have machine constraints Parts constraints so planning ahead being proactive rather in reactive bring them in now so if we have problems with parts it's out there every manufacturer is having problems with parts belts and chains are common fixes on combines and sprayers along with maintaining a layer of grease on moving Parts Craig Raymond is a service technician he inspects from front to rear test a lot of the functions we mostly we look at all the belts chains we checked a lot of the gear train um just to make sure everything's working so that when they bring it out in the field they're going to be ready to go being stuck in the shop the shop is a concern as inflations hit the service department a full inspection of eight different filters and fresh oil in 2021 ranged from eight to nine hundred dollars this year that price is shy of eleven hundred dollars manufacturers of all colors offer promotions in the off season this time of year especially there's programs there's financing programs there's Parts discount programs there's buy one get ones deals on winter specials for rebuilding these machines it's time to take opera or advantage of those opportunities with the bottom line goal we're producing food we have to feed America we have to feed the world that's what this is about in Great Falls Ryan Gamboa MTN news well that should just about do it for me here this week everybody thank you for making me a part of your evening I really appreciate it and please send those photos my way of you enjoying the winter here in Montana going skiing with the family send me a picture ice fishing send me a picture building a snowman send me a picture decorating one of these trees send me a picture send it all to andy.curtis at ktvh.com and you could find yourself at the end of a future episode just like these lucky people it's this week's MTN Outdoors brag board we'll start things off tonight with this very cool picture taken by Eli and sent into us by PJ doing a little ice skating out there at Canyon Ferry Lake earlier this month I've done it I've seen it that's a great experience and an even better photo thanks for sending this in and please make sure you stay safe out there and always check the ice conditions before heading out we've got a lot of great resources on how you can do that on our website ktvh.com and last
week I asked for any hunting photos that might be better than the picture of my whitetail buck that I showed and I think we just might have a contender here this monster was sent into me by Darla of her daughter's book very very impressive please let me know how you cooked up those back straps and we'll round things out here tonight with a picture of my buddy Colter with his very first fish congratulations buddy you can see me in the background of the picture here giving the thumbs up and I'll never forget how scared Coulter was to touch this fish once we got it in the boat but as you can see he quickly got over that fear for this nice grip and grin thanks everybody for sending in those pictures and please keep them coming to andy.curtis ktvh.com remember as long as it happens outside no roof you could be in four walls but if there's no roof over your head you qualify for the MTN Outdoors brag board send them my way to andy.curtis ktvh.com and remember that open challenge stands if you think you have better hunting and fishing photos than me prove it send them my way and you can see them at the end of a future episode until next week everybody stay safe stay warm and I'll see you out there foreign Montana's News Leader [Music]
2022-12-27 07:04
