Phil Dawson is on a record setting 2,000-mile long pack ride to raise money for the families of children in need of organ transplants. CEO of America Fundraisers, Inc., a non-profit organization headquartered in Hagerman, Idaho, Dawson is hoping to raise $10 million for his charitable organization by using his lifelong experience as a horse and mule man to raise people’s awareness and draw donations to the cause.

Recovering from his own bout with cancer Dawson became acutely aware of how medical problems can come to overwhelm a person. He decided, as part of his own recovery efforts, to do something to help others. He decided that children in need of organ transplants was a worthy cause.

“Having a child that needs something like an organ transplant can bankrupt a family,” said Dawson.

Dawson said that once he decided to use his years of experience with horses to try and raise funds, he realized that he needed to undertake some sort of record-breaking trek to get people’s attention. He said that he did some research and the longest documented pack trip on record that he could find was 700 miles.

“I did hear about one fellow who may have done 1,000 miles,” said Dawson, “so I decided to double that.”

So, riding a 16-year-old horse named Apache Gold Chip and leading a pack mule named Copper Penny, Dawson headed out from Hagerman, Idaho last May on a journey that would take him through Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and part of Montana.

He carries a GPS locater/transmitter so people can follow his progress on the internet.

Along the way he has slept under the stars, in the mountains, under hay bales and in people’s front yards. He’s also had a little excitement along the way. He was tracked by a mountain lion in Nevada, and had to shoot a rattlesnake or two along the way as well. One of those rattlers is “on his way to becoming a hat band now,” according to Dawson. He also ran out of water for a few days.

Dawson said it was the people that he has met that have impressed him the most. He said they have been very generous, not only in donations to the cause (which can be made on-line at www.Americafundraisers.org. or sent to a law firm in Boise, Idaho, whose address is on the web site), but also in helping him out with cash donations on the road.

“If you give me money I will spend it on beans and bagels on the ride,” says Dawson.

Dawson does his own horse shoeing along the way. He’s also let his beard grow.

“It gives people a vision of how long I’ve been out,” said Dawson.

Last year Dawson and his wife, Patty, rode two stallions from Hagerman, Idaho to Richmond, Virginia to raise funds. Plans are already in the works for next year. Dawson plans to take a pack trip from Valdez, Alaska to the little town of North Pole.

Dawson said that he wanted to say a special “thank you” to Stevensville Feed and Farm and Quality Supply for their donations of horse feed and supplies. He also wanted to thank the Pruyn Veterinary Clinic in Missoula for a health care donation for his horse that injured its leg on a cattle guard.

There are at least two sides to every logjam

By Michael Howell

The Bitterroot Conservation District passed the buck last week when it approved issuing a disputed 310 Permit to remove a logjam from Bear Creek but placed a proviso on it that a court must first rule that the logjam is a nuisance.

The District was caught between two area landowners, one of whom, Sam Sweg, wants to take the logjam out and the other, Roland Turney, who thinks the logjam should remain in place.

Sweg, who applied for the 310 Permit, claims that the logjam is not a natural phenomenon and is eroding his property. He claims that the sawn logs, old tires and household debris that make up a majority of the logjam actually came from Turney’s property. He claims that Turney is trying to turn his land and his neighbor’s land into a wetland to prohibit further building along the creek across from Turney’s property. He argues that it is an extreme safety hazard and claims that he pulled a youth out of the water who almost drowned after being caught in the logjam as he floated down the creek on an inner tube.

Turney claims that the logjam is a natural phenomenon and part of a natural stream process that is beneficial to the fishery in Bear Creek. He thinks it should remain in place.

Although the logjam is not on his property, Sweg is arguing that it is affecting his property and that of his neighbors, the Zanes, on whose property it really sits, and that he has their permission to remove it.

Turney has argued that he is owner of the land under half the logjam and brought a recent survey to the last meeting that he says supports his claim. Although it is not clear from the lines on the survey map, surveyor Terry Nelson, of Applebury Survey, stated in a letter submitted along with the survey that, “I believe based on this that the property line between yourself (Turney) and the Zanes is the center line of the current South channel of Bear Creek.”

The Conservation District Board distanced itself from the property dispute, claiming that its determination of whether to issue a 310 Permit was not based upon property ownership. The board issues permits for work in natural perennially flowing streams to applicants regardless of property ownership. It is assumed that the applicant will have the underlying property owner’s approval before doing the project, but that is the applicant’s responsibility.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries biologist Chris Clancy, who advises the Conservation District Supervisors, noted that logjams are a common occurrence in streams across the valley and are a part of the natural process of a stream. They are generally beneficial for the fishery. He said it would not be a good policy to simply have them all removed. It would disrupt the stream’s natural system.

Supervisor Howard Eldredge said that he had observed some large fish in the pool created by the logjam. He also noted that it was causing some erosion on the Sweg and Zane property, but that with low water flows it did not present an immediate safety hazard, but may become one again when flows pick up.

The Board voted unanimously to approve the 310 Permit with the condition that a judge has first declared the logjam to be a “nuisance.”

Sweg, a disabled veteran, claims to be unable to afford an attorney so he has been trying to get the county attorney to pursue the matter.

He wrote to County Attorney George Corn asking his help in getting a judge to declare the logjam a private nuisance.

“This logjam and the main channel dam is man made by a neighbor to steal and destroy our land. This logjam has almost cost the life of a young man. It has caused injuries to others. If I do not hear from you then I will go to the State and Federal authorities. I hope your lack of calling me was just a clerical mix up,” wrote Sweg.

Turney has sent a letter to the District Court asking to be notified if a judge is going to consider the matter so that he can argue against it.

Latest blowdown re-fuels debate about River Park management

By Michael Howell

A storm with high winds that blew down several trees across the valley last Sunday evening also blew down two tall cottonwoods in the northern three acres of River Park in Hamilton. This has at least one Parks Department employee saying, “I told you so.”

The trees in two cottonwood groves in the northern three acres of River Park have been the focus of debate recently as the Hamilton City Council moved to adopt a new park policy that would preserve the trees while natural replacement trees are allowed to grow.

The Parks and Recreation Committee, chaired by Jenny West, recommended the new policy following the removal of several of the trees by the Parks Department without committee or council involvement. The new policy calls for preservation of the cottonwood groves and requires council approval, following consultation with an arborist or urban forester, to cut down any of the trees.

Every employee in the Parks Department, including Director Terry Cole, opposed the new policy. They argued, based upon the written opinion of two state foresters, that a majority of the cottonwoods should be removed as safety hazards. They argued that the City Council was trying to micro-manage the Parks Department with the new policy.

The new policy, which calls for the preservation of the cottonwood groves, and describes a no-mow zone around the base of each tree to allow for re-growth, was initially defeated by the council. But a revised version was passed on a 3 to 2 vote at the last council meeting when councilor Al Mitchell switched sides. Mitchell’s original objections were not based upon the preservation of the cottonwood groves, but upon language referring to a Parks Master Plan that has not yet been adopted.

Parks Department employee Guy West, who was an outspoken opponent of the new policy, was there on Monday morning to help dispose of the fallen trees. He reached into a five-foot-tall stump left from one of the blowdowns and pulled out a piece of wood and began crumbling it in his fingers.

“This is rotten wood,” said West. He said all the signs were there and observable in other trees in the stand. He pointed out the sap dripping from several other trees in the stand and the pile of rot at the base of the trees. He said that the trees were dying and presented a safety hazard and should be taken out.

Councilor Mike LaSalle, who called the Bitterroot Star to report the blowdown, said, “God has come down on the side of the minority in this vote.”

Councilor Nancy Hendrickson, who serves on the Parks and Recreation Committee, said that the new policy was a compromise designed to balance the competing aims of preserving the stands and fostering re-growth against concerns for safety.

“Obviously nature took some trees down,” said Hendrickson. She said that trees through age and disease and pests will always be falling over at some point, especially in strong winds.

She said that the current policy was arrived at by a full committee with a lot of input and it was a compromise. She said that if somebody wants to believe that God made the trees fall down, then they should also note that He had them fall into an open meadow with no one around to be injured. She said that as new trees were allowed to grow in, old unhealthy trees might be taken out.

“But we can’t just cut down all the trees because some day they will fall down,” she said.

She said that the new plan allows for trees to be removed following a professional determination that they are a hazard.

Terry Cole, Director of the Parks Department, said at the last council meeting that two state foresters had already made that determination and the trees should be removed.

DNRC forester Kurtis Gelderman did say in a letter dated August 7, 2008, “I recommend that 2-3 of the most hazardous trees be removed each year to slowly transition to a healthier stand as the understory trees mature.”

According to Councilor Al Mitchell, at the last council meeting when the new policy was approved, it was the removal of 6 to 8 trees at once by the Parks Department that spurred the council to consider the new policy requiring council approval following consultation with an arborist.

Portage routes examined

By Michael Howell

The Ravalli County Commissioners held site visits at each of the three Portage Routes being considered for fishing access on Mitchell Slough. Under Montana’s Stream Access Law, recreationists have the right to go onto private property to portage around any manmade obstacles that obstruct access to state waters. The law allows for establishment of an “official” portage route at the request of either a landowner or a recreationist. The Bitterroot River Protection Association, following successful litigation that assures public access to the river channel, requested that official Portage Routes be established at three places along the slough to facilitate access at Tucker Headgate and at Victor and Bell Crossing Roads.

The landowners, including three ditch companies that own land at the Tucker Headgate, the Double Fork Ranch at Victor Crossing, and the Cooks and rock star Huey Lewis who own land at Bell Crossing, were all present at the viewing. They all seemed agreeable, though somewhat reluctantly, to the establishment of the Portage Routes.

Some construction and signage is proposed at each of the sites and the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks will foot the bill for it.

Several landowners did voice complaints about duck hunters shooting guns near their homes. They complained that in many areas the slough was narrow and hunters would likely not be able to retrieve their kills without trespassing on private land and could not shoot without endangering homeowners. Some expressed a desire to limit fishing to the use of barbless single hooks.

FWP Regional Director Mack Long said that he would meet with the landowners and discuss their concerns about hunting. He said that a management plan might be devised to control hunting along the slough, but any plan would have to go through a public process and finally gain approval of the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission. He was willing to work with the landowners on a proposal. The agency has already received a specific request from the Lewises, who own land along the slough, to consider such a plan. He said that restrictions on the type of fishing equipment used would have to be backed up with some sort of scientific evidence concerning the matter.

The commissioners have 45 days from the time of the site inspection to produce a written findings and recommendation for establishment of the Portage Routes.

The Montana Supreme Court ruled in November of 2008 that Mitchell Slough was a natural stream protected under the state’s Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act and also open to public access under the state’s Stream Access Law. That judgment was not entered into the District Court record until July of this year due to delays for various reasons. The court has yet to rule on BRPA’s request for reimbursement of $347,000 in costs and legal fees.

Stevi to settle over water rights objection

By Michael Howell

The Town of Stevensville is trying to change its water rights to include the use of a new well field to be developed on property adjoining the Twin Creeks subdivision. At its August 24th meeting the Town Council agreed to a stipulated settlement with the lone objector to the water right change.

A neighboring landowner, Allen Barr, objected to the change on the grounds that the new wells may adversely affect his own water well.

The Town Council agreed to a stipulation that, if the water level in Barr’s well was affected by the development of the new well field, the Town would do whatever is required, most likely drilling a deeper well.

The Council also authorized Police Chief James Marble to acquire temporary storage space, either in a rental storage unit or in a stand-alone metal storage structure, to store evidence in outstanding cases.

Evidence was removed from the current storage building due to a leak in the roof. Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman agreed to allow the temporary storage of Stevensville Police evidence at the county facility for 30 days.

The City Council agreed to allow the Police Chief to rent or acquire some other place of storage until some decision could be made about the fate of the current leaking storage building.

Chief Marble assured council members that no money, drugs or guns would be stored at the temporary site.

Town records currently stored in the leaky building are also at risk. A roof repair could cost from $9,000 to $11,000. Councilors are reconsidering what the best future use of the building or the building site would be, before approving any repairs.

In other business the council:

- agreed to Clerk Roni Kimp’s plan to consolidate the Town’s certificate of deposit accounts

- approved a grant request from the Army Corps of Engineers for working on the town’s water system

- agreed to bill a handful of business owners who pay $250 annually for water for fire suppression sprinkler systems. It was agreed to leave payment of last year’s fees, which were not billed, as optional.

- approved permitting the “Who Let the Dogs Out” Dog Show, which is sponsored by the Main Street Association

- agreed to send a police officer to a criminal interview/interrogation workshop in Missoula.

Page One •	Valley News •	Op/Ed •	Sports •	Calendar •	Classifieds •	Legals •	Links •	About Us •	Back Issues •	Email Us •	Home
©2009 Bitterroot Star This site was Done By Dooney