New west on the market

With out passing judgement on the “new west,” it is always curious to see what kind of prices some luxury slices of paradise fetch in our corner of the state.

A couple big — and highly visible — properties are on the market around Bozeman. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Ameya Preserve, a huge piece of land that was planned to be subdivided into a sustainable housing development, is now on sale for some $30 million (see middle of the piece).

Also, Elk Meadows, a sprawling property that everyone sees on their way to Bridger (see if this looks familiar), is for sale for $7.9 million. Fay Ranches (fayranches.com) has the listing.

bison haze photos

here are some photos from this week’s haze, taken by the Buffalo Field Campaign. More than 500 bison were hazed into Yellowstone National Park this week.

Bill Pullman v. Northwestern Energy

I’m a little late on this, but it looks like actor Bill Pullman is entering the fracas over Northwestern Energy’s proposal to build a major power line though southwest Montana.

Pullman owns a ranch in Boulder Valley with his brother near Cardwell. On the video posted here, he lays out his opposition (overhead power lines can be carcinogenic, he says).

This could be trouble for NWE, and here’s why: Pullman holds credit for the single most inspirational movie speech in the history of cinema. As President Whitmore in “Independence Day,” he rouses mankind from its darkest hour (it is getting squashed by invading aliens), and rallies the world into a daring nuclear assault on the extraterrestrials. You can see the speech here.

Now, just imagine what Pullman might be able to do at a town meeting in Whitehall.

Happy Friday.

Kirscher, bankruptcy judge overseeing YC and Moonlight proceedings, gets promotion

Ralph Kirscher has been promoted to the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, which handles appeals  arising out of bankruptcy court decisions.

Kirscher has been an important figure in the area as of late as the judge overseeing bankruptcies at both the Yellowstone Club and Moonlight Basin. Kirshcer, 58, is the only full-time judge in Montana, and holds court in Butte. He is a Livingston native.

The appointment is effective May 1. The appeals panel is based in Pasadena, Calif.

Ron Paul endorses Rehberg

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, endorsed Rep. Denny Rehberg’s re-election, the Rehberg camp announced today. If the posters at last week’s tea party in Bozeman were any indication, Ron Paul has a lot of cred amongst conservatives, and this endorsement could help Rehberg counter some of his Republican opponents who charge he’s too liberal.

Here’s the press release:

Billings – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today received a major campaign endorsement from fellow Liberty Caucus member, Texas Congressman Ron Paul. Paul, a 2008 presidential candidate, has served with Denny in Congress since 2000 and is proud to call Rehberg a close personal friend.
 
“We must elect leaders who will help right our ship, protect our freedoms and restore prosperity; Denny Rehberg is just such a leader,” stated Congressman Paul in his endorsement letter. “As Montana’s Congressman, Denny has fought tirelessly against tax hikes, increasing bureaucracy and excessive government spending. As a founding member of the Liberty Caucus, he has been a vocal advocate in defending our gun, private property and Tenth Amendment rights.”
 
Congressman Rehberg welcomed the endorsement as good news. “I certainly welcome Dr. Paul’s endorsement. I will continue to work hard for lower taxes, limited government and for Montana families who are struggling in this tough economy. Dr. Paul is a respected, conservative leader and his personal recommendation means a lot to me.”
 
Dr. Paul’s endorsement extends to Rehberg’s upcoming primary election as well as November’s general election.

Two nights of the Fab Four

For a few years now, the Filling Station has played host to dozens of performers and bands playing Beatles songs. This years tribute is scheduled for this weekend, April 24 and 25. A big fan of the Beatles myself, I went last year and wrote a feature on it. It was a blast. What struck me about the event last year is how modern the music sounded. As I noted in my piece, many of the people in attendence were born more than a decade after the Beatles broke up. It’s quite possible that some of the 21 year olds in the audience will be dancing to songs that were hits before their mother was born.

“They were musical geniuses,’ Mountain Grip member Brett Vredevoogd told me after the band’s set, which included a trippy version of Norwegian Wood. “They were crazy musical geniuses.”

The shows start at 6 p.m. both nights.

Dueling columns re: Turner bison deal

High Country News yesterday posted dueling Writers on the Range columns concerning the decision to place 88 brucellosis-free Yellowstone bison on Turner’s ranch.

In support of the plan is Jeff Welsch, with the Greater Yellowstone coalition. After many years of seeing bison loaded up and shipped to slaughter, he writes,

for the first time…these first of 88 Yellowstone bison will be destined for a long-overdue date with freedom.

After two years in quarantine pens north of the park, they are to be turned loose to roam across 12,000 acres of remote sagebrush and forest southwest of Bozeman, Mont.

That’s historic, he says. It “isn’t ideal,” he writes, but under the current bison management scheme, seeing bison roaming free is a great relief.

Strangly, though, Welsch’s column suggests that some people are against the plan “because media mogul Ted Turner owns these 12,000 acres.”  Welsch notes, rightly, that bison don’t care who owns the grass they’re munching on.

But who owns the land the bison are grazing on isn’t the rub in this debate. It’s who will own the offspring of the bison, as Greg Peters says in his opposing column.

To help cover the costs of housing the bison, Turner Enterprises will get to keep 75 percent of the bison’s offspring. The fate of those bison is unclear at this point, though Turner Enterprises general manager Russ Miller suggested to me that they could be added to a herd in New Mexico that isn’t used for commercial purposes. (In other words, they aren’t destined to become bison meatloaf at Ted’s Montana Grill.

But Peters and many others are upset by the idea that public wildlife is becoming private:

The whole plan stinks. Federal officials, tribes and many conservationists have all criticized the Turner solution. Opponents point out, for example, that the language permitting the program stipulated that the quarantined buffalo would “remain wild and noncommercial.”

The Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, which is the agency that struck the deal with Turner Enterprises, has noted that state policy already allows other species to become private, namely peregrine falcons (hunters take them from the wild then train them to hunt game. The link lays out the rules and regs).

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It is noteworthy that Turner’s position as an avid conservationist and major donor to conservation groups is playing into the debate (again). Here’s a comment left under Welsch’s column:

Is it any wonder that the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC) speaks so glowingly of this terrible precedent to privatize wildlife belonging to the public when Ted Turner is a member of the GYC board of directors?

Turner is not a member of the board any longer, but still donates to the group.

Dems get snowed

As the The New York Times reports, skeptics of global warming are using D.C.’s snow storms as evidence climate change is hogwash. The snowstorm has ironically forced Congress to cancel a hearing on carbon legislation.

The article quotes several climate scientists refuting the claims — severe weather is a symptom of more carbon in the air, they say — but the story reminded me of an ironic snowstorm that hit Bozeman a few years ago. It was May 30, and state policymakers had gathered t in MSU’s SUB listening to panels speak to whether man is causing climate change and the effect it is having on the Montana economy. While the speakers made their case, huge flakes of snow began falling outside, perfectly visible through the picture windows just left of the stage. The storm didn’t let up all afternoon. It would turn out to be a snowy spring.

There were skeptics in the room, and the response was similar to what the Times’ John M. Broder is observing in D.C.

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Of course, sometimes freak weather favors liberals. In 2007, many proponents of legislation to curb global warming pointed to the January blooming of cherry blossoms in D.C. as evidence global warming is real, even though that would seem to be just as scientifically ignorant as the claims now being made the right.

From Broder:

… Some independent climate experts say the blizzards in the Northeast no more prove that the planet is cooling than the lack of snow in Vancouver or the downpours in Southern California prove that it is warming.

A parody

This was sent by Jason Kay  in response to the wolf story (linked and discussed in previous post). Perhaps wolves aren’t our only problem…

Caution!!!  There are some new elephants in town!!!  Followed a small peanut delivery truck into town last Tuesday.  If you don’t want something to get trampled (kids, dogs, coolers, guinea pigs) please move it inside.  Once these guys show up in town, they will be all over and impossible to get rid of.  I think this is probably evidence enough that the Rocky Mountain Elephant can be taken off of the endangered species list.  19th was backed up for a mile during the morning commute this morning as a huge herd crossed the road.  Vermin!

The ‘wolf’ photos

Here are the photos that created a fright around town:

The second photo

The first photo

Here are some of the messages sent along with the photos:

You can’t say we live in the sticks!! Here’s an amazing pic of wolves coming into town on Wed. chasing a small herd of elk.  They’re practically in the backyard of our church!! Ken 

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You probably wouldn’t believe me, but I have the pictures to prove it. 

 Yes, there was a wolf in the town of Bozeman, MT last week.  A guy from my work spotted it outside our office window.  If you’re familiar with Bozeman, it was near South 19th and Kagy Blvd.

 We knew they would come down out of the mountains eventually, but I didn’t think it would be this soon.  Everybody better keep their pets, kids and anything they don’t want eaten inside the house!

 Later,

Greg