Jason Frey's Montana Real Estate

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Deputies Struggling to Keep Madison River Floaters from Drinking/Driving

Highway fatalities
A white cross marks the site of a fatal crash along Hwy. 84

While Margaret "Megan" Petersen was driving from the Madison River after floating, her car drifted to the right.

She then overcorrected to the left, hitting a pickup truck head-on.

Petersen, 20, of Belgrade died Saturday at the scene of the wreck along Highway 84.

Investigators said alcohol was involved in the crash, adding that the highway gets dangerous when increased traffic combines with alcohol use, particularly with floaters.

While Madison County Sheriff Dave Schenk said there's nothing illegal about floating the river and drinking, problems begin to arise when floaters get behind the wheel and drive off.

"We always want (floaters) to have fun, but they need to be responsible when they get in the car to drive," Schenk said.

Alcohol was not necessarily the cause of the accident, authorities said, and it has not been confirmed whether Petersen had been drinking at the time.

No other serious injuries were reported from the crash.

Highway 84 has a high volume of traffic when floaters, campers, fly fishermen and others recreating on the Madison River.

On Saturday, vehicles were parked on both sides of the highway outside of designated parking areas. People were walking along the road against traffic, carrying tubes. At least one vehicle stopped traffic to pull over and pick up passengers.

Schenk said his department tries to make sure three or more officers are along the Madison River to monitor floaters, but the deputies are greatly outnumbered.

He said some days more than 150 people float the river in the summertime, and his deputies struggle to monitor them all.

"We try to watch and observe and help them stay safe," Schenk said. "Mainly we just try to be present."

Gallatin County Sheriff's Lt. Jason Jarrett said budget cuts and layoffs have caused deputies to be stretched too thin to patrol floaters.

"We used to monitor that area heavily," Jarrett said. "Now we're six to eight positions down, and we're struggling to answer emergency calls."

Jarrett said floaters have many opportunities to abuse alcohol on the river, but he advised against it.

"Alcohol makes very few things better, with the exception of a few desserts," he said.

Floaters should have a designated driver who is 100 percent sober, said Jenna Caplette, director of the Gallatin County DUI taskforce.

Caplette said the taskforce has paid for road signs warning against drinking and driving at popular floating destinations on the Madison River. Nine more signs are expected to go up along the river this summer.

"It's no secret that drinking and driving are issues with floating the river," Caplette said.

Caplette encouraged floaters to think ahead, to eat and to stay hydrated while they're on the river. She said people shouldn't be afraid to call police if they see someone breaking the law.

"It's not something to leave to the ‘specialists,'" she said. "The way to help is with people power on the road."

Story and photo courtesy of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle

All best,
______________________

Jason Frey

Agent

PureWest, Inc.

Live in One of Montana's Most Majestic Settings

Grizzly Meadows Ranch, Tom Miner Basin, Jason Frey, Chrisitie's International
Grizzly Meadow Ranch, Tom Miner Basin - MT

Located a few short miles from the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park, the Tom Miner Basin has long been touted among the top 5 most beautiful places in Montana...and that's saying something in a state renowned for its natural beauty. Exploring this area of the state in more detail has been made possible for me through the listing of Grizzly Meadow Ranch, approximately 620 acres directly adjacent to hundreds of acres of Forest Service land with the fish-able water courses of Rock Creek and Tom Miner Creek forming partial boundaries.

Grizzly Meadows Ranch, Tom Miner Basin, Jason Frey, Chrisitie's International
Views of the Yellowstone River and Absaroka Mtn. Range from Grizzly Meadow Ranch

An executive home at the ranch hosts 6 bedrooms, including a massive master bedroom, and 8 bathrooms, inviting family room and bar for entertaining family and friends as well as a professional grade kitchen, formal dining room and game room. The decking is expansive and draws in some of the most dynamic views Montana has to display, which include Tom Miner Basin, Yankee Jim Canyon, the Yellowstone River and the Absaroka Mountain Range.

Family Room at Grizzly Meadow Ranch, Jason Frey, PureWest
Family Room overlooking the Yellowstone R. and Absaroka Mtns.

The land at Grizzly Meadow Ranch defies the deeded acreage by spilling over into hundreds of acres of Forest Service lands that the current owner has used to their fullest recreation potential. Hiking, horseback riding, snowmobiling, hunting and cross country skiing are immediately available on the deeded acreage as well as the adjacent public lands. A magnificent combination of private holdings and public access.

Grizzly Meadows Ranch, Tom Miner Basin, Jason Frey, Chrisitie's International
The Master Bedroom at Grizzly Meadow Ranch

Grizzly Meadows Ranch, Tom Miner Basin, Jason Frey, Chrisitie's International
Kitchen and Formal Dining Room

Grizzly Meadows Ranch, Tom Miner Basin, Jason Frey, Chrisitie's International
Formal Entrance and Foyer

For more information on Grizzly Meadow Ranch, contact me.

Offered at $9,500,000

All best,
______________________

Jason Frey

Agent

PureWest, Inc.

Montana FWP to Go Forward with "Full-Fledged" Wolf Hunt

Wolves surround a bison

In what one official characterized as Montana's "first full-fledged wolf hunt," the state will allow hunters to kill 220 of the animals this fall, a figure that represents 40 percent of the total known wolf population in the state.

The quota is also nearly triple that of 2009, the last year Montana declared open season on the species that has prompted lawsuits and congressional budget riders as biologists, hunters, environmentalists and ranchers wrangled over whether the wolf in Montana should be protected by the Endangered Species Act.

In the latest chapter of the ongoing saga, wolves in Montana and Idaho were removed from the list with language inserted to the 2011 budget by western lawmakers this year.

While there is a lawsuit challenging the budget language, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the quota that state biologists expect to reduce the wolf population to at least 425. Currently, at least 556 wolves live in Montana, though the actual population could be as much as 30 percent higher than that.

Regardless, officials said the large quota is not meant to be set in stone and that the coming wolf hunts will weigh heavily in the contentious wolf debate.

"The test will be what happens at the end of four or five years of scientific-based (hunts)," commission chairman and retired biologist Bob Ream said. "If four years from now we have a good, solid, sustained, well-connected population of wolves, much of the argument will be settled."

The plan drew 736 comments since it was initially proposed in the spring. Comments ranged from people arguing for an even bigger quota to those who didn't want a hunt at all. Very few people commented during Thursday's meeting, held at Big Sky Resort.

Collared wolf with elk herd in background

In the end, commissioners largely adopted the plan as proposed. Commissioners did tweak the plan in hopes of reducing the toll the hunt would take on two packs in the Gardiner area. Those wolves split their time between Montana and Yellowstone National Park. With the amendment, commissioners essentially created a buffer along the park's northern border where hunters will only be allowed to take a total of three wolves.

Most of the hunting will occur in northwest Montana, where as many as 123 wolves will be allowed to be killed. In southwest Montana, 43 wolves will be allowed to be killed. The remainder will be allowed to be killed in the Dillon and Bitterroot areas.

After the wolf was taken off the endangered species list in 2009, the state had a hunt that allowed 75 wolves to be hunted. But a successful lawsuit opposing de-listing prevented a 2010 hunt. Rider language attached to the federal budget this year has taken Montana wolves back off the list, opening the door to the hunt.

A lawsuit challenging the rider language will be heard in Missoula later this month by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, who has struck down previous efforts to de-list the wolf.

Conservationists say the federal government has given Montana and Idaho too much latitude in how they manage wolves - in Montana, the wolf population could be reduced to 150, with 15 breeding pairs -- putting the species in peril.

But FWP Commissioner Dan Vermillion of Livingston said before the vote that the court battles have had a negative effect on wolves, even if they kept them on the endangered species list longer than federal biologists wanted.

"This endless litigation has endangered tolerance and endangered acceptance of wolves on the landscape, which is unfortunate," he said. "Hopefully this time it will stick, and we can have this wolf hunt and learn something."

Story courtesy of The Bozeman Daily Chronicle

All best,
______________________

Jason Frey

Agent

PureWest, Inc.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Maya Angelou to Speak at MSU in September

Maya Angelou
(Photo Courtesy Montana State University/Dwight Carter)

Acclaimed author Maya Angelou is coming Sept. 13 to speak at Montana State University, the MSU Leadership Institute confirmed.

“We are thrilled,” institute director Carmen McSpadden said, calling the upcoming visit “a very special opportunity for our town.”

Ticketing details are still being worked out. Angelou, 83, was scheduled to speak at MSU last fall but had to cancel because of health problems. She is a poet, author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” about her struggles growing up as a poor black girl in the South and has been a finalist for the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize.

Story courtesy of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle

All best,
______________________

Jason Frey

Agent

PureWest, Inc.

New Listing - Milligan Canyon Ranch

Montana Ranches for Sale, Jason Frey, Montana Real estate

Milligan Canyon Ranch - Three Forks, MT

Milligan Canyon Ranch consists of 1,190+/- acres located 13 miles west of Three Forks, MT. The ranch offers panoramic views of Elkhorn, Bridger and Tobacco Root Mountains amongst its rolling topography. The ranch also provides excellent privacy and a productive mix of tillable dry-land agriculture as well as native grass pasture in a location easily accessible through commercial or private airports in Bozeman, Butte and Helena. Portions of the ranch border lands held by the State of Montana that offers excellent recreational opportunities, specifically the pursuit of elk, mule deer and antelope.

Montana Ranches for Sale, Jason Frey, Montana Real estate

Native Grass Pasture and State of Montana Lands

Access to Milligan Canyon Ranch is exceptional, provided by a short distance of travel along properly maintained county roads connected directly to Interstate 90 assuring easy year-round access. Interstate 90 also provides wonderful access to Bozeman and Butte, with US287 or a combination of MT69 and I-15 providing entry into Helena. Legendary trout waters of the Gallatin, Madison, Jefferson and Missouri are also a short jaunt from the property giving the angling owner a myriad of options and opportunities.

Montana Ranches for Sale, Jason Frey, Montana Real estate Big Sky Country

The town of Three Forks derived its name from the headwaters of the Missouri which is the confluence of the three rivers that are the source of the longest river system on the continent, the Missouri-Mississippi drainage. In 1805, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Corps of Discovery camped at the headwaters of the Missouri River. They named the southern fork Gallatin; the middle fork, Madison; and the northern fork, Jefferson.

Montana Ranches for Sale, Jason Frey, Montana Real estate

Wooded Hillsides and Open Meadows Provide Extensive Wildlife Habitat

Located in the renowned Gallatin Valley, the headwaters area includes the towns of Three Forks, Willow Creek, Trident, and Logan, up the Jefferson toward Whitehall, up the Madison toward Harrison, and down the Missouri toward Townsend. The area of the headwaters and surrounding the town of Three Forks has some of the most colorful legends and early day history of any region in Montana. The headwaters area was a natural crossroads and hunting ground for various Native American tribes, such as the Blackfeet, Shoshone, Flathead, and Crow, many years before Lewis and Clark arrived. Nearby is the Madison Buffalo Jump State Park where buffalo were hunted until about 200 years ago.

All best,
______________________

Jason Frey

Agent

PureWest, Inc.

FEMA Aid in ND Falls Short

This Flooded House - Rebuilding Help

Aug 1 2011 7:09PM
KXMCTV Minot

Thousands of people across north-central North Dakota are facing a bleak financial future because of the Mouse River Flood of 2011.

Jim Olson has information about how other disaster have been dealt with - and how others in this flood are being treated in today's edition of "This Flooded House".

Many victims of the 2011 Mouse River Flood are having to recover largely on their own

For people who suffered losses in excess of the $30,200 maximum payout from FEMA, the finances are daunting

(Florence Anderson, Minot Resident) "$30,000 won't do it." (What kind of damage did you have?) "Way over the max. I came from Hawaii, sold my house there and put everything I had in here and I don't know how I'm going to do it." Many people are facing taking on another loan on their home - on top of their existing mortgage

But what's happened elsewhere where major disasters have struck? We told you Friday about the situation following Hurricane Katrina

Congress approved nearly 17 billion dollars in block grants to Gulf Coast states through the Department of Housing and Urban Development

In the case of Louisiana, the money was distributed through a program called "The Road Home" that carried a maximum per-household grant of $150,000

To date, 128,645 households have been approved for funding totaling 8.82 billion dollars, an average of $68,500

In asking this question, we've been told that budget cuts make such a response unlikely in Minot's case

Which is why we've checked the HUD budget from 2006 - when Katrina money was passed - compared with 2011

That budget was 28 billion in 2006 and climbed to 43 billion in 2010. A jump of over 50% in four years. President Obama suggested a cut to 41.6 billion for this year, but no federal budget has been passed, so it's unclear how much will be spent this year

But, let's look at another disaster - the devastating Tornado in Joplin, Missouri in May of this year

Joplin is a city of about 50,000 people in southwest Missouri

Tragically, 138 people were killed by the twister, something that can't be measured in dollars and cents

For our purposes, we will look only at the property damage in the storm

State Farm Insurance estimated the tornado damaged or destroyed two thousand buildings

The difference between a tornado and a flood is that tornadoes are covered by standard homeowners insurance, whereas floods are not

And the latest estimate from insurance industry officials is that insurance payouts in Joplin will hit two billion dollars

In Minot, only about 10% of the 4,100 homes damaged or destroyed had flood insurance, since it was not recommended after the flood control measures of the 1990s were finished

That means the people of Minot will have to come up with - through loans or other means - the hundreds of million of dollars needed to rebuild their property, beyond the $30,200 FEMA grant limit

And one final note, to our north in Manitoba, residents with damage from this year's flood qualify for a Canadian government grant of up to $240,000 per household for rebuilding

By the way, the woman in Jim's story - Florence Anderson - could really use some help in gutting and cleaning up her home.

All best,
______________________

Jason Frey

Agent

PureWest, Inc.