WINTER 2022-2023
Cover: Chris Fritz
Read the most recent stories online. Though we recommend finding a real-deal, print copy. It’s pretty.
Story Highlights
Manifest Destiny
Manifest DestinySprawling subdivisions are not the Flathead Valley's inevitable future. FEATUREBY KEEGAN SIEBENALERWhen Tianna Thomas moved back to the Flathead Valley as a crisis counselor for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline in 2019, she couldn’t even...
A Hard Row to Hoe
A Hard Row to HoeAs houses replace hayfields, farming the Flathead’s remaining agricultural land becomes increasingly difficult. FEATURESTORY BY KATIE CANTRELLChris Fritz pulls his maroon pickup onto the rutted path next to the old barn. The October morning holds the...
Editor’s Note: This Land Was Made for You AND Me
Editor's NoteThis Land Was Made for You AND MeKATIE CANTRELL I“grew up on a dirt road in eastern Washington, Ritchey Road to be specific, named for my great-great-great-uncle, Isaac Ritchey. I don’t know anything about the land before he homesteaded there in the late...
Land Acknowledgment
Love LetterWe are on stolen land. Ever felt invisible? Overlooked, discounted, like your story doesn’t matter and no one wants to hear it? We’re willing to wager that everyone has, in some setting or phase of life. And it just plain sucks. A land acknowledgment is a...
Conservation Easements
HeadwatersConservation easements: Preserving Montana’s land, water, and way of life.STORY BY FLATHEAD LAND TRUSTOur Family's Story Ron de Yong "M y dad grew up on a piece of land right next to what would become our family farm, about a mile west of Fair-Mont-Egan...
Storage units!
SATIREStorage units! Finally, a development proposal everyone can agree on. Conveniently located adjacent to the top of the Hellroaring Chairlift, these units are perfect for keeping your options open for Big Mountain’s—ahem—variable terrain, like when you foolishly...
Preserving a Sense of Place
HeadwatersPreserving a Sense of Place How native plants help build community. Forestoration collaborated with the city of Whitefish to design and install a native landscape within the median located on Central Avenue in downtown Whitefish.BY MEGHAN VOSS B efore I’d...
Citizens Toolkit
HeadwatersCitizens' toolkitWe need to get more involved with local development and growth. But first, let’s understand the landscape. How does private property get developed, and how can we make sure it happens in the best way possible? The Flathead Valley has...
Free To Be
Field NotesFree to be There’s enough space for all of us. Illustration by Morgan Krieg BY ANDREW KROP "I ’m on the right track baby, I was born this way!” As local performers Eric Krop and Mynxx—the all-female glam band comprised of Halladay Quist, Erica...
Landless
Field NotesLandless But I’m still a Montanan.Illustration by Morgan Krieg BY HEIDI LAUMAN "S omehow in my search for ownership in this world, for land to plant roots, I tripped up and have lived the opposite of what I forever desired. As I write this, I sit in...
To Share or Not to Share
Field NotesTo Share or Not to Share The mountain adventure dilemma.Illustration by Morgan Krieg BY COLTON BORN I t was the summer of 2016 and I was helpless. I’d been living in the Flathead for a few months, didn’t have many friends, and was captivated by the...
The Trail Builder
Field NotesTHE TRAIL BUILDER A good day the woodsIllustration by Morgan Krieg BY REBECCA STORM GRANDE E yes blinking open to an early Montana dawn, the trail builder stretches awake and considers his weighty but simple mission of the day, to clear a path through...
Land Of Opportunity
Business Bonanza!Land Of Opportunity These three fantastic local businesses each fill a special niche, enriching life here in the Flathead. Meg Blakney from Dan D' LionMACKENZIE REISS Dan D’LION: A CUT ABOVE THE REST After successfully opening the doors to...
Good Medicine
Business HighlightGood medicine Haskill Creek Farms offers herbal remedies and quality cannabis. Inside the Haskill Creek store MACKENZIE REISS "Crossing the threshold at Haskill Creek Farms feels like stepping into a modern-day apothecary. Guests are greeted by...
Ghost Writer
CruxGhost WriTer A community reporter bears witness to one of the thorniest aspects of recreationalists’ relationship with land: tragic death in the mountains.Tristan Scott. By CLARE MENZEL Tristan Scott, managing editor of the Flathead Beacon, is an award-winning...
The Creek, A Poem
SPARKThe Creek A poem by Jessie MazurJESSIE MAZURIn a town where a roof could cost a third job by next monthand the grocery bill is too high for a familythe only home you can count on has a floor of rock and silt.Where your toes sink inand cold, cold water washes away...
Non-Profit Highlight: Blacktail Trails (FTBT)
Non-Profit FeatureGo Local donates 3% of each issue’s advertising revenue to a local nonprofit organization. This issue supports Foy's to Blacktail Trails. Foy's to blacktail trails (ftbt) Q&A with Gabe Dillon, FTBT program coordinatorWhat is your mission...