by Lewis Young, Conservation Chair If you are a big game hunter you can contribute to the conservation of birds by switching to non-lead bullets. Why switch? Lead bullets, even copper jacketed lead bullets, fired from high velocity guns fragment on impact losing 20-40% of their mass when they hit an object. As many as…

by Kathy Ross The Jewel Basin Hawk Watch season officially opened on Friday, August 26 with 6 migrating raptors reported by veteran Jeweler, BJ Worth. BJ once again carried all materials to the mountaintop—again many thanks, BJ for getting things set up for the season. This report was followed the next day with 18 raptors,…

From www.allaboutbirds.org, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Hummingbird feeders must be kept clean. Bacteria and mold grow in sugar water, and sugar ferments, so sugar water should never be left out more than 2 or 3 days; change daily in very hot weather. Clean feeders at least once a week with hot water and a brush….

From MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks Montana’s hibernating black bears and grizzly bears will soon be stirring. Adult males usually emerge first from winter dens in mid-March. When bears emerge from their dens, they are physically depleted and food is a priority. Bears are often tempted to go where raccoons and domestic dogs are getting…

by Bob Lopp Jim Watson and Carol Bibler met in Bozeman in 1985 and married in 1988. They moved to Grand Junction, Colorado in 1989, where Jim worked as a mechanical engineer and Carol as a geologist. In 2001 they returned to Carol’s hometown of Kalispell, Montana and began taking over operations at Spring Brook…