Venture Boldly
Venture Boldly
Keeping Montana Wild with MT Fish, Wildlife and Parks
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Montana’s outdoor recreation supports billions in spending while protecting landscapes, wildlife, and local traditions. Amber Steed, Region 1 Supervisor for Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), brings deep knowledge to managing these resources and highlights new public access projects, including Somers Beach State Park and expanded fishing areas near Flathead Lake.
Key efforts like the Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement will protect over 80,000 acres through partnerships with timber companies, ensuring public access while maintaining sustainable forestry and preventing development.
With rising bear encounters, FWP focuses on prevention through education, bear-proof containers, and a new conflict dashboard. Amber urges public involvement in conservation efforts and reminds us that protecting Montana’s outdoors takes all of us.
Link: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
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Hello again everybody. Drew Zagorski here and welcome to Venture Boldly, the podcast of the Discover Kalispell Chamber, your go-to source for all you need to know about what's happening in the business and local communities right here in Kalispell, in the Flathead Valley. Today we're joined by Amber Steed, region 1 Supervisor for Montana Fish, wildlife and Parks. Montana Fish, wildlife and Parks From public access improvements to bear safety, education, fish, wildlife and parks plays a vital role across our state. Outdoor recreation in Montana fuels billions in spending and supports tens of thousands of jobs across the state. It also protects our landscapes, wildlife and cherished ways of life like fishing, hiking and camping. Amber brings years of experience as a fisheries biologist and a passion for public engagement. We'll talk about new projects, conservation priorities and how the community can get involved. So let's dive into what it takes to responsibly steward Montana's outdoor resources now and for the future. But first give us a minute so you can learn about our sponsors and then I'll be back with Amber Steed, regional Supervisor of Montana Fish, wildlife and Parks, if you want connection with other businesses to be at the heart of the Kalispell and Flathead business community to support action for creating a vibrant, thriving, growing climate, not just for your business, but for our entire business community. You want to be part of the Kalispell Chamber as a catalyst for business growth, a convener of business leaders and influencers and a champion for Kalispell and the entire Flathead community. Becoming part of the Kalispell Chamber is an investment in the future of your business and our community the future of your business and our community. To learn more about becoming a partner of the Chamber, call 406-758-5054. Again, the number's 406-758-5054. Or go to calispellchambercom.
Speaker 1Have you checked out workforceflatheadcom? Workforce Flathead is a collaboration between local education, business and government partners to connect students, businesses and employers with each other. Workforceflatheadcom isa custom-built online home for all things workforce in the Flathead Valley. You'll find business and education resources, jobs and job fair information, links to apprenticeships and a whole lot more. There's even a library of locally produced career videos, perfect for students and job seekers to introduce them to career paths in Northwest Montana. To learn more, visit workforceflatheadcom today. So, amber Steed, regional Supervisor of Montana Fish, wildlife and Parks, thank you for joining us today. Really appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to come and share some details about what it is you do, why you do it and who you do it for. So thank you.
Speaker 2I appreciate the opportunity. You know it's always great to have this platform to reach out to the public.
Speaker 1I want to start with some good news. Fish, wildlife and Parks has been expanding and upgrading public access sites all across the region. What are some of those recent improvements and how are they making a difference for locals and visitors?
Speaker 2So we've really focused on Flyhead Lake recently, for example, because there is limited access around Flyhead Lake, so much of it is private and it's such an incredible resource in our valley. So some of the improvements and expanded opportunities that we've created include Summers Beach State Park, which is 106 acres. It's located right in Summers and has this beautiful beach that people can enjoy, and now we're incorporating some hiking trails throughout it. There's a boat launch, so that's a really neat resource. That's that's fairly new.
Speaker 2We also have later this year most likely opening fishing access near Dayton that one's called Conclau, and so there's going to be a whole new turn lane constructed to make that a safe entry and exit point. So that's coming. Put that on your radar. Something else that people may have been paying attention to is the Sportsman's Bridge on Highway 82 is going to be widened and reconstructed, and part of that has included moving the existing Sportsman's Bridge fishing access site from the east side of the river to the west side, and so we finally are about ready to open that new fishing access site and that's a 17-acre site. It's all constructed. I'd say by next week we're likely to have that open to the public, if not sooner.
Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easements
Speaker 1Nice. Now, some of these projects are tied to a much broader conservation effort. So can you walk us through the bigger picture? And especially I'm kind of curious about Phase 2, which is also known as the Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement, and why protecting this open space matters not just for wildlife but for timber and recreation and other working lands?
Speaker 2timber and recreation and other working lands, sure, so in the big picture, here at FWP, we have a variety of tools to help people recreate outdoors and connect with these amazing resources that we have in Northwest Montana, and so one of those tools is conservation easements, and these are mutually beneficial programs.
Speaker 2So in this case we have a large corporate timber landowner, green Diamond, and we have an opportunity to leverage different sources of funding to create public access that the public has enjoyed for generations on these lands that they own. And so we're talking about, in this case, over 52,000 acres of land in just this phase two, and when we say phase two, that's the second phase. There was a first phase that's already been approved and that was around 35,000 acres, and so in total we're talking, you know, 80, over 80,000 acres, and the idea is we maintain public access for hunting and fishing and recreation on these lands instead of privatizing development in other ways that would lock that up. And these easements also allow Green Diamond to continue to keep these working lands. So these are working timber lands. They'll continue to produce harvest, but this allows them the time to let those timber stands mature so that they're more harvestable, more financially sustainable and yet maintain that public access throughout.
Speaker 1In the headlines. We see all this news about bear conflicts lately, especially with grizzlies, and what I'm kind of curious about is what's behind that increase. Where is it happening? Is it closer to some of the more rural outlying areas like Columbia Falls and Whitefish, or is this kind of starting to encroach on Kalispell proper? Is this kind of starting to encroach on Kalispell proper, and has the fish, wildlife and parks shifted? Any strategies or policies in response to this?
Speaker 2So the reason behind what you might see as more bear conflicts in the news is we have more bears, more people on the landscape. If you you know everyone, I think has noticed, in the past five plus years we've seen quite a growth in the Valley right and visitation and and residents and as a result, um, there just ends up being more interactions with our wildlife, including bears and so. But bears have been around since before people, so we've always known this is a place where bears and wildlife exist and this is part of what makes it special. And at FWP we want to keep people safe and bears wild, attracting bears to your homes or to where you're recreating, so securing food attractants and minimizing what brings them in. So that can include bear proof containers, and that's something that, for example, city Whitefish and Columbia Falls have really done a great job in promoting and enabling residents to take part in programs like that to help prevent those conflicts and actually Evergreen Disposal, just to give them a shout out, they have provided a program where residents can swap out their existing trash containers for bear proof containers for a relatively small fee.
Speaker 2So there are opportunities out there for people to help prevent those interactions, but we also have to help keep people aware of what's going on on the landscape in real time. We've just released a human bear conflict dashboard on our website. So if you go to fwpmtgov you can search human bear conflict dashboard and that'll direct you to that dashboard so you can see by broad location, kind of the type of conflict and how many over time.
Speaker 1So I've got a question kind of along these lines. You know, there's so much information in the world today, so easy to get information, people Googling and, you know, going to AI bots to ask about advice on bears, going to AI bots to ask about advice on bears Is there anything at the top of your mind that floats around out there? That is actually bad advice, but it gets presented as a viable way to avoid an incident with a bear or attracting one.
Speaker 2I can't think offhand of bad advice, but maybe some misconceptions.
Speaker 1Okay.
Speaker 2So one thing we try to continually share with the public is how to prevent interactions with bears and then, if you find yourself in a conflict, how to stay safe as best as possible, and one of those, the best tool, remains bear spray and having that with you and knowing how to use it effectively and being comfortable with that.
Speaker 2And so that can involve practice. We have some really talented bear specialists that spend a lot of time going out into the community and trying to do some outreach, as well as our communication and education program manager. They're very proactive in trying to explain and provide chances for people, for example, at workshops, to use we call it the inert bear spray, so it's a can that doesn't have actual bear spray in it, but it's sort of like to me I've used these. It feels like a mini fire extinguisher. So if you can imagine, you know using something like that to practice, so you're comfortable when you, if you find yourself in that situation and traveling in groups making lots of noise, the things that you maybe have heard before, but but really do kind of get at that prevention side of things, that's, it's like medicine and a lot of things in life, right, the more you can prevent conflict, the better off you are.
Speaker 2But if you find yourself in that situation, here's how to protect yourself.
Speaker 1So, amber, a lot of your work. I'm thinking about AIS inspections and for those who aren't aware of what that is, it's aquatic invasive species. There's mandatory inspection stations here. Managing wildlife encounters, like we were just talking about bears, promoting responsible recreation. We rely on the public to do a lot on their part. What's the best way? Individuals and families can help support that mission in their day-to-day activities?
Speaker 2That's a great question. So one tag phrase we use is recreate responsibly, and so that can mean a variety of different things, because we all have many ways we like to recreate, engage with the outdoors, so from boating to hunting, to fishing or just hiking and bird watching, and so, for example, you brought up ais or aquatic invasive species. So when you go out boating and you're traveling around to different places with your watercraft, including paddle boards and kayaks, please stop at our A in Kalispell, that if it doesn't work out for you to visit one of those stations time-wise or whatnot, we're happy to do inspections as well, and that's really preventing these nuisance species from entering water bodies that can do a lot of damage to the resources that are there, for example, zebra and quagga mussels that can wreak havoc on water pipes and docks and boats, trailers and things that we maybe don't always think about, but once they're there, it's very difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of them.
Speaker 1As we've come to the home stretch here for people who care about access to public land and water. How can they get involved? What are some of the easy ways to plug into FWP's public process and provide input and ideas for upcoming projects?
Speaker 2So great question, because we're always trying to increase the amount of public engagement we get, and our website is a really great place to start to find out what's going on, find the latest news releases and also sign up for email notifications of public process opportunities, but also just news releases of what's going on. And we've kind of recently come out with a new newsletter format that is organized by sort of recreation type or interest, so we have kind of a fishing newsletter and a hunting one, one that's more conservation oriented and another that's outdoor recreation focused, so you can pick and choose what interests you most and then, if you can, show up to meetings that we have for the public. Often we try to arrange these at times when people aren't working after hours, but there are a lot of online comment opportunities. We have many different public processes we go through to make sure that we're responsive to what the public wants, and so that's a great place to start.
Amber's Favorite Thing About the Job
Speaker 1Uh, just another quick question popped into my head is somebody who works in the job that you do, you? You have access to, and see everything that fish, wildlife and parks has to offer you. Personally, what's your favorite part of what you do?
Speaker 2It's gotta be working with the people that I work with. It's got to be working with the people that I work with. I, I, up until recently.
Speaker 2I was a fisheries biologist for quite a few years and, uh, out in the streams and rivers quite a bit, and I would work with the public and my local coworkers uh, a fair bit. But in this job, this is a all about the people and I really love it, and particularly our staff. We have such an incredible staff in this region and they're so competent and caring and passionate about what they do and the resources they can serve and the people they serve that, um, it's a real pleasure and, uh, every day I enjoy it.
Speaker 1Okay, and what's your favorite space to go to in all of this tens of thousands of acreage?
Speaker 2space to go to in all of this tens of thousands of acreage. Oh man, that's a tough question.
Speaker 1I know it's probably like asking you if you have five kids, which one is your favorite? I mean, as the youngest, I know what my mom would say Of course, of course.
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean, I guess one of the first things that comes to mind is getting on water, even though it's a bit of a seasonal thing, but it's something I was able to connect with so much over most of my career that probably getting out onto the Flathead River is probably one of the most special things for me.
Speaker 1And when you're on the river, are you just kayaking or are you fishing, or what?
Speaker 2A lot of times I'll be paddle boarding around with friends I'd say that's most of the time, yeah or sometimes out in a boat, but mostly paddle boarding probably.
Final Thoughts
Speaker 1Yeah, okay, and, as we wrap up, anything else you want to share with people about these resources and the organization that helps to keep them healthy and safe for everyone and the organization that helps to keep them healthy and safe for everyone.
Speaker 2Sure, so we live in an amazing place, right? This is an incredible diversity of natural resources, and that's what brings so many people here, I think and that doesn't happen by accident We've been able to proactively work with our community and leverage resources to try to keep our resources that we share as pristine and vibrant for us to enjoy now and into the future, and so it really takes some proactive work and collaboration to make that happen, and I encourage anyone listening to get involved in public process to help be a part of that.
Speaker 1Well, amber, thank you again for coming and sitting down with us to share some information about all the great work you guys do, and if anybody's out there looking at a beautiful mountain or on a lake at sunset or something, think about Amber and her team and everything that they do to make that possible for you. So thank you, amber.
Speaker 2Well, I appreciate the opportunity and really people have themselves to thank for that. So if they want to keep those beautiful resources around, that's part of it.
Speaker 1We're all stewards.
Speaker 2We're all stewards, yeah.
Speaker 1Right. Thanks to all our listeners as well for listening to this episode of Venture Bowling, the podcast of the Discover Kalispell Chamber. We'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback on today's topic and about the podcast in general. You can listen at kalispellchambercom forward slash podcast or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can reach us via the contact page at kalispellchambercom, on Facebook and Instagram at Kalispell Chamber, or by clicking the send us feedback link at the top of the episode description in your favorite podcast app. I'm your host, drew Zagorski. She's Amber Steed, regional Supervisor of Montana Fish, wildlife and Parks. Venture boldly friends. Appearance on the Venture Boldly Podcast does not constitute an endorsement of goods or services. The Venture Boldly Podcast is a production of the Discover Kalispell Chamber and is produced by the Chamber in partnership with Left Brain Right Brain Marketing. You can find the Discover Kalispell Chamber at kalispellchambercom and Left Brain Right Brain Marketing at lbrbmcom dot com.
