Bridger Canyon Property Owners’ Association

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BCPOA 2007 Newsletter

There's also a printer friendly pdf version.

Welcome!

This newsletter represents the annual report from the Board of Directors of the Bridger Canyon Property Owners Association (BCPOA) to property owners and residents living in the Canyon. We, the Board of the BCPOA, serve as the current elected representatives of the Bridger Canyon Zoning District. It is of historical interest that our zoning district dates back to June 1971 and was at that time, the largest zoning district west of the Mississippi and the only rural district in Montana to be zoned. To quote from the Bylaws of the BCPOA, Inc., the Purpose of this organization is:
“to do everything in its power to preserve the rural character and the natural beauty and resources of Bridger Canyon and the State of Montana; to use its best efforts in guiding and directing orderly growth and development; to maintain, through organization, a definite influence in all matters which may affect residence or property rights and enjoyment thereof by its members and to hold regular meetings for open discussions of problems of mutual interest and concern to those land owners.”

Goal of this newsletter

Our bylaws require that we give an annual report to canyon owners and residents providing information about issues that the canyon is facing. Secondly, we utilize this forum to ask you to pay your annual dues of $20.00 at this time. This money is used to pay for administrative costs associated with representing your needs. The information contained in this newsletter indicates exactly what types of things we, as a board, are working on.

ANNUAL DUES OF $20.00 ARE DUE

See our membership page for dues information and a printable form.

Bridger Bowl Base Area Development

Please see our Base Area pages for more information.

Last year, we heard from Bridger Canyon Partners (BCP) about their plans to develop the base area. In December 2006, the developers submitted their Planned Unit Development (PUD) Application for their proposed project, Bridger Mountain Village, to the Gallatin County Planning Office. The Development Committee of the Bridger Canyon Property Owners’ Association (BCPOA) reviewed the PUD with respect to its compliance with Bridger Canyon’s planning and zoning documents: Bridger Canyon General Plan and Development Guide, Bridger Bowl Base Area Plan, and Bridger Canyon Zoning Regulation. Currently the PUD application is scheduled for review before the Bridger Canyon Zoning Commission on April 12, 2007. BCPOA has serious concerns about the development as proposed and will, therefore, not be supporting the application as it currently exists. The enclosure outlines BCPOA's top ten concerns. To learn how you can help, view maps of the proposed development, and read documents outlining BCPOA’s official stand, including “BCPOA’s Top Ten Concerns: Discussion of the Issues” (a more complete discussion of our major concerns) and BCPOA’s expanded analysis of the proposed PUD’s compliance with Bridger Canyon’s planning documents and zoning regulations, please visit our web site at www.bcpoa.net.

Planning and Zoning

Please see our zoning pages for more information.
Our updated zoning regulations have been submitted to the County Planning Department for their comments. As soon as they are finished reviewing them and we work out any conflicts, we will make them available on our web site for residents to read. At the same time, our Planning and Zoning Committee has been vigorously defending the existing zoning regulations by testifying before the Bridger Canyon Planning and Zoning Commission on current issues related to development in our district. We have also handled numerous resident complaints about zoning regulation violations by mediating between the involved parties and encourage residents to contact us whenever they believe a violation has occurred.

Website

This website has been updated - let the webmaster know if you have any feedback or suggestions.

Coal-Bed Methane

If you haven’t heard yet, the lawsuit regarding drilling in the canyon by the Huber Corporation has been dismissed. Many people worked very hard on this issue over the last few years and we owe them all a big THANK YOU! It just goes to show how powerful people can be when they work together.

Many of you donated money to the legal fund through the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. There is money remaining in that fund and you should have received a letter asking what you would like to do with your share of the money that remains. Please contact GYC if you have any questions: 586-1593 or www.greateryellowstone.org. You do have the option to pass the money along to BCPOA where it will be used continue our mission as stated at the beginning of this newsletter.

Bridger Canyon Volunteer Fire Department

Fire Station/Community Center Expansion: The land that the station is located upon and the land needed for the station/community center expansion are now deeded to the Bridger Canyon Volunteer Fire Department. It was with great effort that Denny Guentzel, Cam Gould, Gary Andrews, Chuck Raches, Dan Astrom, Bridger Hills property owners, the Williamson Family and others were able to track-down the necessary signatures, quit claim deeds, surveys, boundary line adjustments and planning department approvals to make this happen. Designs for the station are currently with the structural engineers, with bids to be accepted upon final approval. Groundbreaking on the expansion hopefully will begin Spring/Summer 2007, in the absence of additional unforeseen setbacks. Thanks to all for their hard work on moving this project forward.

Volunteers Needed: As an all volunteer community fire department, volunteers over the age of 18, male or female are always welcome and needed. Prior experience is not necessary as thorough training is provided. Training meetings are Wednesday nights, 7 pm at the station, 8081 Bridger Canyon Drive. Anyone interested in learning more about the department can call Fire Chief Dan Astrom (586-8477) or Training Officer Don Daniels (209-0978).

Board of Trustees: The BCVFD board will have two vacancies this May, with the departure of President Chuck Raches and Member Bob Rasmus. Interested parties in the positions may contact Chuck Raches (587-8427).

Bridger Base Area Development: The Board of Trustees and Chief have recently submitted their input for the Fire and Emergency services portion of the Phase 1 proposal of Bridger Partners to the Planning Department for the upcoming PUD application review before the Bridger Canyon Zoning Commission on April 12th.

ISO Inspection: This September, the Insurance Safety Organization performed an inspection of BCVFD. The results of these inspections (conducted every 7-10 years) are used by insurance companies to determine our fire insurance policy rates. We are awaiting our final designation and are expecting an improvement in our rating with a possible decrease in our individual homeowner policy rates.

Seasonal Residents: Those residents of the canyon that are seasonal or are away for periods of time should have designated key holders (usually neighbors, locksmiths, local alarm companies) which are able to provide access to the fire department in the event of a fire alarm. Designees should have a list of local contacts on record with the alarm company. In the absence of designees and keys, fire alarms may have to be investigated using forced entry. Driveways should be plowed for winter access of emergency vehicles.

Locked gates: We recommend that residents with locked entry gates provide the Fire Department with access codes for entry in the event that emergency / fire services are needed. In the event of an emergency, locked gates may prohibit the responding agencies from providing service. Gates may also be damaged if forced entry is deemed necessary.

Upcoming Wildland Season: Bridger Canyon precipitation is down this winter which may lead to an expanded wildland season and dry fuels. All residents are encouraged to be very careful during burn season March 1st – November 30 ($15 burn permits). Fuels such as brush, trees, weeds, should be removed from around structures creating a defensible space. Discuss evacuation and emergency plans with all family members. Additional information on Urban Interface fire safety can be found at any US Forest Service Office, Department of Natural Resources, and any Fire Department or online at www.firewise.org.

Grant Update: The Bridger Canyon Fire Department was recently notified that a FEMA Grant request for 2006 has been awarded. The $42,803.00 grant is for a station exhaust system which allows the vehicle exhaust to be vented outside. This system will prevent exhaust exposure to firefighters doing vehicle maintenance and the fire personnel in the second floor apartment. FEMA Grants and donations provide essential funding to the department’s overall budget.

Noxious Weeds

Do you want to do something to improve the environment in Bridger Canyon? Help us in our fight against noxious weeds. Our efforts to wipe out knapweed in 2006 were just a beginning. This year we hope to start earlier and use spraying to eliminate plants before they bloom. The Montana Department of Transportation has a longer spray arm on their spray truck so we should be able to reach further to the fence lines especially on steep road cuts. Our ”Mile Captain” program was very successful. We assigned a mile of roadway to leaders who pulled weeds and organized people along their section of highway. They need your help! We can do more effective control if we work as teams of neighbors who are all fighting noxious weeds together. If you need help identifying weeds or would like to volunteer call Pat Abelin at 587-0134.

Insect damage to trees

On July 17th, 2006 many of us (approximately 100 people) spent a few hours at the Fire Station discussing damage to local Douglas Fir trees (that cover 90% of the hills around here). Certainly you have noticed the browning at the tips of the trees. This is caused by "spruce bud worms" that eats all the new growth from the trees. The bud worms turn into moths and you saw them flying around last summer. The worm stage has the ability to severely damage the trees by killing the tops, or in really bad cases, killing the trees. They can also weaken the trees to the point where the beetles can kill them. This is a natural cycle and may go away, but the cycle could also wipe out the trees in our entire area.

The following questions, and others, were discussed: What causes the rise and fall of the worms? How bad will it get in our area? How many years does it last? Is there anything that we can do to control the outbreak in our general area, or at least make sure our favorite trees are not damaged? These are all questions that an entomologist from Missoula (Ken) and a forest service representative (Peter Kolb).
There are definite steps that can be taken to save individual trees and other steps that may or may not have an impact on larger numbers of trees. Timing is critical as the seasons change. Please contact one of the following with your questions: Ken Gibson (kgibson(at)fs.fed.us) at the U.S. Forest Service
Peter Kolb (peter.kolb(at)cfc.umt.edu) an entomologist from the University of Montana

Emergency Preparedness

We have reviewed available resources and the challenges faced by a community as spread out as the Bridger Canyon community. Three major goals are to encourage individual households to maintain their 3-7 day emergency kits and evacuation plans, to improve emergency communications within neighborhoods, and to bring in outside speakers from time to time on emergency challenges we may face. This work is viewed as a long-term undertaking and its progress depends to a great extent on organization and communication plans within canyon neighborhoods. Coordination is required to avoid duplicating efforts of other agencies and resources, such as the Fire Station. We will continue to address communication, transportation/ evacuation, and coordination of local emergency resources. As we improve our community website, watch for posting of relevant resources and links (e.g., the Red Cross website and others list suggested contents for emergency kits). If you would like to help with these efforts please contact Joan Cory at 587-3523 or jmcory(at)earthlink.net ; volunteers are needed.

Annual Meeting in May

Our Annual Meeting will be on Tuesday, May 22nd at 7:00 pm at the Bridger Canyon Fire Station.
Please remember that this is the time and place for new board members to be elected.

Help Maintain Wildlife Habitat

Certify Your Property as a Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation

Many of us are accustomed to seeing a variety of wildlife, large and small, on a daily basis. However, have you noticed that your wildlife sightings are becoming less frequent? As development and traffic increase in the Canyon and loss of habitat occurs, wildlife will naturally migrate to less populated areas. Would you like to have a beautiful garden and help maintain Bridger Canyon as a wildlife-friendly habitat? It’s easy! Certify your property through the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat Program. Visit their website at www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife/ to learn how easy it is. The requirements are simple and for a lot of properties in the Canyon, they already exist. For those who want to enhance their properties for wildlife, you can learn how to provide food, water and appropriate shelter for raising young.

Bridger Canyon and the Bridger Mountains are critical to wildlife. We are fortunate to be caretakers for our environment. The Bridgers and the Canyon provide a wildlife corridor to the Northern Rockies. This atmosphere is truly unique and we can maintain it with very little effort. Please read more at the National Wildlife Federation’s website and take the steps to certify your property as a wildlife habitat. We can even take this to a larger scale and certify the entire Canyon as a Community Wildlife Habitat Project. What a tribute this would be to our wildlife and to our community. Please take the steps today to invest your property for wildlife. Visit the NWF website and encourage your neighbors to join in. Let’s protect our wildlife!

Current Board Members

UPPER CANYON
Ed Amende       2005-2008         ejamende(at)aol.com
Kate Vargas      2006-2009           wevargas(at)imt.net
Alex Eby          2004-2007        alexeby(at)yahoo.com
Deb Stratford    2006-2007   debstratford(at)msn.com

LOWER CANYON
Tom Fiddaman 2006-2009      tomfid(at)earthlink.net
Joan Cory          2005-2008      jmcory(at)earthlink.net
Lowell Cary       2005-2008              josline(at)imt.net
Richard Boyle    2004-2007               spni2(at)aol.com

JACKSON CREEK
Ken Danhof   2001-2007      kenbev(at)3riversdbs.net
Mike Smith 2004-2007 smithinmontana(at)yahoo.com
Don Daniels 2005-2008     don_daniels9(at)msn.com
Jean Bucher      2005-2008     jbucher(at)bgcswmt.org

2006-2007 OFFICERS
Alex Eby                            Chairman
Deb Stratford                         Secretary
Richard Boyle                        Treasurer

In addition, Ray Center rme(at)bridgeband.com serves as our board member representing Bridger Bowl and Bruce Jodar wldeyefoto(at)aol.com serves as Chair of our Planning/Zoning Committee.

Bridger Canyon Property Owners Association needs new board members, who will serve a term 3-year term beginning in September 2007; elections will be held at the Annual Meeting on May 22nd. Please talk to a current board member if you have any questions.

DUES

This newsletter also serves as our request for your annual $20.00 dues. See our membership page.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

* County PUD review of Bridger Bowl Base Area development is April 12, 2007
* Our Annual Meeting will be on Tuesday, May 22nd at 7:00 pm at the Bridger Canyon Fire Station.