Flathead County

2023 proved to be a demanding year for Flathead County due to several natural, social, and economic challenges. During the summer, drought caused by high temperatures, an early spring runoff, and below-average rainfall compounded for historic low water levels in  Flathead Lake. Later in the summer, multiple and simultaneous wildland fires threatened communities in several regions of Flathead County. The heroic efforts of firefighters, a significant commitment of aerial and ground resources, and timely weather changes prevented worst-case fire scenarios.

In the more densely populated areas of the county, local governments and non-profits worked to address homelessness. In the economic realm, median home sale prices remain high, nearly double that of January 2020, due in part to the appeal of living in this area and the limited supply of existing and new homes. Employers, especially in the health care, government, customer service, construction, and manufacturing sectors, continue to encounter challenges with hiring for vacant positions.

Despite the aforementioned challenges, official tourism numbers such as airline passenger enplanements at Glacier Park International Airport and recreational visits to Glacier National Park appear to indicate that tourism increased marginally this past summer. Subjective input from local businesses and residents tends to conclude that tourist spending was slightly down during the summer of 2023.

The Flathead County MSU Extension office is fully staffed with an administrative assistant and three Extension Agents: Agriculture and Natural Resources, 4-H and Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS), and 4-H Youth Development. The Flathead County MSU Extension office continues to benefit from outstanding relations with the County Commissioners and County Administrator, in addition to receiving exceptional support from and collaboration with the School District 5 Agricultural Center and several county government entities including the fairgrounds, Agency on Aging, and health department. The addition of new agriculture and FCS Extension agents during early 2023 enabled the MSU Extension office to increase service opportunities to Flathead County residents and establish new programs.

The Flathead County Fairgrounds Manager approached MSU Extension with a proposal to add a unique point of interest for more than 75,000 fair-goers. This project is to beautify one of the fairground’s many high traffic areas and transform it into an educational display in three phases. The MSU Extension Agriculture Agent and Fairgrounds Manager planned and executed installation of phase one with a native plant and pollinator garden with the help of a local Master Gardener, 4-H youth and the owner of The Center for Native Plants.

This demonstration garden mirrors the natural beauty found across the Flathead and will require less water and fertilizer than ornamental plants. Moreover, the garden’s flora provides a variety of blooms throughout the growing season to serve as a food source for pollinators. With increasing development across the valley, and America as a whole, pollinator habitat has decreased. This garden beautifies a previously unused area and provides habitat for pollinators and an educational opportunity for all. With the addition of the garden, there is even more to buzz about at the Northwest Montana Fairgrounds.

During the 2023 growing season, MSU Extension staff conducted more than 30 field visits to help address issues at residential gardens and commercial agricultural operations. In the face of high temperatures and low rainfall, this growing season fostered a perfect recipe for high-nitrate forage. MSU Extension helped ranchers and producers test pasture forage and cut hay to ensure they were fit for livestock consumption. Similarly, MSU Extension assisted approximately 200 residents with properly identifying and resolving horticultural issues in their gardens and yards.

Flathead County is ramping up a new Family and Consumer Sciences Program with food preservation and estate planning as the focus. MSU Extension has provided pressure gauge testing and research-based food preservation information to community members throughout Flathead County. Responding to increased requests for estate planning information and resources, MSU Extension has provided more help to community members with estate planning needs and in January 2024 will host Marcia Goetting, MSU Extension Family Economics Specialist, for several estate planning workshops.

For the first time in several years, Flathead County 4-H conducted an overnight summer camp at the Darrell Fenner Loon Lake 4-H camp in Ferndale. The extremely hot 90-degree days didn’t dampen the spirits of campers and counselors who thoroughly enjoyed swimming, canoeing, log rolling in the lake, in addition to campfire cooking, nature walks, sports, dancing, and the annual Camp Olympics.

The preparation for camp included a deliberate focus on camp counselor development with an overnight training session, CPR class, and small group leadership workshop. The cohort of teen counselors rose to the occasion and led several days of safe, fun activities for approximately 40 campers. This year’s camp also included MSU Extension grant-funded instruction on bushcraft/survival skills on making primitive shelters. This unique class provided campers the opportunity to “learn by doing” and get dirty building shelters from materials found in the forested portion of the camp.

The August 2023 Northwest Montana Fair included more than 440 entries from Flathead County 4-H and Kalispell Future Farmers of America (FFA), ranging from animal science to home economics and general projects. Nearly 300 youth sold market livestock animals (steers, sheep, or swine) at the end-of-fair sale, which eclipsed sales of one million dollars for the first time.

The success of the sale is due in large part to the exceptional community support of youth development programs and the formation of the Flathead Livestock Sale Organization (FLSO) which aimed to streamline the sale process for youth and buyers by formalizing the preparation, conduct, and follow-through of the sale. Additionally, MSU Extension led efforts to reorganize the market livestock arrival process, which includes a veterinary check, weigh-in, and ultrasound (for sheep and swine). Flathead County 4-H Council purchased a second small animal scale and cage which condensed two exhausting days of animal movement into one day of logically-flowing activities. This change allowed fair organizers to disperse the showmanship and market classes and significantly decrease stress on the youth and animals.