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Rocky Mountain Real Estate joins RE/MAX

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RE/MAX ribbon cutting
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RE/MAX Rocky Mountain Real Estate celebrated its new venture with a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration on September 15th. Thank you to all who attended and wished us well.

Glacier International Airport adds San Francisco direct flight for ski season

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United-plane

September 06, 2016 at 2:57 pm | By Daniel McKay

A new direct flight between Glacier Park International Airport and San Francisco has been added for the winter season. Beforehand skiers are said to have been using a private plane charter when they wanted to fly between these two airports. The new flight comes after three years of direct flights to Chicago proved to be a success for Glacier AERO.

Skiing and snowboarding in Northern California is generally synonymous with two words: Lake Tahoe. From downtown San Francisco, it’s about a three-hour drive to the alpine lake, which straddles both California and Nevada and is home to 15 downhill resorts. North Lake Tahoe boasts a more upscale scene, while the southern area beckons with a rocking vibe, thanks to casinos and clubs around the Nevada border.

Either if you decide to travel to San Francisco for the ski season or to stay on an urban enviroment this Columbus Residence for rental may be one of your best options to stay.

Visiting Whitefish in the winter from Chicago and San Francisco is now even easier with Saturday nonstop service from to Glacier Park International (FCA) on United Airlines, plus an additional Sunday direct flight over the holiday season from Chicago.

Whitefish is only 11 miles from the airport, and a short eight miles further you’ll be at the base of Whitefish Mountain Resort ready to click in to your skis or strap into your snowboard.

The new service to the Bay Area offers a Saturday round-trip flight through United Airlines starting Dec. 17 and running until March 25, 2017.

The nonstop round-trip flight from Chicago has also been expanded to include Sunday service between Dec. 18 and Jan. 1, 2017, in addition to its current Saturday service between Dec. 17 and April 1.

The Chicago winter flight saw success last year with an 84 percent load factor. The flights are funded through a minimum revenue guarantee contract with United Airlines. In the program’s first year, Glacier AERO reimbursed United $17,000 for not meeting the minimum revenue. Last year, no reimbursement was necessary, and $283,000 in MRG funds have been secured through grants and donations for the 2016-17 winter season.

“New and expanded air service is vital to our tourism economy, especially during the shoulder seasons,” says Dylan Boyle, Executive Director for Explore Whitefish and AERO board member.

“These flights provide us with a larger platform in key target markets to promote our outstanding winter visitor experience. Focusing on target markets where we have direct air service has yielded great success for us as we promote world class skiing and snowboarding at Whitefish Mountain Resort, top-notch lodging, and award-winning restaurants, as well as many other winter activities including the one-of-a-kind experience of visiting Glacier National Park during the winter.”

For more information on AERO, contact Glacier AERO Chair Paul Johannsen at 406-212-4678 or paul.johannsen@gmail.com.

Home prices continue to climb in Whitefish

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Cougar Ridge Whitefish

By DANIEL MCKAY, Whitefish Pilot, June 21, 2016

Home prices in Whitefish continued to rise in the first half of 2016, raising concerns of affordability in the future.

According to a report from Kelley Appraisal of Kalispell, 133 homes in Whitefish have sold so far this year, a 10.8 percent increase compared to the first half of 2015. However, the median price for Whitefish homes also rose from $312,500 last year to $316,361 in 2016, continuing a steady increase that began in 2013. These figures include 3.5 miles outside of the Whitefish city limits. Kelley did not compile sales for only within city limits.

The steady rise in home prices is a result of low interest rates, Jim Kelley, who compiled the report said, which is a cause for concern. If increases continue, the median price of homes will keep inching toward the high of $328,500 in 2007.

“I think it raises some red flags. Interest rate are at record lows,” he said. “At some point they’re going to increase and that’s going to affect affordability.”

“Whitefish is just doing everything it can to price itself out of the market, for everybody except people outside of the state who have the money to buy something.”

Wendy Brown, president of the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors, said price increases in Whitefish will likely continue as long as people are willing to pay high prices. Those who aren’t are starting to consider other locations, looking at homes for sale bryn mawr pa and other destinations.

“It’s a highly desired area and people are willing to pay those prices. And in Whitefish specifically, there’s just not a lot of housing available, so obviously supply and demand plays a part,” she said.

Kelley said only about 14 percent of current active listings are at or below the median sold price, meaning prospective homeowners are looking at prices above the median for the majority of listings. On the positive side, Kelley said the amount of new construction is increasing, as the costs of building versus buying begin to level out.

Four lakeshore homes have sold in Whitefish this year at a median price of $1.5 million, a 31.5 percent increase from last year’s price. Three lakefront homes were sold in the first half of 2015 and nine sold in the entire year.

In most of Flathead County residential sales dropped while prices continued to rise. While more homes sold in Whitefish and Lakeside, that wasn’t the case in Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Bigfork. According to the report, foreclosure notices in the county continued to decrease as well, the exception being a small increase in June. Residentails ales in the county decreased slightly from 743 to 740 in the first half of 2015, but the median home price was $246,637, a 4.7 percent increase. Home sales in Kalisepll also fell two percent, while the median price rose to $212,250.

The median home price rose everywhere but Columbia Falls. Seventy-eight homes have sold in Columbia Falls this year, down five from this time last year. The median price of homes there has also fallen 3.8 percent to $197,250. Columbia’s housing prices may have fallen but there are still some beautiful properties in the area, you can check out Essex Homes Charllotte and browse the website for some great real estate beauties, your dream house is only around the corner!

Brown said the lack of sub-$200,000 housing options in Whtieish has continued to funnel prospective homeowners into Columbia Falls instead.

The full report is available at www.kelleyappraisal.net.

Going-to-the-Sun Road plowing progress continues

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road plowing status

ROAD ACCESS:

On the west side, the Going-to-the-Sun Road is open for vehicle traffic to Avalanche Creek, approximately 16 miles from the West Entrance.

On the east side, the road is open to Jackson Glacier Overlook, approximately 13 miles past the St. Mary Entrance.

HIKER/BIKER ACCESS:

On the west side the hiker/biker closure is located Road Camp, approximately 10 miles past Avalanche Creek, while the road crew is working. The section of road between Avalanche and the Loop is also posted due to bear frequenting.

The hiker/biker closure on the east side is located at Siyeh Bend, approximately 2 miles past the vehicle closure, while the road crew is working.

Current road plowing status

Bison designated as National Mammal

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BISON

WASHINGTON – The bison has become the official national mammal of the United States under legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama on Monday.

Lawmakers spearheading the effort say the once nearly extinct icon deserves the elevated stature because of its economic and cultural significance in the nation’s history.

Millions of bison once roamed the Great Plains. About 500,000 now live in the U.S. but most of those have been cross-bred with cattle, and are semi-domesticated. About 30,000 wild bison roam the country, with the largest population in Yellowstone National Park.
Supporters of the legislation say they believe the recognition will elevate the stature of the bison to that of the bald eagle, long the national emblem, and bring greater attention to ongoing recovery efforts of the species.

“I hope that in my lifetime, thanks to a broad coalition of ranchers, wildlife advocates and tribal nations, we will see bison return to the prominent place they once occupied in our nation’s shortgrass prairies,” said Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, who worked with Republican Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota to pass the Senate version of the legislation.

TWO MEDICINE VALLEY – A river snakes through this valley southeast of Browning like a muddy belt on a barren landscape. This corner of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation is relatively unchanged from when the nearby hills were shaped several millennia ago, a time when millions of bison roamed the Great Plains.

The bison have long been a crucial species for the Blackfeet, but more than a century ago they were wiped off this landscape at the hands of white settlers. Now, the Blackfeet Nation is leading an international effort to return these iconic animals to the Rocky Mountain Front.

Last week, those efforts took a giant leap forward in this small valley on the Blackfeet Reservation with the arrival of 88 young bison that will form the core of a herd tribal officials hope will one day roam freely on their native land. But those plans could be stifled as the animals have become a source of controversy in the state and as communities debate the implications of bison reintroduction.

The FLATHEAD HOTSHOTS fire fighting crew is 50 years old this summer

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Article from the The Flathead Beacon, May 4, 2016

Flathead Hotshots 1966

The Flathead Hotshots are among the oldest and most respected firefighting crews in the nation, dating back 50 years this summer.

The country’s first hotshot teams were formed in Southern California in the late 1940s as a rugged, multi-skilled group that got its name for attacking the hottest parts of wildfires.

As firestorms increasingly emerged on the nation’s landscape, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies formed the Interagency Hotshot Program and established nine national crews in the early 1960s, including the Lolo Hotshots south of Missoula. The Bitterroot and Nez Perce national forests formed two separate teams in 1962, and in 1966, the Nez Perce crew, called the Slate Creek IR Crew, was moved to the Flathead National Forest, where the hotshot team was based at the Big Creek Ranger Station up the North Fork.

The local crew worked out of Big Creek until 1982, when its duty station was moved to the Glacier View Ranger Station. In the fall of 1993, the team moved to the newly established compound at the Hungry Horse Ranger District, where it remains today.

In this era of violent wildfires burning larger and more often than anytime in the nation’s history, there are now 107 hotshot teams across the country. Yet fewer than 20 remain from the original era of the 1960s, such as the Flathead Hotshots.

“The fact that they have been in place and been as respected as they are as a crew for 50 years is a significant accomplishment,” says Steve Frye, a longtime wildland firefighter and Type I incident commander with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in Kalispell.

“The Flathead Hotshots, and the Region One hotshot crews in general, are the standard against which I judge all other hotshot crews — their experience, the level of leadership, training and cohesiveness. They really embody the concept that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”

Frye added, “The Flathead Hotshots are a known commodity. They’re the best of the best.”

As another summer approaches, the local hotshots are preparing for six months of non-stop action. Even if this corner of Montana is quiet in terms of activity, the hotshots travel the continent chasing fire, from Canada to Alaska and anywhere in the U.S. On average, the Flathead Hotshots work 100 operational shifts a season with two days off every two weeks. An operational shift can run anywhere from eight to 16 hours without a break.

The number of large, catastrophic wildfires has increased dramatically in the last decade. Wildfires have consumed millions of acres of forest and destroyed hundreds of homes on an annual basis in recent years, and the number of wildfires larger than 1,000 acres has doubled across the West since the 1970s. Six of the worst fire seasons in terms of burned acreage have occurred since 2005.

In the heart of fire season, hotshots are among the most in-demand resources in America.

The 20-person crews boast a lean-and-mean reputation as an elite unit of men and women who can do it all. Outside of fire season, hotshots respond to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, and search and rescue operations.

They use every fire tool in the arsenal, from Pulaskis to chainsaws and drip torches, which are used for burnouts and backfires. Their ability to “fight fire with fire” distinguishes them as particularly unique and useful. Only a select few resources in the nation can carry out burnout operations. A burnout or backfire involves sparking a new fire that consumes the fuels in the path of an opposing blaze, creating a buffer. It effectively halts a cataract of flames in its tracks. It also can doom fire crews and create hundreds, if not thousands, of acres of trouble.They also understand the importance of fire watch company and immediately contacted Denver Fire Watch Services to keep safety for future

For this reason and many others, including the severity of the situations crews regularly find themselves in, hotshots undergo rigorous training. In the coming weeks, the team will embark on an 80-hour critical training program that includes classroom and field work. It will also involve serious physical training and “hell day,” an experience described as similar to the military’s boot camp.

“It’s all designed to push humans to the limit of their capability. But it’s not their capability that I’m interested in testing, it’s their will,” says Shawn Borgen, who first joined the Flathead Hotshots in 1996 and is in his second summer serving as superintendent of the crew.

“What I care about is the heart you put into the job. That’s what everybody respects.”

Read more about fire fighting in the Flathead Beacon.

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