Happy 10th, Majestic Valley!

Majestic certainly describes the importance of Majestic Valley Arena as part of the Flathead Valley economy, as well as the role it plays in making quality entertainment and sporting activities possible here.

The indoor arena opened 10 years ago in April 2002, and has since been the site for 630 events with an estimated direct total economic impact on the valley of $53.9 million. Rodeos, concerts, rallies, trade shows, graduations, even weddings have been held at the venue, with nearly half a million people estimated to have attended.

And event No. 631 is coming up today and Saturday, as the World Class Bucking Horse Associaion opens its season with the Pecora Professional Bucking Horse Futurity.

Good show, Majestic Valley Arena!

THE RECENT rescue of a Canadian caribou south of Eureka by Montana wildlife officials is just the latest example of a valuable cooperative relationship with wildlife officials north of the border.

It’s important to understand that northern Montana’s fish and wildlife are transboundary species, requiring monitoring and management on both sides of the border. Among the more impressive examples are the large proportion of Flathead Lake bull trout and cutthroat trout that spawn in Canadian waters and the huge numbers of Lake Koocanusa bull trout that spawn in British Columbia’s Wigwam River drainage.

But in this case, Canadian biologists needed to recover a valuable satellite collar off a cow caribou that was thought to be dead because the collar was putting off a mortality signal. Instead, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks found a live animal that couldn’t move because of tick paralysis. She was treated and taken back to Canada.

It’s a good arrangement: We need Canadian cooperation with Montana wildlife resources, and vice versa.

THE EFFORTS of Bigfork Geographic Information Systems students continue to be felt beyond school walls.

Bigfork students recently presented some of their research to a state conference of Geographic Information professionals (last year a Bigfork youth contingent presented its data at an international conference in San Diego).

Their topics at the state conference ranged from human impact in Jewel Basin to road kill along the Swan Highway — all the result of the students mining mountains of data and converting it into maps.

These are the offshoots of the ambitious GIS program with two high school classes and now a seventh-grade class in Bigfork.

Bigfork, it seems, is setting the standard for this cutting-edge education.