CURRENT NEWSLETTER

2025 BOARD ELECTION

The GMPOA bylaws mandate an election next summer for Board seats 5 (currently held by Jolene Tollenaar), 6 (currently vacant), and 7 (currently held by Bruce Koerner). Anyone interested in running for a Board seat must notify Jolene Tollenaar by mail at PO Box 122, Helmville MT 59843 or by email at jolenetollenaar@gmail.com no later than May 1. The interested candidate must indicate which Board seat she or he is running for.

GMPOA BOARD CHANGES

George Tague, Board president since 2014, retired as of January 31. At the January meeting, the Board selected vice-president Chris Trussell as interim president until the Board elects new officers in January 2026. Geneva Hollis, Board seat 2, also recently resigned. The Board appointed Beau Pauley to assume Seat 2, effective immediately.

NEW NEIGHBORS

Many new property owners have moved within GMPOA boundaries in the last few years. If you are a new landowner, it may seem that you are alone in a wilderness. The reality is that you have neighbors on all sides, and they likely can see and hear most of what you do, so the Board urges that we all live in ways that are neighborly. Specifically:

• If shooting on your property, be aware of your trajectory and what is on the other side of your target. Never shoot from the roads. We’ve had several instances where errant shots threatened the lives, livestock, or property of neighbors.
• Be aware of “noise pollution.” Sounds travels far in our mountainous terrain, so please muffle the sound of generators and try not to run them when others nearby are sleeping. Avoid playing loud music and hosting loud parties, especially during late hours.
• All property within the GMPOA is privately owned, so never trespass on someone else’s property. Always get permission to cross the property, especially with motorized vehicles. Never hunt from the roads or outside your own property boundaries without permission. Hunting without a license is illegal everywhere in Montana. When in doubt about shooting or hunting, check with local law enforcement; MT Fish, Wildlife, & Parks (FWP.MT.GOV); or Game Warden Joe Kambic (406-490-1227).

ROAD WORK

            This past summer and fall were productive for ongoing maintenance and improvements on easement roads. The majority of GMPOA’s annual budget goes toward road work, and this year we were lucky to have both contracted and volunteer help. The Board received $300 in income for the sale of a culvert and paid a total of $9450.00 for road maintenance.

Ricky White/RTW Enterprises did above and beyond service (including donated labor and materials beyond his contract) on the north end of Hoover Creek Road, Chimney Lakes Road spur, Beaverslide Road, Muskrat Road, and Bison Hollow Road as well as various roads in section 9 with volunteer help from Jack Martin and Mike Hansen. In the southeast portion of the OS, volunteers Beau Pauley, Dave Southcutt, Mike Hansen, and Dan Iskierka installed culverts, cleaned cattle guards, widened Limestone Canyon Loop, and improved drainage with a culvert at the intersection of Limestone Canyon Loop and Canyon Hollow Lane. Apologies to many unknown owners who also contributed materials and labor.

            Thanks to all who participated in improving our shared roads with a special thanks and wishes for speedy recovery for Ricky White who broke both legs in an accident. Neighbors who volunteer road maintenance and winter snow plowing would appreciate your cooperation and an occasional donation toward fuel and vehicle expenses.

            The current road committee members are: Mike Hansen (Chair), Chris Trussell, Bruce Koerner, and Heather Brenner.

GRAZING REPORT
by David Mannix, Mannix Brothers Ranch, 406-793-5721 or mannixbros@blackfoot.net

Mannix Brothers own the cattle cattle that graze the GMPOA lands. We sublease from Phil and Bonnie Henault who own a ranch in the Helmville valley. We are grateful for this relationship with GMPOA and Henault as this grazing opportunity fits in well with our deeded land in the Cottonwood as well as other leased land. I believe this was the 28th year of this arrangement

2024 was the second driest year on record for the Blackfoot Valley. Drought maps for the western United States show the center portion of Powell County (this is us!) being the driest of everyone. We were fortunate to get some decent May rains and so our grass production was acceptable. But with very poor winter snow pack, our mountain spring flows were very low. For this reason, we were worried about having enough stock water and so took fewer cattle into the GMPOA lands.            

This year our grazing rotation started in the northwest end of the GMPOA with cattle coming out of the Dude Camp on 7/8/24. This is 3 weeks sooner than most years, but we went in with 330 pair as opposed to 450 pair most years. We did our cattle gather on September 25. As always, we didn’t find many of the cattle at first gather and collected stragglers as fallmoved along. We got helpful calls from property owners as they spotted cattle, which is really nice. In general, I thought the grazing distribution was good. The middle section of Chimney Creek was likely grazed the hardest. The grass was adequate and the water held up better than I expected.

            I estimate the total AUMs (animal unit months) harvested to be 950. We know of 3 calves that died on the GMPOA property. We do not know the cause of these deaths. At the time of this reporting, we are missing 9 cows and 12 calves from the greater GMPOA/Mannix Cottonwood property. Hopefully we will find and collect them soon. Dennis Lee, Rick White, Virginia Causey, Mike Hanson, and others let us know about cattle that they spotted, but when went up we didn’t find them. We are sometimes several days post-report before we get a chance to go up and search, by which time the cattle have moved on.             We would like to thank you all for the opportunity to lease your grass. We are grateful for the extra eyes on the mountain and the helpful calls we get reporting issues like fire, injured or dead cattle, stray cattle, etc. We have made many friends on the mountain in the years we have been your lessee. Thank you Kindly!

ANNUAL MEETING AND BARBECUE – JULY 6

More than 100 property owners and their families gathered on July 6 in Chimney Creek Park. GMPOA provided Mannix beef burgers and soft drinks, and everybody enjoyed the delicious salads, vegetables, and desserts brought by neighbors. The annual meeting began at 1:00. Board president George Tague moderated a discussion that mostly focused on road maintenance and repair. The summer 2025 barbecue and annual meeting will be on Saturday, July 5 from 11:00 to 2:00 at Chimney Creek Park.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Entry	Income	Expenditure	Balance
GMPOA Balance as of 6/1/2024 (posted in the last newsletter)			$545.61
Cattle lease	$14,000.00		$14,545.61
Road maintenance and repair	$300.00	$9,450.00	$5,395.61
Annual meeting and barbecue		$736.78	$4,658.83
Weed control		$373.94	$4,284.89
Website security and maintenance		$460.77	$3,824.12
Property Tax for Chimney Creek Park		$62.00	$3,762.12
GMPOA Balance as of 12/1/2024			$3,762.12

2025 GMPOA BOARD MEMBERS

Chris Trussell, Acting President			Garnet Mountains Property Owners Association
vacant, Vice-President	Mike Hansen		PO Box 122
Bruce Koerner, Administrator	Beau Pauley		Helmville, MT 59843
Jolene Tollenaar, Treasurer	Heather Brenner		gmpoa@gmpoa.net