B Bar Gazette – July 2024
| B Bar Gazette |
| Issue #14 July 2024 |
| Howdy B Bar friends and family, The drive up Tom Miner Creek road cuts through a purple sea of lupine. A slight breeze gently sways the flowers like tides pulled by the moon. Recently, under a magnificent starscape, the new moon brought about the three-week-long increase of insect life that Montanans anticipate each year. |
| Remembering the bone-chilling temperatures from last winter, we’re grateful for the warmth of 90-degree weather. With deet and sunscreen holstered next to our bear spray, we’ve taken to rediscovering the abundance of the land we steward. |
 Lupine flowers at Herman's Overlook with Sheep Mountain in the background. |
| Working with Matt Ricketts from Triple R Bar S Consulting, we are spending valuable hours learning about the nuances of the forest ecosystem at B Bar Ranch and how best to care for it. |
| Last week our group paused to examine one high-mountain meadow located at 9,000’ in the far reaches of section 31 situated below Steamboat Mountain in the Gallatin Range. The dozens of grass and forb species including sugar bowl, shooting star, lupine, bearded wheatgrass, stone crop, Rocky Mountain Sunflower, and blue bunch wheatgrass provide plenty of forage adjacent to an ideal habitat for calving undulates. |
 Matt studies grasses of the alpine meadow. |
| 60 years ago, forest managers lacked a long-term strategy for healthy and sustainable ecosystems. Telltale piles of woody slash remain, impacting healthy growth and increasing the potential of catastrophic fire. Matt points out an adjacent tree stand of lodgepole pine, subalpine fur, Engleman spruce, and whitebark pine that needs our help to maintain a healthy plant and fauna coexistence. We know that taking action is imperative for forest health and come this fall we will share with you what measures Matt recommends. |
| We are establishing this baseline assessment of ecosystem health as a basis for planning to effectively manage wildlife habitat, mitigate fire risk, and stimulate native growth with the utmost care and responsibility. |
 .  Matt counts rings from a tree core to estimate the tree's age Up-close look of the lodge pole pine tree core sample. |
| Part of acting as responsible stewards means opening our hearts and minds to sharing our journey. From bratwurst sampling and ranch-to-table dinners to ranch tours with partners, workshops, retreats as well as spontaneous and informal conversations, we thrive on imparting our experiences and finding common ground with people like you. Thank you for continually engaging with us as we seek to inspire and facilitate a deepened connection to the web of life. Sincerely, Jackson Stewart Marketing and Sales Manager |
 Chef Tom adds a glaze over B Bar beef tenderloin for Ranch-to-Table dinner guests. |
| Our B Bar Family Maryanne Mott- General Manager and OwnerAmy Berndt- Administrative AssistantKenney Berndt- Maintenance Foreman Troy Lerwill- Maintenance Technician Mark Rose- Land & Livestock ManagerTrina Smith- Guest Operations ManagerEl Stone-BookkeeperWillie Stewart- Business OperationsJackson Stewart- Marketing & SalesMihail Kennedy- Production ManagerShea Kennedy- Cattle & Grazing Coordinator Randy Mesce- Maintenance Technician |