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4/4/2025
“Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to [email protected].
Missoula-based modeling tool aims to help pollinator conservation
Want to help bees and other declining pollinators but don’t know where to start? A new online tool can point you in the right direction.
Dean Pearson, a research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service, developed the recently released urban pollinator matrix modeling tool — which predicts how individuals and cities can benefit pollinators — with Marirose Kuhlman, a habitat coordinator for Missoula County Department of Ecology and Extension, and Alli DePuy with Inspired Classroom.
Kulman said she and DePuy first discussed how to use a modeling matrix to explore actions people can take in their own backyards to increase pollinators and looped in Pearson to help build the matrix. A study linking to the online tool and giving an example of how it can be used was published in a scientific journal in March.
Pearson said he designed the model, which was developed for Missoula but is a customizable template, to be user-friendly and empower people to respond to global challenges.
“We built a model for that purpose that is visual and interactive so they can show themselves and their local communities how to help pollinators,” he said.
The number of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, birds and bats, globally has dropped over the years because of shrinking habitat, invasive species, pesticides and climate change, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Insect pollinators support more than a third of global food crops and all pollinators play a key role in all ecosystems, according to the agency.
The public is increasingly aware that pollinators are in trouble, Pearson said. In recent years, “No Mow May” has grown in popularity as a way to help pollinators by allowing flowers to bloom in lawns typically cut short but can be a controversial approach, he said.
Using the model, the team compared the effectiveness of cutting back on traditional lawn care — mowing and herbicide use — with planting native plants without changes to lawn care. The matrix found that rewilding yards does help pollinators, particularly honeybees, but planting native plants has a greater effect on more pollinators, Pearson said.
“We get a lot of questions about how to support pollinators with lawn care or in a yard and garden,” Kuhlman said. “Now we can say we ran a model showing us that planting native plants really is the best way to support pollinators even if you continue to have a perfectly green lawn.”
Along with the positive effects on pollinators, the model predicted that more native plants would lead to an increase in native birds, which was a pleasant surprise, Pearson said. The resulting increase in pollinators provides more food for birds, and the plants can provide food and nesting and roosting habitat, he said.
Boosting urban pollinators is helpful to gardens and plants within the city but can also benefit the surrounding landscape, Pearson said. Cities are typically “black holes” for pollinators, but some species like bees tend to do well in urban environments if people create habitat and food for them, he said.
Much of Kuhlman’s work at the county ecology department involves education and outreach to control noxious weeds, she said. Noxious weeds have a detrimental effect on pollinators and emphasizing that is one way Kuhlman encourages people to control weeds on their property, she said. Missoulians have also become more interested in native plants over the years, Kuhlman said.
“Until recently, people thought of native plants and conservation as happening in open spaces and wild lands,” she said. “People are starting to understand the importance of planting regionally, locally appropriate plants to support local pollinators.”
Kuhlman said she would love to see the modeling tool used by Missoula neighborhood groups or to justify why having native plants in city plantings is beneficial for pollinators and people.
The model was designed as a blueprint that can be tweaked for other communities and ideally scaled up from backyard to global use, Pearson said. This type of modeling matrix can be used for more general conservation problems, like grizzly bear recovery, he said.
“The idea is to create a tool we can do better conservation with to more easily achieve intended outcomes,” Pearson said. “To put a tool in the hands of any conservation practitioner or citizen around the globe to do better things, … and do not have to have a Ph.D. in modeling to do that.”
Following up
One year since breaking ground on the Scott Street-Ravara housing development, the first homes on the Northside site are taking shape.
The development is located on nine acres of the former White Pine and Sash mill site, adjacent to Scott Street and the railroad tracks. The city purchased the land in 2020 and partnered with Ravara Development, a subsidiary of Goodworks Ventures, to develop the site.
Construction is underway on the three-acre community land trust portion of the site, which will include 89 for-sale condos and townhomes. About half of those will be income-qualified for households earning less than 120% of the area median income.
The first row of eight townhomes on Scott Street will be market-rate housing to help pay for the project, said Kiah Hochstetler, a Goodworks development partner. Those homes will be available in late 2025 or early 2026, he said.
The first phase of construction will include another row of eight townhomes to the west and two buildings with a total of 27 condos, Hochstetler said. To move forward with the second phase, which is nearly identical to the first phase, completed homes must first be sold, he said.
While the community land trust takes priority, Hochstetler said developers are also planning for the commercial space and market-rate housing on the other six acres of the site. Hochstetler said he is working to bring a grocery store to the area and is talking with other potential tenants.
Depending on the market, the planned 220 to 225 apartments may instead be condos or a mix of both, Hochstetler said.
“While not part of the community land trust, the value of homeownership is substantial here,” he said.
Mayor Andrea Davis touted the project as an example of the city’s strategy to turn its land purchases into community amenities, like parks, affordable housing and new commercial space. The project is the city’s first to use tax increment financing for workforce housing as allowed under a law passed by the Montana Legislature in 2023, Davis said.
5 Things to Know in Missoula
On Thursday, the Missoula County commissioners approved spending $282,300 in tax increment financing revenue to pay for a new ambulance bay for the Missoula Rural Fire District’s station in Bonner. Fire Chief Paul Finlay said initially, the district won’t use the ambulance to transport people to the hospital unless Missoula Emergency Services, Inc. is busy. Purchasing the ambulance is part of the district’s long-term plan to serve the growing area, he said. The money for the project will come from the Bonner Mill Tax Increment Financing Industrial District and would leave more than $1 million in the fund for other projects, said Flanna McLarty, land and economic development specialist with the county. The fire district plans to go out to bid for the project in April and begin construction in July to be completed in October.
More than 60 organizations will offer services and resources to those in need during Project Community Connect on Friday, April 11, at the Missoula Public Library. Free services offered include medical and dental care, mental health and addiction recovery support, legal services, employment assistance, haircuts, IDs and driver’s licenses, veterans’ services, public benefits assistance, food and a community clothing closet. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. throughout the library and will affect parking and other library services. Attendees can start with a free hot breakfast served by the Missoula First United Methodist Church and Food Not Bombs from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the church at 300 E. Main St. Those interested in volunteering at the event can sign up online.
Missoula County is now offering pre-engineered building plans for garages, storage sheds and pole barns to help make projects easier and more affordable. Residents outside city limits but inside the county can use the plans instead of hiring a professional designer, architect or engineer, according to the county’s building department. Using the plans will help speed up approval time when applying for building permits. Those interested can view the available plans online. Before submitting for permits, residents must vet their project with Missoula Public Health and the Planning, Development and Sustainability Department.
The city of Missoula is seeking volunteers for boards and commissions with open seats. The Missoula City Parks and Recreation Board has two open positions and the Historic Preservation Commission, Missoula Civic Television Advisory Commission and the Local Emergency Planning Committee each have one open seat. Applications for the parks and recreation board are due April 25. The other seats will remain open until filled. More information and applications are available online.
The Missoula Downtown Foundation this week kicked off its spring campaign to raise $500,000 to replace the Caras Park canopy and repaint the pavilion. The canopy was installed in 1997 and has passed its expected lifespan of 15 years, according to the organization. Canopy replacement is set to begin in October. Donations will also support adding climbing features, skating structures and enhanced lighting for the playground under the Beartracks Bridge. Those interested can find instructions to donate online.
Photo Op
About 150 people rallied in support of transgender people in front of the Missoula County Courthouse on Monday, the Transgender Day of Visibility.
Speakers at the rally criticized bills passed by the Montana Legislature that restrict transgender people’s access to public bathrooms and locker rooms and participation on student athletic teams.
“I want these lawmakers to listen to me and listen good,” said speaker Dakota Chaparro. “We aren’t going anywhere. We can’t just disappear. And you can put all the bans on basic necessities and activities you want. And that still won’t change the simple fact that trans people exist.”
Chaparro said House Bill 121, the “bathroom bill,” will lead to harassment and other negative consequences.
On the same day that Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the two bills last week, the ACLU of Montana filed a lawsuit against House Bill 121, which affects public bathrooms, locker rooms and sleeping areas. On Wednesday, a state district court judge in Missoula temporarily blocked the law until the court can consider both parties’ arguments on whether it should be preliminarily enjoined.
Speaker Gwen Nicholson said while things are scary for trans people, they can’t accept defeat. Nicholson encouraged people to build bonds and lift each other up.
“This fight won’t end next week or next year,” she said. “It’s the work of our lifetimes. So let’s dig in. Fight harder. Fight smarter. And remember our power isn’t in politicians or protests, it’s in each other.”
