Glacier Oil Well Sealed After 125 Years, Kalispell Levy Vote, Deadly Backcountry Flying Risks

This week on News Now, reporter Taylor Inman begins inside Glacier National Park, where crews are preparing to seal Montana’s first oil well - more than 125 years after it was drilled near Kintla Lake. The historic project will impact campground access and highlights a little-known chapter of early oil exploration in the region.

Next, Kalispell voters are set to decide on a $1.1 million levy to fund elementary schools. With rising costs and declining enrollment, district leaders say the outcome could shape staffing, class sizes, and day-to-day operations across six schools.

We also take a closer look at the dangers of backcountry aviation after two fatal crashes at Ryan Field near West Glacier. Pilots and experts explain how terrain, weather, and experience levels can make mountain flying especially risky.

Finally, Libby officials have lifted a months-long water advisory following December’s flooding, marking a major step toward recovery after significant infrastructure damage.

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Transcript

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Hello and welcome to News Now. I'm your host, Taylor Edman. We're going over the week's biggest headlines for Northwest Montana. Montana's first oil well was drilled in what is now Glacier National Park near the head of Kentla Lake back in 1901. 125 years later, the park will see the well plugged. The Butte Oil Company drilled the well near where the wilderness campground is now located in current day, as there had been reports of natural oil seeps in the area from both early settlers and Native Americans. At the time, the area was afforded no protections, as it wasn't made a national park until 1910 through an act of Congress. Late this summer, early fall, a contractor will have supplies ferried in by helicopter and possibly by boat in order to cap and plug the well. North Fork District Ranger Ty Cheatham detailed some of the plans at the North Fork Interlocal Agreement a few weeks ago. He said because of the work, the park will not have any advanced reservations at the Kentla Lake Wilderness Campground. During the work, the campground will be closed entirely. People will, however, still be allowed to walk the trail which runs nearby. The well itself is about 20 yards from the food prep area of the campgrounds. The work will also affect the Kentla Lake Motor Campground, as about half of it will be used as a staging area and parking for the contractor. American Indians and fur trappers knew about oil seeps in that area, and early day prospectors wondered about potential for oil when Bear Hide sold a tobacco plane smelt of kerosene, according to a historical overview of mining in Montana compiled by the U.S. Forest Service. Prospectors filed the first oil claims in Montana in 1892 for the Kentla Lake area, but any hopes of drilling at that point were thwarted by the financial panic of 1893. A subsequent depression forced would-be oil developers to temporarily scrap the oil district. Bwe Oil Company revived interest in the Kentla Lake oil fields in 1900. At the time, the area was practically inaccessible, according to Forest Service records. It was reached from Tobacco Plains via a trail over the Whitefish Divide along the Coal Trail on the west side of the North Fork of the Flathead River, or along the Canadian Trail on the east side of the Flathead River from Belton at West Glacier. Butte Oil hired workers to build an eight-foot-wide wagon road in 1901, and drilling equipment from Pennsylvania was hauled to Kentla Lake. That wagon road is still used today and is a dirt gravel route to the foot of the lake. Drilling began in 1901. Other oil companies formed and the state's first oil boom was on. According to an article by longtime park ranger Jerome DeSanto called Drilling at Kentla Lake, Montana's first oil well, published in the Montana Magazine of History. Speculators filed oil claims in the area and the buzz among oil promoters was palpable. A 1986 article by Patricia Bick, homesteading on the North Fork in Glacier National Park, included a quote from a magazine writer in 1901 that summed up the excitement over the Kentla oil field. It read, quote, Perhaps there is no more beautiful region in the whole Northwest than this virgin wilderness, which the Enterprise of Man will soon convert into a populous and busy territory with all of the industries of a great oil field in full blast. But it was not to be. That first oil well on the shore of Kentla Lake was drilled to 1,400 feet, but during the winter of 1902 to 1903, fire destroyed much of the operation. Wells in the area never made enough money to justify the expense, and by 1912, Butte Oil's claims were declared void. Another oil company built a derrick a few miles below Kentla Creek, but drilling halted in 1903 due to a lack of capital. Kalisbell voters will see a 1.1 million general fund levy on the ballot in May to support Caliswell Public Schools elementary districts. The Board of Trustees set the levy amount on Tuesday after the state released its final revenue numbers, which determines the district's maximum budget authority. The money will cover a projected budget deficit and allow the district's six elementary schools to maintain school operations. Without it, the district faces budget cuts. General fund levies cover the day-to-day cost of operating schools, from utilities to salaries. The elementary district encompasses six elementary schools and the middle school. District Business and Finance Director Chris Campbell said, quote, the levy cannot be more important. If it doesn't pass, well, we're going to have to do a lot of work to figure out how to right size the budget. End quote. If the levy is approved, owners of homes with an assessed market value of $300,000 can expect annual taxes to increase by $28.12. For owners of homes valued at $600,000, annual taxes are anticipated to increase by $60.06. General fund levies are permanent. Factoring into the projected deficit are health insurance increases and declining enrollment, which is directly tied to the amount of state funding districts receive per pupil. Campbell anticipates health insurance will increase by 5.5% based on actuarial projections. Vice Chair Jennifer Merriman and trustee Rebecca Linden emphasize that despite less state funding coming from declining enrollment, fixed operational costs remain for the district's six elementary schools and the middle school. The last levy passed in the elementary district was a 10-year, $1,087,000 technology levy that narrowly approved in 2024. Merriman reiterated the board's desire to get into the habit of making levy requests every other year, adding that going years without a levy creates a snowball effect. In a January 30th Daily Interlake article, Campbell noted the disparity between per-pupil state funding for elementary students versus high school students, receiving $1,500 less in state funding to spend on an elementary student's education. This is compounded by state accreditation standards mandating smaller class sizes at the elementary level, which in turn requires more teachers. The Ryan Field Airstrip near West Glacier had never recorded a fatality until two separate crashes last summer killed three people. While unusual for the grass runway that's tucked into the forest south of Glacier National Park, experts say the tragedies highlight the challenges and inherent risks of backcountry flying in the Rocky Mountains. At just over 3,600 feet above sea level, Ryan Field is a narrow runway surrounded by tall trees. The landing strip is uneven and can be slippery in wet weather. Longtime pilot John Paul Noyes said that taking off and landing in these conditions is a mastery skill that is only gained through years of experience. As general manager and director of operations for Kalispel-based Red Eagle Aviation, Noyes trains pilots by landing at Rhinefield or other remote airstrips in the region, such as Schaefer Meadows or Meadow Creek on the Flathead National Forest, to expose them to a variety of backcountry environments. Red Eagle Aviation also manages Kalispel City Airport, and planes often stop there to refuel before heading to the bare bones airstrip. Noyes said he will discourage pilots from making the trek after judging their competency in the mountain environment. One of the pilots who died at Ryan Field last summer refueled at the Calisbell City Airport beforehand, Noyes recalled. He had warned other pilots about flying into Ryanair that day due to the abnormally hot weather. Airplanes don't perform as well when there's less air. Hot temperatures paired with high altitudes are a recipe for low air density that low-powered engines struggle to fly in, he said. People will also naively ask Noyes for a quick lesson in backcountry flying before heading out to remote airstrips on their own. He said there's a lot of information he can give in two hours, but becoming a backcountry pilot can take years or decades to be good at. Despite the off-the-grid appeal of Ryan Field, pilots must review a safety briefing before using the airstrip, according to Mike Perkins, the director and treasurer for the Recreational Aviation Foundation. The nonprofit committed to preserving recreational airstrips manages Ryan Field, among many others across the country. The required rating gives a rundown on the surrounding terrain and flying conditions, including a noticeable dip at each end of the runway. For a clear approach, pilots are advised to land from the north, according to Perkins. A mountain range bordering the Great Bear Wilderness that sits just east requires pilots departing from the south end of the runway to eventually veer right. The terrain is far enough away, however, that pilots can still fly a standard rectangular traffic pattern over the area, according to Perkins. The maneuver is fundamental for takeoffs and landings at airports. Perkins said at the end of the day, it's all up to the pilot. They have the authority to make the decision whether or not they should land based on conditions and based on their skill set. Both planes that crashed over the summer had clipped trees, according to preliminary reports released by the National Transportation Safety Board. A Grumman A5 plane carrying two Washington cousins collided with trees while attempting to take off in July. And in August, a pilot was killed right after its wing clipped a tree while trying to land an experimental amateur-built airplane. Constantly flying in and out of the area, Perkins has flown the Rhine Airstrip 40 times over the past year, and he estimated 400 times in his life. While the private airfield is surrounded by forest service land, it is still accessible via road and is equipped with hot water, toilets, and cell phone service. Cabins and tent camping spots are available for pilots stopping by. Pilots usually access Ryan Field between early May and late October. While it still remains fairly quiet, Perkins said there has been an uptick in traffic since the COVID pandemic. He said more people are flying, as well as building and buying experimental type airplanes. Last year, the Federal Aviation Foundation released the modernization of special airworthiness certification rule that eased restrictions for sport pilot certification holders and allowed them to fly more types of aircraft. Getting a sport pilot certification requires less training than recreational or private pilot certifications. With the surge of new pilots comes the higher chance of inexperienced flyers that are overconfident in their skills. Perkins said they get a lot of visitors from non-mountainous areas who may not be familiar with the wind currents, heat, and weather that are present while flying in the Rocky Mountains. Following catastrophic flooding and subsequent water treatment plant difficulties on December 11th that required a boil water order, city officials have worked with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to restore the water. The boil water order was downgraded to a health advisory on January 16th after it was demonstrated that the treatment plant was reliably meeting requirements. Flushing of the distribution system was needed prior to lifting the health advisory to remove any contaminants that may have been present in the water mains. City personnel have since completed the needed flushing. The city has monitored the distribution system daily since the boil water order was issued nearly three months ago. City Administrator Sam Sykes said that there have been no unsatisfactory results since December 29th. Local, county, state, and federal officials are still working to determine the amount of destruction that occurred and how to fix it and pay for it. Sykes said recently the cost was already more than $800,000. Thanks for joining us. NewsNow is a podcast from the Daily Interlake. We're proud to be the largest independent newsroom in Montana and the longest continuously published newspaper in the region. Today's stories were written by Hungry Horse News Editor Chris Peterson, Western News editor Scott Schindeldecker, and Daily Interlake reporters Hilary Matheson and Jack Underhill. You can read the full versions of these stories at dailyinterlake.com, and if you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel to never miss an episode of The Pod. Everybody stay safe and have a great week.