Keep It Grizzly

The crew at Uptop Clothing Co. are giving away worn football gloves signed by Montana greats! Whaaaat!!! Check 'em out and win something!

We're giving away game worn football gloves signed by Montana greats! Click on link below and enter for a chance to win a pair!

Signed gloves: C**t Anderson, Dan Carpenter, Marc Mariani, Trumaine Johnson, and Chase Reynolds.

https://startandgo.typeform.com/to/uhAClP

High scoring and high energy in the student section as usual! Nothing like the Missoula sunshine and a W!!! Share away!!!!

Touchdowns, touchdowns, and more touchdowns!! Get to clickin' ladies and gents. Tag yourself, tag your friends, tag your little brother or sister, and ALWAYS KEEP IT GRIZZLY!!

Lots of smiling faces in this one for sure. You all know the drill by now, and if you dont, TAG yourself, TAG your friends and LIKE the page so you can see all of the beautiful smiling faces as soon as we post!

Montana Grizzly Encounter needs the community's support. MGE is a grizzly bear rescue and sanctuary (run by some down to Earth, cool ass Montanans) and the care they give these animals is tremendous...

We need your HELP! Please READ & SHARE.

Help Save Montana Grizzly Encounter

In 2002 Montana Grizzly Encounter bought the vacant property at I-90 exit 319. It was situated between I-90 on one side and the railroad on the other. It was much better suited to a commercial business than a residence with the sound of constant traffic and trains coming by. We bought it specifically to build a grizzly bear sanctuary to save the lives of bears that had no other place to live and give the public a chance to enjoy and learn from them. We paid a large engineering company to design the sanctuary and construction started. At that time there were no zoning restrictions in the area. All state, local and federal regulations were met. In spring of 2004 Montana Grizzly Encounter opened for business.
A few years later in 2006 the public was worried by the threat of coal bed methane development that could harm the environment. So a zoning regulation preventing that was hurriedly passed in May 2006. Tucked within that zoning were restrictions on the kind of development that could be done to a
property within the district. No commercial development was allowed. However the regulation contained the following provision for properties within the zoning district already developed: In accordance with Montana law, it is the intent of these Regulations to establish a “grandfather” clause allowing such lots, uses and structures to remain. To avoid undue hardship, nothing in these Regulations shall be deemed to require a change in the construction or designated use of any structure on which actual construction was lawfully begun prior to the effective date of adoption or amendment to these Regulations.
For the last 12 years Montana Grizzly Encounter has rescued and provided a caring home for bears that can live nowhere else and provided the public with a great opportunity to enjoy the bears. School and youth groups are encouraged to come free of charge and to date over ten thousand children have learned from the experience. Over that time more than 100 thousand people have come and watched the bears in their beautiful setting on Bozeman pass and learned valuable bear conservation and safety information before heading to Yellowstone National Park. We feel that Montana Grizzly Encounter has provided a real benefit for grizzly bears and the community.
But now we are facing a new threat from the zoning board. After all this time they have determined that several of our structures are in violation. We feel that in 2002 we began construction according to the blueprints of a design made at that time and construction has been ongoing ever since as funds become available. Therefore all of our structures and uses are “grandfathered” according to the regulation. The zoning board interprets the situation differently. They say that only the structures that were finished and in place before May of 2006 will be allowed to stay. This is contrary to their own regulations that state: any structure on which actual construction was lawfully begun prior to the effective date of adoption or amendment to these Regulations.
We feel this is a very unfair and arbitrary decision on their part. This limitation would have a serious impact on our ability to continue to operate Montana Grizzly Encounter. The zoning board wants us to remove our small gift shops, entrance signs, housing for 2 bears and even a shingled roof extension put on our caretaker entrance to block the rain and snow. They have even marked our 8’x12’ goat shed as something out of compliance while it is obviously just that a shed with pet goats inside. All we are asking from the zoning board is that because we began business years before the zoning, we should be allowed to operate as a normal small business would. And we should be allowed to complete the construction that was designed and begun in 2002 for the good of the business and the bears.
As private individuals with a small business it is very difficult to stand up against the government. We have been forced to spend a tremendous amount of our very limited funds in legal fees to fight this while they just spend your tax dollars. Now we need the help of the public. On October 1 we need to provide proof from the public in the form of letters that show that Montana Grizzly Encounter is important to the community. These letters will then be entered into the record and be considered at the appeal hearing scheduled for the morning of October 13. We appreciate your continued support for Montana Grizzly Encounter and our 5 rescued grizzly bears, Brutus, Sheena, Jake, Maggi and Bella.

Please email letters to:

**UPDATE**
Our lawyer is asking for letters to be signed so they can be entered into the record and they show that the people are real and are willing to support MGE.

[email protected]
or
[email protected]

Thank you!

Lookin' good ladies and gents! Saturday football and a wild student section is always a recipe for a good time. But enough of the small talk, TAG yourself, TAG a friend, make some new profile/cover photos and ALWAYS Keep it Grizzly!!

Lookin' good ladies and gents! Saturday football and a wild student section is always a recipe for a good time. But enough of the small talk, TAG yourself, TAG a friend, make some new profile/cover photos and ALWAYS Keep it Grizzly!!

Our friends at GoSnug Keeping it Grizzly in 20 degree weather...

See what these ambitious students are doing to make a difference in the fight against childhood cancer!!

Up til Dawn at The University of Montana Help fight cancer in the 406 and click the link: http://www.fundraising.stjude.org/montana Up ‘til Dawn - The University of Montana is a student-led, student...