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Lincoln County health department reports shelter intake, septic permit volume and rabies/tick surveillance
Summary
At the Aug. 13 meeting, Lincoln County health staff reported the animal shelter had 13 dogs and 17 cats (13 kittens), confirmed 165 septic permit applications in 2025 with 146 permits issued, and said one bat sample returned 'suspicious' for rabies while blacklegged ticks have been detected elsewhere in Montana but not yet in Lincoln County.
Lincoln County health department staff updated the Board of Commissioners on Aug. 13 about environmental health, animal-shelter activity, permitting progress and local disease surveillance.
Kathy, speaking for the department, said the animal shelter currently houses 13 dogs and 17 cats, 13 of which are kittens. The department is transporting many cats and kittens to the Humane Society in Callisbell for spay/neuter services; four dogs were moved last week but the shelter continues to receive new intakes. Staff are pursuing a planning grant from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to design a new shelter and hope to apply for follow-up construction funding once guidance is updated.
On septic permitting, Kathy reported 165 applications in 2025 to date (about three fewer than the same time last year). Of those, 136 applications were for new systems, 23 for replacements and six were affidavits or declarations related to unpermitted systems. The office has issued 146 permits and is working through a small backlog of incomplete applications; 68 applications required local review and some remain pending while applicants supply additional information.
The department also said roughly 20% of the county's 10,000 historical permits have been entered into the online permit system; staff are losing a temporary employee who was helping with data entry and hope to re-staff or contract completion. Kathy announced that Robin Blumberg passed the state certified reviewer exam and the county is finalizing a contract with the state Department of Environmental Quality to receive revenue for local reviews and expand in‑house services.
On environmental health enforcement, the department reported 17 current litter/community-decay violations, five with compliance plans due Aug. 31, two sent to the sheriff for service and two in court; staff noted one property owner could not be located and that several properties are in probate. The department said they give property owners 30 days to comply and may grant a 30‑day extension for substantial progress; unresolved matters will be referred to the county attorney.
Public health staff said their outreach has been active across the county: back-to-school events, the Smiles Across Montana dental screenings, and resource-van visits. They reported five bats with human or pet contact this summer; one test result returned "suspicious" for rabies because the brain tissue had degraded and could not produce a definitive result. The department also noted that blacklegged ticks (a Lyme disease vector) were first found in Montana in 2024 and have been detected in Sheridan and Dawson counties; they have not been found in Lincoln County during this surveillance season. The state is offering increased tick surveillance and testing.
The department encouraged residents to vaccinate pets and to submit tick samples using county collection kits or through the state testing program. Staff said they will continue outreach and will post permit and program updates on Lincoln County Connections.
