Independently reported news stories of Montana's people, land, water and wildlife.
Hunters, wildlife advocates, religious leaders and those concerned about climate change have one thing in common: they don’t like environmental destruction caused by coal. But economic factors rather than protests will probably be coal’s undoing.
Read MoreThe Bureau of Land Management has extended public comment on plans to ban any new mining on critical sage grouse habitat.
Read MoreA legislative committee approved changes to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Park’s damage-hunt rule, but some legislators echoed the public’s confusion over the difference between damage hunts and the new shoulder seasons.
On Monday, the Environmental Quality Council heard FWP Public-Private Lands Coordinator Alan Charles summarize proposed changes to the damage-hunt rule and additional revisions made in response to public comment.
Read MoreThe Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission has thrown its support behind the reauthorization of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.
On Thursday, commissioners unanimously approved a letter urging Montana’s congressional delegation to revive the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Read MoreThe new elk shoulder seasons will be tested in a handful of pilot projects this winter, but the seasons are getting pushback from the very people they were supposed to help: landowners.
On Thursday, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks commissioners approved five hunting districts for a late elk season this year but rejected FWP’s recent inclusion of a sixth district partly because of opposition from landowners in the district.
Read MoreThe federal government has two weeks to either cancel an oil and gas lease in the Badger-Two Medicine area or allow exploration to proceed. In the meantime, people are working in both the courts and Congress to stop the drilling if it’s approved.
After Solonex LLC sued to force federal land agencies to halt a 21-year suspension of its oil exploration lease, District of Columbia District Judge Richard J. Leon in July ordered the Department of the Interior to set a schedule for issuing a decision. That decision is due by Nov. 23.
Read MoreRepublican leaders have stepped up their attacks on the Endangered Species Act. But with more species needing protection, Congressional Democrats have taken a stand against such efforts.
On Thursday, 25 Senate Democrats sent a letter to Pres. Obama protesting the large number of appropriations riders that seek to strip many of the protections in the Endangered Species Act. The riders would block federal protections for gray wolves, greater sage grouse, lesser prairie chicken, and numerous other species.
Read MoreSince September when Congress allowed the 50-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund to lapse, Montana’s conservation groups, sportsmen and land trusts have pushed for reauthorization while anticipating efforts to change the law. Those efforts took form on Thursday when Utah Rep. Rob Bishop introduced his bill to vastly change LWCF funding priorities.
After leading Congressional opposition that killed the LWCF in September, Bishop unveiled his ideas of what the LWCF should be in the House Natural Resources Committee Thursday morning.
Read MoreMontana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wants to finalize two conservation easements that would preserve open land near Whitefish and complete a legacy purchase aided by the now-dead Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Last week, FWP published a draft environmental study that is critical for securing easements on more than 10,000 acres in the southern Whitefish Mountains.
Read MoreOne of the men who made the Wilderness Act a reality implored wilderness managers not to lose sight of their top priority: keeping wilderness wild.
“Let’s take wildness for what it is,” said former Wilderness Society executive director Stewart Brandborg. “Right now, we’re facing a crisis in wilderness. A lot of people this meeting are discussing degrees and varieties of wilderness. Let’s take the word “wild” and live by it as the initial sponsor intended.”
Read MoreBucket biologists have taken it upon themselves to plant walleye in Swan Lake. Fortunately, two fish were caught, and if the culprits are caught, they could end up paying a hefty fine.
Region 1 Fisheries Manager Mark Deleray said FWP biologists caught the walleye during gill-net sampling last week. Both measured about 17 inches long, and Deleray didn't know how long they'd been there or how many more might be in the lake.
Read MoreMontana is falling behind when it comes to energy efficiency, according to a national energy organization. With energy sources in flux, that puts Montanans at a disadvantage.
In its ninth annual evaluation released last week, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy placed Montana in the bottom third of the nation in 2015 based upon the minimal policies and programs implemented by the state.
Read MoreWhile some continue to push for state control of federal land, Chinese control of U.S. oil and gas illustrates why it might be better for Americans to keep public lands in public hands.
On Friday, a Chinese company, Yantai Xinchao Industry Co. Ltd., said it would pay $1.3 billion for oil fields in Howard and Borden counties in Texas, according to the Associated Press.
Read MoreWith persistent suburban and industrial development, wetlands continue to disappear across the nation. But thanks to a relatively new program, they’re starting to come back to the Swan Valley.
After a year as conservation director for the Swan Ecosystem Center in Condon, Luke Lamar has his first wetland restoration project under his belt.
Read MoreSen. Jon Tester tried to reach out to Montanans regarding Congressional issues affecting public lands and conservation in Montana. But some callers preferred to make their own points or raise questions on unrelated issues.
Tester started off the Wednesday evening call going over the main issues he wanted to address: preserving public land, reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund, improving forest management by removing wildfire suppression costs from the Forest Service budget and the Congressional brinksmanship related to raising the federal debt ceiling.
Read MoreMontana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is expected to soon release its draft environmental impact statement on the possibility of developing a state bison herd. While some doubt the state’s ability to establish such a herd, the American Prairie Reserve is already well on its way toward returning large herds to Montana’s plains.
In its recently released annual bison report, the American Prairie Reserve predicts that its herd should grow to more than 1,000 animals by 2018, based on the more than 600 bison now roaming 31,000 acres of the 305,000-acre reserve.
Read MoreDaytime high temperatures are finally settling into the 50s and not a moment too soon for rifle hunters in Montana who are eagerly awaiting Saturday's opening of the general season.
While the golden leaves and larch and cooler temperatures help the pulse race a bit, it's still fairly warm so hunters should keep a couple thoughts in mind, even though most are already well informed.
Read MoreWith two supervisor positions finally filled, all seven regions of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks have leaders at the helm. However, four of those supervisors are basically rookies on a team that’s young to begin with.
On Thursday, FWP announced that Barb Beck would replace retiring Region 5 Supervisor Gary Hammond, who had been in the job almost 10 years.
Read MoreThe 2015 water year has ended, and the next has begun, but neither look good for Montana’s water supply.
On Thursday, the Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Council heard the details of the toll that this hot summer took on water in most of the state. The implications for next year are bad, because the forecast is for a hot, dry winter.
Read MoreWater has always been a precious commodity, but drought-caused shortages have made it even more so. And yet, a recent national report card shows that Americans sometimes don’t take care of what little fresh water they have.
On Oct. 9, America’s Watershed Initiative, a collaborative of more than 400 businesses, agencies and science groups, issued the first 31-state report card for the waters that feed the Mississippi River. It’s not the kind of report card you’d want to bring home.
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