Montana On The Ground

Independently reported news stories of Montana's people, land, water and wildlife.

Feds seeking comment on oil exploration south of Dillon

March 02, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Even though U.S. oil prices have dropped to levels not seen in more than a decade, a Denver-based company is proposing a drilling project that could threaten prime wildlife habitat in southwest Montana.

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and the Dillon Bureau of Land Management Office are conducting an environmental assessment of oil drilling in the Tendoy Mountains south of Dillon. They are accepting public comment until midnight on March 25.

Study: Elk harboring hampers FWP population control

February 27, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

A new scientific study adds fodder to hunters' claims that landowners who don’t allow public access contribute to elk overpopulation.

On Thursday, at a Wildlife Society meeting in Missoula, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologist Scott Thompson presented research out of the Missouri River Breaks area showing that elk, not surprisingly, tended to harbor on properties that exclude public hunters.

Big lands, human tolerance needed for wildlife restoration

February 24, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Wildlife restoration has seen both triumphs and challenges in the past few decades, but challenges will dominate the future if biologists can’t learn to forge new relationships to overcome intolerance, according to leading Montana biologist.

This week in Missoula, some of the finest wildlife researchers in Montana are attending an annual state meeting of The Wildlife Society to discuss their latest projects and learn of new research on everything from bison to bighorn sheep and beavers. The conference theme is wildlife restoration, so during Wednesday’s kick-off session, experienced conservation leaders told their younger colleagues that future restoration efforts need to focus on large landscapes owned by several entities so the most important part of a biologist’s job would be building relationships with a wide array of people.

FWP commission: Send Idaho sheep home

February 18, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission joins other organizations in calling for the end of federally-funded sheep grazing in the Centennial Mountains.

After last week’s marathon FWP commission meeting, the commissioner sent letters to Montana’s Congressional delegation asking them to remove Montana lands from the area managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Experimental Sheep Station.

Livestock Board wants AG ruling on bison authority

February 18, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

As the Montana Board of Livestock struggles to keep the Department of Livestock out of debt, it’s asking the state attorney general to clarify the DOL’s responsibility related to bison.

During a discussion of economic affairs and long-range planning, Board of Livestock member John Scully asked the board to approve his letter asking Attorney General Tim Fox to clarify the DOL’s responsibilities related to bison.

Report: Private sheep pose threat to most Montana bighorn herds

February 16, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Nonnative weeds threaten to choke out native grasses on Missoula’s open foothills, so sheep were put to work on Mount Jumbo’s leafy spurge. Unfortunately, Missoula’s wooly alternative endangers one native species that has surprisingly few places left to roam.

On Tuesday, conservation groups released a report showing that 85 percent of Montana’s wild sheep herds are at risk of disease due to nearby domestic sheep. The National Wildlife Federation, Montana Wildlife Federation, Wild Sheep Foundation and Montana Wild Sheep Foundation sponsored the report.

Commission approves elk shoulder seasons, reduced season near Gardiner

February 11, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

In many parts of the state, elk season will now last as long as six months.

On Thursday, the Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission sat through more than two hours of discussion and comments before approving, with a few modifications, the next round of elk shoulder seasons. For the next two years, rifle season will extend mostly from Aug. 15 until Feb. 15 in about 40 hunting districts. But outside the general season, hunters can harvest only cows.

Lawsuit would increase protection for Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bears

February 10, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

In refusing to increase protection and designate critical habitat in the Cabinet-Yaak region, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has probably hampered grizzly-bear recovery, according to a new lawsuit.

On Monday, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the third time in almost two years for not giving more protection to grizzly bears in the Cabinet-Yaak region of northwest Montana.

Obama budget adds half-percent for federal land management

February 09, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

The Obama administration’s final proposal for an annual budget would allocate $13.4 billion to the Department of the Interior for everything from wildfire suppression to funding for scientific research. But with a Republican-led Congress in an election year, parts of the budget could fall by the wayside by September.

Report: NPS amenities are crumbling due to minimal funding

February 05, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

The combination of the recession of a few years ago and repeated Congressional budget cuts have left national parks in poor shape headed into the National Park Service’s centennial, according to a new report.

On Friday, the National Park Service released its annual report on the deferred maintenance that has piled up over a number of years and the huge sums of money needed to overcome the backlog.

Study: Half of carnivore attacks are avoidable

February 03, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

A new study backs up recent grizzly-bear finding that dangerous encounters with predators can be minimized if people are taught how to be smarter.

On Wednesday, University of Calgary bear-attack expert Stephen Herrero published a study detailing almost 70 years of large carnivore attacks and showed that at least half were brought on by human themselves. His aim is to quell the fear of carnivores that some people develop if they don’t understand animal behavior or how to avoid dangerous situations.

In Wilks negotiations, BLM balanced access, public interest

February 01, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Last week, to the relief of many Montana hunters and pilots, the Central Montana Bureau of Land Management rejected for a second time any land trade proposed by billionaire landowners Farris and Dan Wilks.

Mark Albers, manager of the BLM’s Hi-Line and Lewistown districts, told the Central Montana Resource Advisory Council on Jan. 26 that the BLM didn’t have the resources to properly review and manage such a trade. Land exchanges require a lot of time and resources, and the Wilks’ plan was particularly complex because it involved parcels in different counties, Albers said.

Albers isn’t lying.

CHROME gives steely lesson on climate change, fishing

January 26, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

A number of passions have their “porn”- photos or films of epic adventures that most will never experience. For the next few weeks, Montanans will cast off their lined Carhartts and cabin fever and get a taste of summer while watching the 2016 Fly Fishing Film Festival with other angling fanatics.

But amid the documentaries showing men perfecting marlin fishing off the Virginia coast or howling over bass fishing in Guyana, one film steps back a little from the fish fetish to present a call to action.

FWP gets sage-grouse transplant approval

January 14, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

This spring, 40 Montana sage grouse hens will be looking for love in Canada.

On Thursday, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission voted to approve the transplant of 40 sage grouse to Alberta, Canada, as part of an effort to bolster Canadian populations. The 3-1 vote went against a recommendation made by the legislative Environmental Quality Council on Wednesday to ban all such transplants for the next three years.

Legislators urge ban on sage-grouse transplants out-of-state

January 13, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Montana legislators are asking for a three-year ban on transplants of sage grouse outside the state.

On Wednesday, after another fractious discussion of sage grouse conservation efforts in Montana, Sen. John Brendan, R-Scobey, proposed that the legislative Environmental Quality Council send a letter to Gov. Steve Bullock and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks asking for a three-year moratorium on sending sage grouse out of state. The letter passed on a 10-5 vote.

Judge: Idaho trapping rules must prevent lynx capture

January 12, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

An Idaho court ruling showed that the state of Montana did the right thing when it agreed to protect threatened Canada lynx from accidental trapping.

In a Jan. 8 ruling, Idaho federal District Judge Lynn Winmill agreed with environmental groups that Idaho’s trapping regulations were insufficient to protect lynx from being trapped accidentally in the Clearwater and Panhandle regions of the state. The judge ordered the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to spend the next 90 days working with the plaintiffs on trapping limits to prevent what the Endangered Species Act calls “incidental take” of lynx. In the meantime, trapping is suspended in those areas of Idaho.

State water deadline undermines tribal water compacts

January 11, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Montana’s legislators may need to extend a self-imposed deadline to help Montana’s tribes secure their water and avoid years of litigation.

The legislative Water Policy Interim Committee learned Monday that three tribes could be forced to sue the state if the Montana Water Court finalizes water-rights decrees before Congress ratifies the tribes’ water compacts.

BLM: Renew mining limits in the Sweet Grass Hills

January 08, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Just a month or so after the Blackfeet successfully defended culturally valuable places along Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front from oil and gas development, they may have to do the same once again to preserve some mountains to the east.

On Thursday, the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management proposed extending for another 20 years an order that locks up undeveloped mineral rights on almost 20,000 acres of public land in the Sweet Grass Hills of north central Montana.

Yellowstone bison face cull while awaiting bigger habitat

January 06, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Two weeks after the state of Montana decided Yellowstone bison could roam year-round in the area outside West Yellowstone, an interagency group decided almost 1,000 bison needed to be killed this winter.

Members of the Interagency Bison Management Plan decided once again that 600 to 900 bison needed to be eliminated from the herds of Yellowstone National Park to reduce the population below the 4,900 estimated to reside in the park.

Congressional riders aid conservation easements in Montana

December 18, 2015 by Laura Lundquist

To the surprise of some, Congress passed a few laws to help keep Montana’s land whole and its families on the land.

Since Congress allowed the Land and Water Conservation Act to sunset in September, some have wondered how to save what’s left of rural Montana. But on Friday, the U.S. Senate joined the House of Representatives both in extending the LWCF at least short-term and in allowing tax incentives for conservation easements to become permanent.