Independently reported news stories of Montana's people, land, water and wildlife.
The Legislature should allow government entities to produce five times more solar energy for credit, according to one Republican’s bill.
Rep. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, got a little excited as he tried to overcome NorthWestern Energy arguments against House Bill 34, which would increase the net-metering cap to 250 kilowatts from 50 kW for solar projects by government entities such as schools or prisons.
Read MoreChristmas snow was the gift Montana needed to possibly avoid drought this summer.
This water year – which runs from October to September – reinforced the trend being caused by climate change: winter weather comes later each year. Snow didn’t begin piling up until one to three weeks later than normal, according to the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service January Water Supply Report.
Read MoreMontana's tribes may regain their licenses to hunt bison but Montana's hunters may have to solve privacy problems before gaining the right to have digital hunting tags.
In the Senate Fish and Wildlife Committee, Sen. Jennifer Pomnichowski, D-Bozeman, learned her bill promoting digital game tags already faced an amendment because of privacy concerns.
Read MoreThe U.S. Bureau of Land Management is moving ahead with a proposal to stop future mining development on more than 10 million acres of federal sage grouse habitat.
On Friday, the BLM released its draft environmental impact statement of the ramifications of freezing all future mining claims on federal land in six states, including Montana. That starts the clock on a comment period that will close on March 30. It’s the second chance for the public to comment, the first being the scoping period that occurred in late 2015.
Read MoreAs the 65th Montana Legislature convenes on Monday, legislators have already proposed least two bills that would affect Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ shoestring budget.
After hours of hearings and counter proposals in 2015, the Legislature approved most of FWP’s proposed budget that had been developed by a working group of hunters, fishermen and outfitters. One of the major changes was having the budget cover four years, unlike previous versions that were mapped out over 10 years.
Read MoreThe 2016 election emphasized how the world has entered an era where all issues are inevitably twisted beyond recognition through the use of propaganda and some outright lies in social media but also traditional sources. Each side digs in, believing or at least supporting their cause and talking points, even if untrue.
The most recent example is the battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline, playing out on the Internet as much as it is on the ground. Both sides skew their messages, appealing to their supporters. But so far, it’s the law officers, backed by the pipeline company Energy Transfer Partnership and governor of North Dakota, who have slid farther into falsehood.
Read MoreA dire wildlife disease sits on Montana’s doorstep, poised to inundate the state’s prized herds of deer, elk and moose. As more research exposes the disease’s devastating effects, a Montana legislator is sponsoring bills to counter the threat while others renew the call to close Wyoming’s elk feedgrounds.
Within the past month, two research papers added to the evidence showing that chronic wasting disease can significantly reduce whitetail deer populations through deaths not only from the disease itself but also other factors because diseased deer are weakened. Chronic wasting disease is similar to mad-cow disease and causes the animal’s brain to slowly degenerate into a spongy mass and in the meantime, the animal develops abnormal behavior causing it to starve, lose bodily functions and die.
Read MoreAs October begins, fishing fades into the background as sportsmen anticipate the start of rifle season. But for those still wanting to wet a line, the cooler weather has meant cooler water and increasing access to rivers that closed due to the summer heat. While some anglers understand the need to close rivers, it appears that legislators don’t. So they may challenge Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ decisions during the 2017 Legislature.
On Friday, FWP reopened most of the Big Hole River, the only stream in the state still under restrictions. However, the lower section from the Notch Bottom Fishing Access Site to the Jefferson River at Twin Bridges remains closed, according to criteria outlined in the Big Hole Watershed Drought Management Plan.
Read MoreAn insurance company claims that drivers are at higher risk of hitting a deer in Montana than in other states. But Montana might not deserve the ranking.
State Farm Insurance released its annual calculation that seems to show that Montana ranks second in the nation as far as a driver's likelihood of hitting a deer, elk or moose. Montanans are supposed to have a 1-in-58 chance of hitting a deer. West Virginia takes top honors with a 1-in-41 chance, and Pennsylvania comes in third.
But since the company’s purpose is to sell car insurance, a smart consumer might give those calculations another look. Data can show certain trends that may not be so when put in the proper context.
Read MoreWildlife Services helps Montana livestock producers kill thousands of wild predators every year. But as its funding decreases, the agency may have to leave producers to their own devices, which may include bounties.
On Friday, John Steuber, Montana State Director of Wildlife Services, told the Montana Board of Livestock that Wildlife Services, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, probably couldn’t continue killing predators without the money it gets from the state, especially from cattle producers who pitch in 50 cents to a dollar per head.
Read MoreWhile polls repeatedly show that a majority of Montanans value open lands for recreation, hunting and fishing, some have assumed that those in the east - where private property predominates - cared less. Now a new poll finds that eastern Montanans don’t think too differently from those in the rest of the state.
A bipartisan team of pollsters asked the opinions of more than 500 Montanans on everything from energy sources to public land issues between Sept. 1 and Sept. 8. They found that overall, a majority supports renewable energy; phasing out Colstrip instead of fighting to keep it open; funding public-land access programs; and protecting rivers with federal designations.
Read MoreIt’s no secret that public-land opportunities attract millions of in- and out-of-state visitors and dollars to Montana. Now, a new study shows that a subset of users – hunters – are critical to preserving businesses in sparsely populated parts of the state where few others stray. But they’ll keep coming back only if public land habitat is preserved.
On Monday, Bozeman-based Headwaters Economics released an economic analysis showing that deer and elk hunting in four districts north of Lewistown brought in almost $4 million in 2015. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks calculated the total for the four hunting districts – 410, 412, 417 and 426 - that sit just south of the Missouri River in Fergus and Petroleum counties.
Read MoreMontana Fish, Wildlife & Parks requested state legislators’ blessings for a dozen proposed bills, but two dealing with wolves and trout didn’t get the nod.
On Thursday, FWP Director Jeff Hagener stepped the Environmental Quality Council through 12 bills that would either improve FWP procedures or help preserve a few species. But Hagener got an earful from Sen. John Brenden, R-Scobey, when he described a bill intended to allow the Fort Peck Hatchery to produce a few more cold-water fish.
Read MoreOn Thursday, the Environmental Quality Council of the Montana Legislature sent a letter to Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk urging him to allow tribal bison hunting in the park, even though it would take an act of Congress.
“While this letter is not written at the request or on behalf of the tribes, the EQC urges you to honor any future requests from Indian tribes to hunt bison within Yellowstone National Park,” the letter said.
Read MoreIn a 6-1 ruling on Tuesday, the Montana Supreme Court upheld a district court ruling that limted the number of household wells that subdivision developers could drill without a water-permit exemption. The ruling preserves Montana’s system of water rights that gives priority of water use to owners of older water rights and could ultimately keep more water in Montana’s streams.
Writing for the majority, Justice Laurie McKinnon went into 24 pages of detail as to why a district court judge was not mistaken when he voided a rewritten 1993 Department of Natural Resources and Conservation rule that allowed developers to sink unlimited numbers of household wells without needing a water permit. In addition, the court ruled that the previous 1987 DNRC rule limiting exempt wells would stand for now.
Read MoreFour environmental organizations contend that a copper-sliver mine proposed to tunnel beneath the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness would rob the region’s streams of water.
On Aug. 31, the groups sent a formal objection to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, asking that the agency not grant a water-right permit to the Rock Creek Mine. They argue that the DNRC would be breaking three state laws if it allowed the Helca Mining Company to use the groundwater that would seep into the shafts as miners worked their way underground.
Read MoreResidents and businesses in the Gardiner and Paradise valleys received another reprieve last week from the threat of a gold mine north of Yellowstone National Park.
Read MoreYou’ll never know how many rocks look like mountain goats until you’re trying to find a goat in Glacier National Park.
As bison are to Yellowstone National Park, mountain goats are the iconic species of Glacier Park. Their image appeared on early posters advertising the park, and tourists flock to photograph the goats that frequent Logan Pass. So some find it concerning that, just like the glaciers, mountain goats might be dwindling in Glacier Park.
Read MoreSome areas along the High Line might be flush with water, but much of Montana is suffering from drought. Next year may not get any better, so the state wants to improve its drought plan.
On Thursday, the Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee heard all the ways the dog days of summer are worsening Montana’s drought and how it’s affecting the state’s wildlife and agriculture.
Read MoreThe Roaring Lion Fire is causing some new wrinkles in old arguments over wildfire suppression.
The 11-day-old Roaring Lion Fire southwest of Hamilton is now nothing like the fire-storm that appeared on July 31. On that day, volunteer Rick Potts was manning the St. Mary Lookout west of Stevensville when he spotted the first tendrils of smoke. By the time, he and other lookouts could triangulate the position, the fire was billowing smoke high into the sky over the Bitteroot Mountains.
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