Montana On The Ground

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

Lawsuit challenges oil-and-gas board on fracking chemical disclosure

January 18, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

Some Montanans are suing to protect their water by requiring transparency from the oil and gas industry, specifically related to fracking.

On Tuesday, a handful of landowners from eastern Montana and two nonprofit organizations sued the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation after it refused to consider their July petition to require oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals used in their fracking fluids. The petition also asked that if a company claimed it didn’t have to disclose the chemicals because they were trade secrets, the company should be required to prove that the mixture qualified as a trade secret.

Invasive mussel prevention to cost an additional $10 million

January 16, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

Legislators learned Monday that a new aquatic invasive species program would cost at least $10.5 million every two years for the foreseeable future.

Members of Montana’s Mussel Response Team told the Joint Long Range Planning and Natural Resources and Transportation Committee that four parts of the aquatic invasive species program would have to be amped up to limit invasive mussels to the four sites where they’ve been found.

USFWS considers protection for Rocky Mountain fisher

January 13, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

On Friday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it was considering the Northern Rocky Mountain fisher for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The announcement opens a 30-day public comment period.

A petition submitted by six environmental groups, including the Friends of the Bitterroot, the Friends of the Clearwater and the Friends of the Wild Swan, prompted the action. The petition says fishers in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming are threatened by loss or curtailment of habitat or range, disease and predation, overutilization via incidental and direct trapping, and various other factors.

Bill mash-up could increase pay for block management landowners

January 12, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

Even the best government programs can’t get far if they don’t have their own funding.

That’s the hurdle Rep. Kelly Flynn, R-Townsend, has run into almost every session when he’s tried to get more money for the landowners who participate in Montana’s block management program.

BLM report: Improve antiquated coal fees and oversight

January 11, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

The Bureau of Land Management should not only require a better return on coal leases for U.S. taxpayers but also work harder to balance coal production against the growing threat of climate change, according to a new Department of the Interior report.

On Wednesday, the BLM released an exhaustive report on the federal coal program, which applies to the 570 million acres of coal mineral estate owned by the federal government. In short, it calls for both government and industry to use better business practices, both financial and technical, than those that were available or allowed more than 30 years ago.

Bill: More elk tags for hunter-friendly landowners

January 10, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

A bill proposed by the Private Land Public Wildlife council would up the incentive for landowners to allow members of the public to hunt on their land.

With landowners pressuring Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to control elk populations that are over FWP objectives, the agency needs to find ways to open up more access to private land that is normally closed to public hunting. So House Bill 96 would increase the proportion of elk tags available for willing landowners from 20 percent to 25 percent.

BLM cancels remaining Badger-Two Medicine leases

January 10, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

President Barack Obama added to his conservation legacy Tuesday when he cancelled the two remaining oil and gas leases in the Badger-Two Medicine area.

Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced Tuesday that the Bureau of Land Management had cancelled the leases owned by J.G. Kluthe Trust of Nebraska and W.A. Moncrief Jr. of Texas and would reimburse them for payments associated with the leases. Neither lease had been developed.

NorthWestern Energy opposes net-metering cap increase

January 09, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

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.

Christmas snow saves Montana snowpack

January 09, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

Christmas 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.

Digital hunting tags raise privacy questions

January 05, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

Montana'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.

Alternatives proposed in BLM mining ban to benefit sage grouse

January 02, 2017 by Laura Lundquist

The 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.

Early FWP bills address block management, fishing access funding

December 30, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

As 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.

Standing Rock struggle being waged with posts and prayers

December 02, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

The 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.

Time running out to keep wasting disease out of Montana

October 06, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

A 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.

As rivers reopen, legislators question FWP closure authority

October 03, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

As 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.

Claims of Montana's deer-collision risk may be overstated

September 29, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

An 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.

Counties seek predator bounties as Wildlife Services funding drops

September 26, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Wildlife 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.

Poll finds Montanans shifting to renewable energy, more public access

September 22, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

While 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.

Hunters to BLM: Protect the habitat, protect the economy

September 19, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

It’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.

Legislators oppose changes to wolf management, hatchery trout

September 16, 2016 by Laura Lundquist

Montana 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.