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News you can use
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From Fish, Wildlife and Parks Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is hosting a meeting Tuesday, Aug. 27, on the roles of beaver and humans in habitat restoration and water conservation. The meeting’s objective is to increase common awareness of potential opportunities, constraints, mechanisms, authorities, roles and expectations for beavers and other tools to conserve and enhance riparian and aquatic habitats. The meeting is free, and no registration is required. It will be held at the Delta Marriott Hotel in Helena from 8:30 a...
Imagine for one unsettling moment what it would mean to Montana if Glacier, Yellowstone, the Bob Marshall, the Beartooth Mountains, and all other lands and waters belonging to the American people were sold off. It would spell the end of our outdoor way of life, including our ability to hike, hunt, fish, mountain bike and snowmobile; send our economy off of a cliff; and ruin the livelihood of our family ranchers. Who in their right mind would advocate for something so destructive as selling off our public lands? Believe it or...
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said Tuesday during his monthly rural conference call that before the U.S. Senate takes a recess for the month of August, there are a number of bills he is working to get pushed through. Recently Tester’s bipartisan bill to push rural broadband coverage received approval by the Senate Commerce Committee and is moving on to the Senate floor, he said. He added that his bill requires broadband providers to fix their inaccurate coverage and wire maps to better represent what areas are covered. ...
Some local residents and government officials are up in arms about Fort Belknap Indian Community requesting some additional land so it can manage its water. More than 100 years after the Grinnell Agreement of 1895, Fort Belknap is working to have 14,496 acres of land in the agreement returned to the reservation as part of federal approval of the Fort Belknap Water Compact. But people who own land within the boundaries of the proposed transfer are deadset against it happening....
Press release The Beaverhead Conservation District is excited to announce two days of range tours offered in conjunction with Montana Range Days. June 18 and 19, participants will visit some of the most advanced ranching operations in Beaverhead and Madison counties, explore divergent management techniques, and learn from the experts. Anyone interested in rangeland health and stewardship will benefit from attending. The tour Tuesday, June 18, is an all-day event. It kicks off with a visit to the 345,00-acre ranch owned by...
From U.S. Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management announced Friday the appointment of a veteran land manager as the new director for the Montana/Dakotas State Office. John J. Mehlhoff, an executive with the Office of Natural Resource Revenue stationed in Denver, was to assume the Billings-based post May 12, said Brian Steed, BLM deputy director of policy and programs. “We are delighted that John will be coming back to the BLM,” Steed said. “John began his career with us over 35 years ago, starting out as a pet...
A Rocky Boy business that helps tribes preserve and protect sacred tribal lands received a national award this week. National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, an American Indian business and economic development organization for Indian Country across the country, presented iResponse with the American Indian Business of the Year Award. iResponse CEO Alvin Windy Boy Sr. said he feels good about receiving the award and wants to grow his businesses to assist with tribes across the country. “We want to take iResp...
Staff and wire A wide-ranging bill that revives a popular conservation program, adds 1.3 million acres of new wilderness, expands several national parks and creates five new national monuments has won congressional approval, with all members of Montana's congressional delegation praising the bill and taking credit for its content, particularly blocking mining outside of Yellowstone National Park and permanently authorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The office of...
Staff and wire Montana is issuing February nutrition assistance payments early due to the federal government shutdown. Low-income residents should see their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments for February show up on their electronic benefit transfer cards Thursday. The Department of Public Health and Human Services emphasizes these are early payments, not extra payments, and must stretch through February. The U.S. Department of Agriculture authorized states to make early payments because the agency is funded...
With the federal government shutdown entering its third week, Fort Belknap Indian Community’s contingency plan went into effect Sunday, impacting workers and services at the reservation. “I really appreciate the cooperation and commitment that all my tribal employees have demonstrated during this shutdown issue,” Fort Belknap’s Chief Administrative Officer Delina Cutstherope said Friday. She added that she believes that the Fort Belknap community wouldn’t be as strong as it is and provide the services that is does without t...
The third government shutdown of 2018 has completed its first week and many agencies statewide are feeling the effects, including in north-central Montana. Fort Belknap Indian Reservation said that, without new federal funding, it will have to put a contingency plan into effect next week that will include cutting services. “We have essential government services that we need to provide,” Community Council President Andrew Werk Jr. said in a press release. “The government needs...
Last fall during the political season, everyone running for the Montana Legislature touted their credentials as being for public access. But what does that really mean? For Montana’s hunters, anglers, hikers, and other outdoors enthusiasts, it means the ability to get to our public lands to enjoy them. The access to the outdoors that makes Montana such a great place to live also makes it tempting for some people to try to close off public roads. By putting up gates on public roads that lead to public land, they can turn v...
From MSU News Service BOZEMAN — Registration is now open for Montana’s Next Generation Conference, which will take place Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25-26, in Shelby. The conference will focus on business planning for the farm or ranch and production workshops. The conference will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at the Shelby Civic Center with a presentation by Scott Shearer of the Bockorny Group, Inc. Shearer, who has extensive trade and agricultural policy expertise, will speak on the importance of trade to U.S. agriculture. He wil...
"The American Dream is coming back," U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., said Monday at the Quality Inn in Havre. Gianforte, who is facing a re-election challenge by former state Democratic lawmaker Kathleen Williams and Billings attorney Elinor Swanson, a Libertarian, came to Havre to speak with local Republicans about his campaign and the progress that he has made in the past year in the U.S. House of Representatives. He said he wanted to thank everybody who supported him dur...
Editor’s note: This corrects when Burns was deployed and his affiliation with VFW Post 497 in Havre. Libertarian candidate for Montana House District 28 Conor Burns is facing off against Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, and independent candidate Bob Sivertsen for a seat in the Legislature in this November's election. Burns, 37, was born in Great Falls and grew up in Cut Bank. In 1999 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a gunner's mate. As a gunner's mate, Burns said, he was part o...
Dear editor, It has come to my attention that Ryan Zinke, Andrew Wheeler, and their federal agencies are helping ensure that the oil and gas industry can continue to carelessly leak millions of tons of methane pollution and chemicals into our air. We had protections around methane that limited this type of pollution. Created in 2016, the methane protections limited the flaring and venting of natural gas to cases of emergencies or when capturing flared gas was technically infeasible. Montanans demand that Washington put politi...
John Gorder Habeger of Bozeman, Montana, formerly a 60-year resident of Billings, Montana, born in Rudyard, Montana September 23, 1921, to George and Evelyn Habeger, went home to be with the Lord Wednesday, August 15, 2018, at the age of 96. A graveside service will be held in Whitehall Saturday at 11 a.m. John was the oldest of six children and was so helpful to his mother in raising the other children. He attended several schools along the Hi-Line and in Fort Peck when his...
Blaine and Hill counties are going under countywide fire restrictions Friday with a complete wood fire ban going into effect on Beaver Creek Park at the same time. A notice from joint fire prevention and control agencies released Wednesday afternoon said, effective at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Stage 1 fire restrictions will go into effect in the two counties — on all state, private and Bureau of Land Management lands — and Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, which is in both Blaine and Phillips counties. Hill County Commission Cha...
Fishing fans may have noticed something a little different this summer about one of the Hi-Line's most popular fisheries. Reser Reservoir, a Bureau of Land Management reservoir located approximately 18 miles northwest of Chinook, has been being slowly drained throughout the summer due to structural damage at the dam. A small washout was observed this spring, and repair and maintenance to the dam is necessary to avoid a complete loss to the structure. Montana Fish, Wildlife...
After successfully extinguishing six grass fires in Blaine County in the past week, the Chinook Volunteer Fire Department is looking for some help with future fires. “We got them out and everything worked well,” Blaine County Fire Warden and Chinook Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Kraig Hansen said, but added, “We just need more help.” Five of the fires were less than one acre, with one fire caused by a swather burning 56 acres. Hill and Liberty county officials report no fires so far this season. Chouteau County...
by Tim Leeds The U.S. Senate passed a Farm Bill Thursday on an 86-11 vote, with multiple groups praising the bill and the support of both Montana senators. The bill now will have to be reconciled with the House version of the bill, which narrowly passed on a second try June 21 with Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., one of the 213 representatives voting for it. The bill had 211 voting against it. No Democrats voted for the bill. It failed on a 198 to 213 vote May 18 with Gianforte...
I was a range management specialist for the Malta Bureau of Land Management field office for over thirty years. After retiring in 2007, I was hired by the American Prairie Reserve. As such, I’ve had considerable professional experience managing range land health and closely observing the impacts of bison on range health in Montana. APR has been and will continue to be held to the same required BLM standards and guidelines as other permittees regardless of their type of livestock, season of use, or grazing system. All of t...
Press release Approximately 400 people attended the scoping meetings about the American Prairie Reserve’s grazing permit change proposal. The four meetings were held by the Bureau of Land Management. The strong attendance clearly indicated the level of interest in the proposal the American Prairie Reserve submitted to the BLM asking to modify grazing permits. “The BLM thanks the public for taking part in the scoping meetings. Your input is an important part of this Environmental Assessment process,” said BLM North Central Mon...
Press release The Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument and the Bureau of Land Management have invited people to join the sixth annual cottonwood planting event in the Upper Missouri River Breaks monument. This year the plantings will take place May 5 and May 12 at Bailey Hazlewood. Volunteers can either camp the night before at Wood Bottom Campground or plan to meet at 9 a.m. on the day of the event at Wood Bottom. The cooperative project was started to combat the loss of cottonwood trees within the monument’s e...
The Bureau of Land Management just completed a series of public scoping meetings on the American Prairie Reserve’s request to convert 17 federal grazing leases from cattle to bison. The take-away from these meetings is that BLM is trying to balance the concerns of ranchers with the steps APR needs to advance their bison reserve agenda. Because the conversion of grazing leases from cattle to bison assures APR’s bison restoration goals, landowners firmly believe the real issue BLM should be examining is the big elephant in the...
