Drought conditions are getting worse across much of Montana and it’s going to take above-normal springtime snow and rain to break out of the spiral.
That’s what experts told members of the governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee Thursday during their first meeting of the year.
Pockets of extreme drought have gripped the Lincoln area and the Blackfoot watershed.
Severe and moderate drought is reported across most of western, southern and northeast Montana. Abnormally dry conditions dominate almost all the state.
There are two noteworthy exceptions: areas of Glacier and Musselshell counties report no drought.
Experts are taking a wait-and-see stance before making any drought predictions this summer.
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A law that went into effect this school year requires volunteers at public schools to have their fingerprints taken. Schools generally support the policy, even as some bear a big new expense — $20,000 per month, in the case of Missoula schools. -
Researchers at the University of Montana found people’s attitudes about wolves are fairly neutral regardless of their political beliefs. But when participants answered questions about political beliefs and then wolves, attitudes changed in a big way. -
In this episode of Grounding, season two, host Sarah Aronson talks to Peter McDonough—director of the Climate Change Studies Program at the University of Montana—his students, and another educator at the intersection of climate change and mental health at UM, Jen Robohm, about the dissonance of climate change. Aronson explores this friction in order to better understand the times we’re living in, and how to live well in spite of compounding stressors. Though there might end up being more questions than answers this season, it’s clear that the answer to the central question, “Are we alone?” is unequivocally, “no.” -
You know that feeling when you finish a book and just have to discuss it with someone? That's a great book club book. Here are 20 tried-and-true titles that are sure to get the conversation started. -
Hydrologists are calling Montana's first snowpack report of the year “a tale of two snowpacks.” There's plenty of snowpack in the high mountain ranges, but lower elevation areas are below average. -
To meet climate goals, some organizations use a mechanism called carbon offsets to counteract some of their emissions. Money raised by a voluntary carbon offset program at the University of Montana is being used to cap abandoned oil and gas wells.
