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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Recent changes to federal environmental rules mean some logging projects are moving forward without public input. Tristan Scott works for the Flathead Beacon, and has been covering a 13,000-acre logging project moving forward west of Blacktail Mountain in the Flathead. He sat down with MTPR’s Elinor Smith to share his reporting.
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The town of Belt has worked with the state for decades to tackle issues left by the Anaconda Coal Mine. A new multimillion-dollar water treatment facility will finally fix that. The plant will clean the acid drainage before discharging it back into the creek.
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Bull Mountain Land Alliance and Northern Plains Resource Council accuse the state of violating the Constitution by changing coal mine permits without public input. In their lawsuit, they point to more than 300 changes made to the permit for the Bull Mountains Mine in south central Montana since the early 2000s.
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A flag's primary purpose is to be recognized from a distance. That means few colors, no lettering and a clear distinction from other flags. Ideally, it should be simple enough for a child to draw it from memory. So, how did Montana end up with such a complicated flag? Learn more in this episode of The Big Why.
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A proposed ballot initiative to keep Montana’s judicial elections nonpartisan is advancing after the state Supreme Court ruled that the attorney general overstepped by rewriting the measure.
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Environmental groups and other nonprofits have filed a formal complaint about data centers with state utility regulators. The groups are asking the Public Service Commission to ensure NorthWestern Energy customers do not subsidize the cost of powering data centers.