Gov. Gianforte appoints new FWP director
Ellis Juhlin | Montana Public Radio
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has a new leader. Governor Greg Gianforte appointed Christy Clark to be the agency's new director on Friday.
Clark will leave her current position as the Director of the Department of Agriculture, to take over at FWP. Clark will replace Dustin Temple, Temple has run the agency since 2023, and will retire at the end of the year.
Clark's appointment, like all members of Gianforte's cabinet, will have to receive final approval from lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session.
Flathead Electric receives $3 million for wildfire mitigation
Edward O’Brien | Montana Public Radio
Flathead Electric Cooperative has received nearly $3 million to mitigate wildfire risks in northwest Montana’s Essex area.
The grant money from the federal Department of Energy will be used to trim back trees adjacent to power lines from west Glacier to Essex.
Co-op officials say it’s a heavily forested area with frequent tree-related power outages. Those incidents have the potential to spark wildfires under the right conditions.
Earlier this year, Flathead Electric was awarded $10 million in federal grants to support similar wildfire mitigation efforts from Columbia Falls to West Glacier.
Montana’s outdoor rec industry bolsters state economy and jobs, report says
John Hooks | Montana Public Radio
Montana’s outdoor recreation industry brought billions of dollars into the Montana economy in 2023 and employed tens of thousands of people. That’s according to new data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Outdoor recreation brought over $3 billion into Montana in 2023. That made the industry responsible for nearly 5% of Montana’s gross domestic product. That puts the Big Sky State third in the nation for the industry’s contribution, behind only Hawaii and Vermont.
Recreation also provided around five percent of employment in Montana, supplying jobs to more than 30,000 people and contributing more than a billion dollars in compensation.
The federal Bureau of Economic Analysis released data last month analyzing recreation’s economic impact in all 50 states.
The Bureau found that RVing, boating, and fishing were the activities that brought the most money into Montana. One of the biggest growers is “snow activities” like skiing and snowmobiling. That sector has nearly doubled its economic impact since 2021.
