Montana’s U.S Attorney announces the dismantling of major fentanyl trafficking ring
Edward O’Brien | Montana Public Radio
Montana’s U.S Attorney Tuesday announced the dismantling of a large fentanyl trafficking ring that brought tens of thousands of pills to Great Falls from Washington state.
Jesse Laslovich says the investigation began in the fall of 2022 and led to a supplier in the Tacoma, Washington area. That supplier, Joseph Allen Conner and nine others were arrested, charged in federal indictments and convicted.
The Montana Highway Patrol, meanwhile, recently conducted an interdiction in Superior resulting in drug seizures and multiple arrests.
The patrol says troopers seized over 1,000 fentanyl pills,14 grams of fentanyl powder, 35 grams of meth and three illegal firearms. They also arrested five fugitives.
The operation was conducted during the first week of December.
Lolo National Forest supervisor set to retire at the end of this year
Edward O’Brien | Montana Public Radio
The Supervisor of the Lolo National Forest is retiring at the end of this year.
Lolo National Forest Supervisor Carolyn Upton is bringing her 35-year career with the U.S. Forest Service to a close this month. Upton spent the last six years on the Lolo.
Most recently she’s been leading the effort to revise the Lolo’s Forest Plan that’s been in place since 1986. In a press release Tuesday, Upton is quoted as saying one of her goals has been to build relationships with the local community and the agency’s partners.
Deputy Forest Supervisor Jeremy Casterson will step in as acting forest supervisor while the process of finding Upton’s permanent replacement is underway.
Casterson came to the Lolo National Forest as Deputy Forest Supervisor in 2022.
30,000 acres of northwestern Montana forest to be put into a conservation easement
John Hooks | Montana Public Radio
The Montana State Land Board has signed off on a proposal to put more than thirty thousand acres of forest in northwest Montana into a conservation easement.
The project– called the Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement– was proposed in 2021 by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The easement protects the land from development and allows commercial timber harvesting to continue. FWP says the area, located between Kalispell and Libby in the Salish and Cabinet mountains, provides habitat for endangered species like grizzly bear, lynx, and bull trout.
The easement is valued at just under $40 million. Half of the funding comes from the US Forest Service, the remainder is split between state and private sources.
