Victoria Traxler
Rural Policy ReporterVictoria Traxler is MTPR’s Rural Policy Reporter. She graduated from Elon University in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and International Studies. She then moved to New Mexico where she worked as a Public Safety Reporter at the Santa Fe New Mexican. Afterwards, she came to Missoula to complete a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism at the University of Montana in 2024. During her time as a graduate student, Victoria interned with MTPR’s news team and fact-checked The Wide Open podcast. When she’s not reporting, she can often be found romping around mountain trails or playing with her tabby cat, Pico.
406 -282-4668
victoria.traxler@mtpr.org
MTPR wants to do a better job delivering news to, and telling stories from, the rural towns and tribal communities in Montana. What issues are at the forefront of your mind, and how are state or federal policies impacting your life?
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The state is looking for public comment on a potential tungsten mine in the Flint Creek Range of southwest Montana. Comments will be accepted until Friday, Aug. 14. -
Researchers at the University of Montana identified a unique mouse that may hold some clues for cancer research. This Andean mouse’s high-elevation home is what attracted researchers. -
Researchers continue to find PFAS, or 'forever chemicals,' in Montana’s waterways. The latest samples come from Flathead Lake. Advocates are calling for more attention and funding to research these substances. -
A major settlement between states, the Federal Trade Commission and John Deere marks a step forward for farmers' “right to repair.” The Columbia Falls Aluminum Company will pay $57 million to clean up its former aluminum smelter in the Flathead Valley. The site is contaminated with arsenic, cyanide and other toxins from the smelting process. -
The Sheep Creek Mine in Ravalli County is on the federal list of fast-tracked projects. That could mean faster permitting, along with scaled-down public input and environmental review. As one company looks for rare earth minerals, local residents, county commissioners and federal representatives remain opposed to the project, citing concerns over impacts to the watershed. -
The Fort Shaw Indian School Girls Basketball Team navigated boarding school and forced assimilation while becoming a team of skilled athletes, artists and 1904 world champions. Now, more than 120 years later, the team is inspiring new generations and helping people connect with their families and their own cultural identities. Learn more about the team's legacy and why it resonates so strongly, on this episode of The Big Why. -
The Department of Interior is proposing changes to oil and gas leasing rules in the name of “unleashing energy.” Environmental groups say these changes threaten environmental protections and limit public input. -
Since 2001, American Prairie has worked to create the largest wildlife reserve in the lower 48. That plan includes grazing 900 head of bison on state and federal lands. But legal seesawing between land managers, government agencies and American Prairie has put that plan into limbo. MTPR’s Victoria Traxler sat down with the Billings Gazette Outdoors Editor Brett French to learn where things currently stand for American Prairie bison, and what may come next. -
Infighting continues in the Montana Republican Party as a new set of bylaws for party members comes under scrutiny in district court. A Montana state senator charged with official misconduct faces a jury trial that started Tuesday. More than 100,000 people responded to a proposed overhaul of federal grazing regulations.
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After a century of mining pollution that tinged their creek in orange, Belt residents are finally seeing clear water flow again. It’s one example in Montana’s long effort to clean up its abandoned mines with federal funds.
