Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Lake County commissioners Monday sent a letter to Gov. Greg Gianforte reiterating that the county will no longer oversee felony cases on the Flathead Reservation. Commissioners have long argued that the county doesn’t have the tax base to pay for law enforcement on tribal lands.

Federal officials from the U.S. and Canada plan to meet with Montana and British Columbia tribes over coal mining pollution. Selenium has for years flowed from B.C. coal mines into the transboundary Lake Koocanusa.

Montana’s wildlife and public health agencies recommend game meat be tested for Chronic Wasting Disease (CSW). Snowbowl ski area outside of Missoula said it's working to improve safety conditions. CSKT and the U.S. EPA announced Friday that they signed an agreement aiming to bolster job opportunities for Salish Kootenai College students.

Persistent rainfall in northwest Montana has subdued large wildfires in the area.

The 13,000 acre Middle Ridge Fire burning west of Ronan is listed at 25% containment. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ (CSKT) Division of Fire said crews continued mop up efforts Thursday. The almost 14,000 acre Niarada Fire west of Elmo continues actively burning in a mix of timber and brush.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) are planning to build a local meat processing plant to expand services for local hunters and ranchers.

Lake County commissioners delayed a decision Thursday about whether to stop county law-enforcement work on the Flathead Reservation. The delay comes as the county waits for a court to weigh in.

The funding bill would have used state money to pay Lake County $5 million for providing law enforcement on the reservation. County officials have argued residents can no longer afford to pay for those services.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes say nearly $2 million in federal funding it recently received will expand services at a newly built medical clinic and pharmacy in Ronan.

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced a forthcoming deal to “reduce and mitigate” the impact of pollution flowing into Montana and Idaho from Canadian coal mines.