Environment

The U.S. Senate has confirmed President Trump’s nominee to lead the country’s largest land management agency. Stevan Pearce has been criticized by public lands advocates for his past support of selling off or transferring ownership of federal lands.

Public libraries have books, magazines, movies and … fresh air? Missoula Public Library and its satellite campuses have been set up as spaces where people can gather during hot, smoky days and breathe clean air.

Treeless city streets aren’t just an eyesore, they’re also ovens that trap heat during the day. That’s a problem that’s worsening as the climate changes. A Missoula nonprofit is tackling the problem one sapling at a time.

Researchers are learning more about pesticides that are leaching into Montana’s waterways. They’re finding that streams and rivers in urban areas might be more impacted than waters near farm fields.

MTPR visited two Bitterroot Valley classrooms last month where students were learning what it takes to raise rainbow trout and keep fisheries in good health. MTPR’s Austin Amestoy returned to Hamilton as the students released their trout into a local pond.

Along the banks of the Clark Fork River, students are identifying all kinds of “macro-invertebrates” — aka, bugs — that live in the river. The data is one clue scientists use to determine the health of a watershed, along with other indicators like appearance and chemical makeup.

More than six square miles of an aquifer under Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front has been removed from federal protections and slated for wastewater. The change comes despite overwhelming opposition from the local community.

The Roadless Rule is back on the chopping block. And what happens next could have really big implications for Montana, the region, and the country – for grizzlies, for other endangered species, and for entire ecosystems. What do we lose, or gain, when our bedrock environmental regulations go away, along with public input on how it all happens?

Trout Unlimited highlighted five towns across the country dedicated to improving water quality. At the top of their list was a small, southwestern Montana town - Philipsburg

About a third of Montana is public land. A new survey by the University of Montana’s Crown of the Continent and Greater Yellowstone Initiative suggests most Montanans want to keep it that way. Eighty-five percent of Montanans polled said they would support a ban on the sale or transfer of public land.