Montana Public Radio

Environment

Montana news covering wildlife, public lands, natural resources and more.

Butte Superfund Deal Moves Forward With Court Filing

By • Jun 8, 2020
This culvert and forebay pictured on May 28, 2019 are part of Butte's stormwater capture and treatment and system, which will be expanded and completed in the proposed Superfund cleanup plan.
Nora Saks / Montana Public Radio

Butte’s proposed $150 million Superfund deal was filed with a federal district court, according to Monday’s announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency. It's a big leap forward for the mine waste cleanup in the works for the Mining City. 

US Moves Forward With Plan To End Wild Bird Protections

By & Matthew Brown • Jun 5, 2020
Mark Mariano does daily waterfowl observations rounds at the Berkeley Pit during migration season. October 2018.
Nora Saks / MTPR

The Trump administration moved forward Friday with plans to scale back a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species, despite warnings that billions of birds could die as a result.

Groups Seek To Stop Copper Mine Near Montana's Popular Smith River

By • Jun 4, 2020
Black Butte Copper Project, project facilities site plan.
Montana DEQ

Conservation groups want a Montana court to cancel the approval of the long-disputed Black Butte copper mine, saying it would pollute a tributary of the Smith River, one of the state's most popular recreational rivers.

FWP Inspections Have Found Aquatic Invasive Species On Over A Dozen Boats This Year

By • Jun 3, 2020
Watercraft inspections are used to prevent aquatic invasive species, like quagga and zebra mussels, from spreading into Montana's lakes and streams.
Courtesy Montana FWP

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has detected over a dozen boats with various aquatic invasive species on board so far this year. The detections come as more and more boats are lining up at inspection stations.

Three Grizzlies Killed In NW Montana Last Week

By • Jun 3, 2020
Grizzly bear. Stock photo.
iStock

A grizzly bear was euthanized roughly 12 miles south of Eureka after it became habituated to people and food conditioned, according to a Tuesday press release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Yellowstone's Montana Entrances Opened To Visitors

By • Jun 2, 2020
A file photo of a tour bus entering Yellowstone Park from the West Yellowstone entrance.
Yellowstone National Park (PD)

Montana's three Yellowstone National Park entrances have opened after they were closed two months ago to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Wildlife Officials Discuss COVID-19's Impact On Grizzly Bears

By • Jun 1, 2020
A grizzly bear visiting a wire hair snag station near Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park (PD)

As bear activity is picking up across northwest Montana, grizzly bear managers are juggling the uncertain and unexpected impacts of COVID-19 on wild places.

On Friday, state, federal and tribal wildlife officials met remotely over Zoom for their semi-annual meeting. The group discussed how to manage the largest grizzly populations in the lower 48 states – the bears in and around Glacier National Park.

Flathead National Forest Propose Logging, Fuel-Reduction Project

By • Jun 1, 2020
Map showing the vicinity of the propose Stovepipe Project on the Flathead National Forest.
U.S. Forest Service

The Flathead National Forest is proposing a fuels-reduction project in the northwest area of the Flathead Valley. The project includes commercial logging and road building.

Trump's Fossil Fuel Agenda Gets Pushback From Federal Judges

By & Matthew Brown • May 28, 2020
Oil well.
(PD)

Federal courts have delivered a string of rebukes to the Trump administration over what they found were failures to protect the environment and address climate change as it promotes fossil fuel interests and the extraction of natural resources from public lands.

Judge Strikes Down US Energy Leasing Rules in Bird Habitat

By & Matthew Brown • May 26, 2020
Sage grouse.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Pacific Southwest Region (PD)

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. judge has dealt another blow to the Trump administration's efforts to increase domestic oil and gas output from public lands, saying officials failed to protect habitat for a declining bird species when it issued energy leases on hundreds of square miles.

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