Answers to your questions — big or small — about anything under the Big Sky.
The Big Why (get it?) is part of MTPR’s commitment to community-led journalism, telling the diverse stories of Montanans like you.
Join us in this collaborative! Ask your questions about anything under the Big Sky and we’ll help dig up the answers.
No question is too big or too small for the Big Why. Let's see what we can discover together!
Join us in this collaborative! Ask your questions about anything under the Big Sky and we’ll help dig up the answers.
No question is too big or too small for the Big Why. Let's see what we can discover together!
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In 2023 the Blackfeet Nation released bison into the Chief Mountain area along the border of Glacier National Park. The release was part of a plan to build a free roaming herd in a place bison had been absent from for more than 100 years. One listener wants to know where those bison are now. -
In the '90s, whirling disease hit trout populations hard in Montana, at one point leading to a 95% decline in rainbow trout in the Madison River. It sparked concern among biologists, anger in tourist towns and even played a role in a murder mystery novel. It also inspired this week's question: What's happening with whirling disease and other threats to trout? -
When voters authorized the Montana Lottery in 1986, the promise was that lottery revenues would be used for education funding. Now, with schools facing budget woes and lawmakers debating funding bills, one listener wants to know if this gamble is paying off.
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Your questions answered
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More than half a million acres in southwest Montana have been impacted by conifer expansion. It used to be that fires would come through these landscapes and burn back the trees, but that natural cycle isn’t happening anymore. Now, more trees are encroaching into traditional sagebrush habitat, and that has impacts on our water supply. -
Why does the state have a Spanish name? Why so many Rock Creeks? What's the deal with 'And-aconda'? Racetrack? This week, a sequel to an episode we ran all about Montana’s place names and their numerous and sometimes humorous origins. -
As summer heats up in Montana, so does wildfire season. This raises the question, does winter snowpack really correlate to the severity of the wildfire season? And what does a 'normal' fire season mean? -
Farming and ranching combined generate billions of dollars in revenue and employ tens of thousands of Montanans. They’re also on the cusp of a generational sea change. One listener wants to know how young people are being encouraged and prepared for life as a farmer or rancher.
The Big Why team
