Montana Untamed

Moose were nearly exterminated in Montana in the early 1900s, with their population estimated to have numbered around 100 animals. Now their populations are estimated at somewhere between 9,800 to 11,700 animals A 10-year study conducted by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks into the state’s moose population has provided greater insight to the animals. The study was conducted in three different areas – the Cabinet-Salish mountains, along the Rocky Mountain Front and in the Big Hole Valley. Last month, Billings Gazette Outdoor editor Brett French spoke with lead research biologist Nick DeCesare about the study for a story.  

Snow-dusted peaks towered in the background, cows lowed in the expansive rangeland and cowboys on horseback moved heifers and steers off trailers. There wasn’t a film camera in sight, but it sure looked, sounded and felt like a scene straight out of the hit television show "Yellowstone.” And Wes Seward certainly looked the part donning his black cowboy hat and worn-in cowboy boots, with a gun holstered on his hip.  But Seward isn’t an actor pretending he’s an agent of the show’s fictional Montana Livestock Association. He is a district livestock investigator for the very real Montana Department of Livestock, a state agency with a history that reaches back to before the state’s formation and a mandate to ensure law and order within the state’s expansive ranching industry.  "Yellowstone" hasn’t just borrowed from Seward’s reality, though. It has changed it, bringing in more people, more animals, more money and more pressure on livestock producers who already face long days and long odds to make a living and to keep Montana’s ranching tradition alive. With me today is Ted McDermott a reporter with Lee Enterprises’ Public Service Journalism who recently reported on the world of livestock police and the effects of the TV show on life in Montana.  

It’s the limestone cathedral of the Smith, the caddis hatch on the Madison, the rushing emerald water of the Flathead that draw more and more people to the arterial waterways of Montana’s wild country. That’s just to name a few. Anyone who’s spent time on a river in Montana in the past decade probably saw a variety of people using the waterways.  Especially since the pandemic, use of the state’s streams has escalated as more people have sought ways to recreate outdoors.  The Montana River Recreation Advisory Council was recently created by Fish, Wildlife & Parks to look into river recreation and all of the issues that come with it. These may include garbage, crowding and sometimes fistfights as tempers escalate. The council recently met over three days to come up with some suggestions for FWP. Here to talk about the group is Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette.  

The series starts with five billboards outside Livingston, Montana and from there it winds through the half-century saga of the Endangered Species Act. The Wide Open, podcast and radio series from Montana Public Radio and the Montana Media Lab tells the story of our changing relationship with the landmark environmental legislation and how it reveals as much about living with each other as it does about living with endangered species. With me on this episode is Nick Mott, an audio journalist who created and produced the show.  

Two years after the public learned of a controversial plan to drastically expand Holland Lake Lodge in western Montana’s Swan Valley, a new suitor is trying to purchase the historic lakeside lodge in far northern Missoula County.  A wealthy businessman originally from Great Falls and a partner teamed up to make the purchase. But after overwhelming public opposition to the previous prospective buyers over the past two years, the public is largely skeptical of the new potential future owners.  With me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian, who has covered this issue from the beginning alongside Dave Erickson the business and real estate reporter.  We discussed the backstory of Holland Lake Lodge and the previous proposal on a past Untamed episode.  

The 16th Biennial Scientific Conference on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem held at Big Sky recently covered a wealth of topics about the region, which includes southwestern Montana. Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette, attended one day of the three-day event. From that, he’s written stories regarding the pressures facing the region that national park and forest officials are seeing, as well as talks about grizzly bear management.

For at least a decade, a pair of great gray owls have made their nest each spring in the top of a broken cottonwood tree trunk on the Blackfoot-Clearwater Game Range northeast of Missoula. They fledge chicks almost every year, and they’ve become increasingly popular with wildlife photographers — including professionals — who appreciate the nest’s easy access and visibility from the ground.  So it made sense that some photographers were upset this spring when they learned that the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks planned to remove the nest. Why would FWP do that? Mainly because of the photographers themselves. And because the nest wasn’t actually natural.  With me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian. He visited the nest with an FWP biologist and met with photographers.  

Next year, for the first time in more than 100 years, farmers and ranchers across Montana’s Hi-Line region will face a summer without irrigation water. Normally, water from the St. Mary River is diverted into the Milk River, which runs through north-central Montana towns like Havre and Malta.  But the infrastructure that moved the water failed in June, and it won’t be repaired until the 2025 irrigating season is over. Agricultural producers say they face devastation.  By mid-August this year, the Milk River above Havre had run completely dry. That could be the norm for all of next summer.  With me today is Joshua Murdock, reporter for the Missoulian, who visited the St. Mary Canal to inspect damage, and who traveled the entire length of the Milk River affected by the loss of water.   

Pronghorns, also called antelope, are one of the coolest animals in Montana. They have lived in North America since the last ice age when woolly mammoths and cheetahs roamed the region. Those animals are gone, but the pronghorns remain. For four years Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks scientists, aided by graduate students, conducted a study of eight pronghorn populations across the state.  Here to tell us more about what the study revealed is Billings Gazette outdoor editor Brett French.

On July 18, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks reported a member of its staff had killed a male grizzly bear that had been raiding homes, businesses and garbage cans in the Gardiner area for weeks. Repeated attempts to trap the 15-year-old bear were unsuccessful. The bear was shot while in the Yellowstone River, about 4 miles north of Gardiner and the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. One of the raids the bear made was at Chester Evitt’s house. Here to tell us more about that encounter and the situation in Gardiner is Brett French, outdoor editor for the Billings Gazette.

On July 10, the Montana Supreme Court heard why state leaders think a climate change legal victory by a group of young people should be overturned. Held vs. Montana found that the legislature violated the state constitution when it blocked environmental agencies from analyzing greenhouse gas emissions in fossil fuel projects.  In their appeal, state attorneys argued the case should be thrown out because the youths weren’t pointing to any specific project that was hurting them. The state also claimed Montana didn’t produce enough greenhouse gas to have an impact on global warming, so a court victory wouldn’t fix anything the youths were asking for. The youths drew on a long list of scientists to show how state policies encouraged fossil fuel development, which was ruining the climate they depend for health, business and recreation. A district court judge ruled that violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment” as specifically listed in the Constitution. That meant the state greenhouse gas limitation was unconstitutional. But this case is about a lot more than legality of one environmental law. Let’s check out what the rest of this iceberg of a lawsuit looks like.

Just as Montana, Idaho and Wyoming politicians prepared to sign a three-state agreement on grizzly bear management, grizzly protection advocates sent a warning they plan to sue over a crucial part of the states’ plan. They don’t like the idea of trucking grizzlies from one recovery area to another as a solution to the bears’ genetic diversity. Grizzly bears remain a threatened species under federal Endangered Species Act protection. State wildlife officials say the bears are recovered and should be turned over to local state management. Grizzly defenders counter that will open the door for trophy hunting and unsustainable predator shooting. It would also put grizzlies in conflict with a different kind of advocate – black bear hunters. On this episode, Rob Chaney, Lee Montana's statewide enterprise editor and author of 'Grizzly in the Driveway' makes sense of recent grizzly bear related headlines.

The fifth night was the coldest, and Thomas Gray worried he might freeze to death if he stopped moving.  The 73-year-old boater from North Fork, Idaho, was huddled inside a pitch-black trailer just outside the remote Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness on May 21. He was near an empty campground and silent airstrip; the only road there was snowed in and the highway was miles away and over a mountain pass.  Gray’s story is harrowing and improbable, not only because of his own feat of backcountry survival, but because his brother died two years earlier, almost to the day, in almost the same place, when they attempted the same float that year.  With me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian. He extensively interviewed Thomas Gray, his wife Lori, the people who found him and the people involved in searching for his brother two years ago.  

Scot Bealer loves to tell stories. And it turns out his love of fishing works well for this. Because a life spent fishing results in many adventures and misadventure that become fodder for good stories. That’s all wrapped up in his new book “Most Trout Don’t Read” published earlier this year by Farcountry Press in Helena.  Bealer has always been drawn to teaching the ways of fishing. A bulk of that knowledge came from the L.L. Bean Fly Fishing Schools and casting into trout waters across the west.  When he’s not on the water fishing, Scot works as an instructor for the Hooked on Fishing Program through Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. He’s here with me to share the lessons he has learned from his time pursuing trout on the fly.  

Since Intake Diversion Dam was completed on the Yellowstone River in 1905, pallid sturgeon have faced a blockade during their annual upstream spring spawning runs. The dam is located between Glendive and Sidney and became a popular place for paddlefish snagging since the fish stacked up below the dam in spring. In the spring of 2022, after three years of construction, a 2-mile long bypass channel was opened. This short waterway allows pallid sturgeon, paddlefish and other native species to swim around a dam that has long blocked their passage. The bypass channel was a $44 million investment to see if pallid sturgeon, which were listed as an endangered species in the river in 1990, will now have enough room to migrate upstream and successfully spawn. To learn more about pallid sturgeon and efforts to save the fish, Brett French, outdoor editor of the Billings Gazette, is here to talk with me today.

It’s one of the most obvious and dramatic signs of wildland firefighting, a bright red slurry raining down from the bellies of large planes that roar through the mountains like fighter jets. Fire retardant.  For years, the U.S. Forest Service used the same ammonium phosphate retardant on wildfires large and small across the country. Last year it authorized a new formula, pioneered by a company that was partially based in Montana, that was supposed to be more environmentally friendly. But while the new retardant may be kinder to waterways it sometimes gets dropped into, it seems to be dangerous to the planes that carry it. The result is grounded planes, a federal investigation, and questions around how the Forest Service determines what’s safe to use on fires.  With me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian, who regularly covers wildfires and the Forest Service.  

At least seven grizzly bears died in Montana in 2023 after being shot by hunters. Another grizzly was wounded by a bird hunter’s shotgun but not found. All were judged to be self-defense. Official accounts from the investigating agencies mention close encounters, but the phrase “close range” is never defined. The investigative criteria used in fatal grizzly encounter is elusive to the public. So Duncan Adams asked FWP, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Justice what criteria are used to determine whether a grizzly shooting occurs in self-defense. He’s with me today to discuss his findings.

When it comes to accessing public lands, the Bullwhacker Road dispute south of Havre has been one of the longest simmering and most contorted in Eastern Montana. For 18 years the public, agencies and landowners have jousted over motorized access into a section of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument via the road. It provides vehicle access to between 35,500 and 50,000 acres of public land, depending on how it’s counted. The rugged coulees peppered with pine trees is located north of the Missouri River, west of Cow Creek and south of the Bears Paw Mountains. Driving the Bullwhacker Road to reach the land, overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, requires traveling across almost 4 miles of private property. That’s where the dispute started. On this episode, Brett French, outdoors and natural resources reporter for the Billings Gazette newspaper, untangles the back and forth of public access into the Bullwhacker area.

Montanans of all stripes seem to agree on at least two things: They care deeply about conservation and public lands, and life here is getting worse.  Those were some of the key findings from a recent statewide poll conducted by the University of Montana. The results were released last Tuesday morning. With me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian. He reported on the poll results and has covered results of similar polls across the West.  

After more than 40 years and 1,200 holes, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has dug its last pit latrine on the Smith River.  Starting this year, floaters are now required to carry with them something they have always been able to leave behind - their excrement. According to FWP, the Smith River corridor was the only permitted river in the lower 48 that did not require people to pack out human waste. In early April, I joined personnel from the U.S Forest Service, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and volunteers from the Montana Vet Program on a five-day trip down the river to remove and raft out the latrines, officially ushering in the new era of recreational management on the river. On this episode I sit down with Colin Maas, manager of Smith River State Park, to talk about the past present and future of managing the river.

The Smith River is a crown jewel of Montana’s natural splendor, but a proposed copper mine at its headwaters in central Montana has many people worried about negative impacts to the river’s pristine waters. After years of litigation, the state Supreme Court approved a mine permit for the operation in February.  But, environmental groups also took the state to court over the mine company’s water permit — a key regulatory hurdle for mine construction and operation to commence.  On March 29, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Missoula over the mine as part of the court’s annual visit to the law school at University of Montana.  There’s no decision yet but a decision either way will set precedent in Montana and could have wide-ranging effects.  Billings Gazette Reporter Brett French has covered the mine extensively for years. But with me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian, who reported in person on the oral arguments before the Supreme Court.  

Missoula County is reeling from the announcements recently of two huge wood products industry businesses closing and laying off all employees.  Pyramid Mountain Lumber, the largest employer in Seeley Lake for 75 years, announced on March 14 it is permanently shutting down this spring. Less than a week later, Roseburg Forest Product’s Missoula particleboard plant announced it is permanently closing in May.  Combined, the two companies are eliminating 250 jobs. They are the last two remaining large wood products businesses in the county, and the closures mark the end of a 150-year-era of wood products as an economic driver in the county. With me today is David Erickson, a reporter at the Missoulian newspaper who’s been covering the news.  

When the big game season ends in November, there is a guaranteed influx of goose hunters along the Yellowstone River east of Billings. Since 1958, a portion of the river has been closed to waterfowl hunting. From the junction of the Yellowstone and Bighorn rivers, downstream to the Rosebud-Custer county line, the river has been off-limits to waterfowl hunting. The closure was initiated when goose and duck numbers were low in the region. A survey in 1961 found only 500-some geese. By 2013 the same section held almost 40,000 geese. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has proposed reopening the river section to hunting. The Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider the idea at its April 17 meeting. Brett French, Billings Gazette outdoor editor, recently wrote about the issue and is here to discuss what he found out.

Moose hunting in southeastern Montana? That may sound like the punch line for a off-beat joke, but Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is offering its first moose hunting permit for Region 7 this spring. The lone tag is being offered as the population of the largest member of the deer family has steadily grown in the region. This seems at odds with what’s happening with the long-legged creatures in what is considered their native habitat, where populations have declined. To learn more about the story, Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette, is here to talk about the story he recently wrote.

The mission of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is to “ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands, waters, and wildlife.” The national hook and bullet conservation organization has state based chapters in all but two states nationwide. In Montana, the group advocates for protecting large parcels of backcountry fish and wildlife habitat, as well as the opportunity for traditional non-motorized hunting and fishing experiences. With me today is Kevin Farron, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers regional policy manager for Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota to discuss how the organization work to shape policy.  

Last week the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission debated what’s become a hot-button issue – restrictions on nonresident upland game bird hunters. The debate arose after Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Dustin Temple asked Commissioner Lesley Robinson to carry two amendments to the group. One would push back the nonresident bird dog training season by two weeks, the other would delay the nonresident bird hunting season by two weeks. Here to discuss what led up to the discussion and the resolution is Brett French, Billings Gazette outdoor editor.

The Great Burn is referred to as “one of the last best places” by wilderness and wildlife advocates, snowmobilers and mountain bikers. All of them revere the quarter million-acre jumble of peaks along the Montana-Idaho border.  But wilderness and wildlife advocates  — who have long pushed for bikes and snowmobiles to be banned from the area — now worry that new U.S. Forest Service plans could chip away at what they believe is the would-be crown jewel connecting the largest chain of wilderness in the Lower 48.  The issue is a tangled bureaucratic web ensnaring two national forests, two states, one Forest Service regional office, a variety of user groups and a history of conflicting management on one shared landscape full of animals who can’t see boundary lines on maps.  With me today is Joshua Murdock, the outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian, to help explain the issue.   

It’s been twenty years since Mac Minard took the reins of the Montana Outfitters and Guides association. And today he hangs up that hat as he officially retires from the organization. Before his tenure at MOGA, which it is commonly referred to, Minard spent over twenty years as a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. MOGA represents over 250 of Montana’s professionally licensed outfitter and guides who operate throughout the entire state of Montana. The industry accounted for over $500 mil. In non-resident spending in 2021 alone according to data from Montana’s office of tourism. A lifelong outdoorsman, Minard is here to talk about his career and provide his wisdom on the past, present and future of hunting and outfitting in Montana.  

In the bird world eagles are majestic, swans are elegant and ravens are … amazing. At least, that might be your conclusion after talking to scientist John Marzluff, who has studied the king of corvids in Yellowstone National Park for decades. His recent research where Yellowstone National Park ravens were fitted with tiny GPS backpacks is revealing astonishing facts about the birds.  With me today is Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette, who recently talked to Marzluff who’s now retired about his studies in the park.  

It’s hard to imagine a better classroom on conservation than in the shadow of Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front. The Boone and Crockett Conservation Education Program does just that from its headquarters on the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch along Dupuyer Creek.  In the classroom students learn about ecosystems, wildlife conservation and land ethics. In the field students try their hand at shooting sports, fishing, backpacking, packrafting and other hands-on outdoor skills. With me today is Luke Coccoli, Director of Conservation Programs for the Boone and Crockett Club.

AI has come for the animals.  When the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks unveiled its 43rd annual photo issue of Montana Outdoors on Jan. 1, the magazine carried an explanation on page 1: Magazine staff, editor Tom Dickson wrote the magazine had gone to great lengths to verify that photos submitted for the issue were, in fact, photos.  Dickson's concern was that images produced by generative artificial intelligence — AI programs that create new material in response to a prompt — now often appear as realistic as actual photographs and could be submitted to the magazine for publication. On today's episode, Joshua Murdock, natural resources reporter for the Missoulian newspaper, discusses his reporting on AI-generated wildlife imagery.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Dr. Matt Rinella, The grass-roots traditions that have defined hunting in America are being displaced by a hyper-commercialized pay-to-play model.  In response, he has created an organization called Hunt Quietly, and what he calls a movement to combat this tainting of the principles of hunting.  Through his writing and podcast he has stirred controversy and prompted plenty of debate in the hunting community. Rinella, a research ecologist by day and lifelong hunter joins me on today's episode to explain his stance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the year comes to a close I thought it would be a good time to gather our team of outdoors writers and put a bow on it. I asked the reporters to send me some of their most important stories from 2023 so we could re-hash them for folks as the last episode of the year. So with me today is Rob Chaney and Joshua Murdock, from the Missoulian, Brett French from the Billings Gazette, and Duncan Adams from the Montana Standard. All familiar voices if you've listened to the show in the past. Some of these stories will also be familiar to habitual listeners. Topics we'll discuss today will be E-Bikes in National Parks, Snowbowl ski area, tribal Bison hunting outside Yellowstone, and Anaconda's urban mule deer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the federally-protected grizzly bear continues to make its life outside of the wilderness enclaves of its recovery zones it is met with human civilization and the problems that arise as a result. The folks whose lives and livelihood are on the line in these situations are the farmers and ranchers who work the land where civilization and wilderness meet. In 2017, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks created the prairie grizzly bear team in response to the expanding grizzly bear population of the NCDE making its way from the mountains to the prairie. What follows is a conversation I had earlier this year with Wesley Sarmento, the head of that prairie bear team. This episode was recorded as we bumped along dirt roads outside Conrad, Montana. Sound quality may vary. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Endangered Species Act turns 50 this December. Often called “the pit-bull of environmental statutes,” the ESA has given federal protection to more than 2,000 animals and plants. It has also drawn critics who claim it takes away property rights and hurts economic development.  After half a century of recovery efforts, only a few hundred species have got delisted. On the other hand, the whole world faces a biodiversity crisis, with more than 44,000 species threatened with extinction. And the ESA has been the international model law for how to save what the world has left.  Some of the ESA's biggest struggles have happened in Montana, including fights over gray wolves, grizzly bears, bull trout and sage grouse. As the law reaches its 50-year anniversary, a group of reporters scanned the state to see how it's working and what its future holds. With me today is Rob Chaney, leader of the project, to give us a primer on 50 years of the law and what readers can expect from the reporting,See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last April, Scott Snelson was quietly transferred from his post at the Spotted Bear District to a desk job at the Flathead National Forest headquarters at the behest of then Forest Supervisor Kurt Steele. Snelson finished his career as a staff officer of recreation, engineering, heritage and land. He retired a few weeks ago. Snelson had a long career with the Forest Service before being named district ranger in 2017,  He expected to spend his final years of his career managing one of the most coveted ranger districts in the U.S. The Spotted Bear is more than 1 million acres, with 850,000 of those acres part of the 1.6 million-acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. But instead of being a dream job, it became increasingly difficult under Steele's leadership, Snelson told the Hungry Horse News in an interview last week. That's an excerpt from a piece written by Chris Peterson, editor of the Hungry Horse News, and he's with me today to discuss his reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thirty-one years ago, 1,321 mule deer were shot by hunters in Hunting District 502 — a record high. In 2021, the total mule deer harvest in HD 502 was 477.  There are a number of hunting regulations being proposed for big game species in Montana that the Fish and Wildlife Commission has on its Dec. 14 meeting agenda. Anyone interested in their hunting district or region should check out the online information to be informed about what is going on. Ideally, most hunters have already taken part in one of the many meetings offered around the state.  In looking at the proposals before the commission, Billings Gazette outdoor editor Brett French noted one common theme popping up across the state, declining mule deer numbers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In late October, what appears to be an adult male grizzly bear was captured on a game camera in the Missouri Breaks. Although tracks of grizzlies have been found farther east, in the Winifred area, this was the first photographic evidence of a grizzly so far from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. The photo is both surprising, in that a bear made it so far without getting into trouble with humans, and not surprising, because grizzlies have been pushing east for more than a decade. What may help this bear survive is that it has reached a large swath of public land, including the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Here to talk about his reporting on the subject is Billings Gazette outdoor editor Brett French.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's no secret that glaciers in Montana and the world over are disappearing. But now a new study puts a number to the losses, at least for the Western U.S.  Of the West's 612 officially named glaciers, 52 no longer qualify as glaciers. That's according to a study released last month by Portland State University. The research, published in the journal Earth System Science Data, delineates a glacier as a slowly moving mass of ice with an area of at least 25 acres, and a snowfield a stationary area of snow and ice that persists all year. The study found 52 glaciers have been demoted to snowfields. Six of those 52 demoted glaciers are in Montana. With me today to talk again about receding ice is Joshua Murdock, natural resources reporter and Rob Chaney, managing editor of the Missoulian newspaper.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Interagency Bison Management Program partners met at Chico Hot Springs Resort in early November. The partners include tribal representatives, state and federal officials.  When the Park Service attempted to change some language in the group's adaptive management plan, the executive officer of the Montana Department of Livestock protested. But, there's a lot more to this story than this one meeting. At play are simmering tensions between the State of Montana and the Park Service over managing the migratory bison that call Yellowstone National Park home for most of the year. With me today is Brett French, outdoors editor at the Billings Gazette, who attended the gathering and has reported on Yellowstone bison for years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For decades, the freight trains trundling over Marias Pass toward Glacier National Park and the Great Bear Wilderness along a 206-mile stretch of tracks between Shelby and Trego have posed a threat to the grizzlies living in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem grizzly bear recovery zone, particularly when a derailment causes a grain spill, or a train-killed deer or livestock carcass draws the bears onto the busy tracks.  And for decades, a host of state, federal and tribal wildlife management agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations and conservation groups, have worked with the railroad to mitigate the hazards to threatened and endangered species like grizzlies, with varying degrees of effectiveness. Three years ago, BNSF Railway Company proposed the most comprehensive solution yet when it applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for an Incidental Take Permit (ITP) and formally submitted a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) outlining measures it would take to reduce train-caused grizzly mortalities in the region. But that hasn't happened yet. With me today is Tristan Scott, the managing editor of the Flathead Beacon newspaper, who's recently reported on the situation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition recently announced it had raised $6.25 million to buy out Crevice Mining Group's 1,368 acres, claims and water rights just north of Yellowstone National Park's border. Crevice came onto the scene in 2015 when it proposed mining on a mountainside above Gardiner. The proposal led to more than 400 local businesses and groups fighting to protect the area. The opposition was also focused on a proposal to mine just outside of Chico Hot Springs, in Emigrant Gulch. This eventually led to the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act, signed into law in 2019, removing 30,000 acres of public lands from mining in the region. However Crevice was not halted by the act, since it already owned private claims. The GYC decided the best solution to halt any mining was to buy the Crevice owners out. Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette, recently reported on the buyout. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Oct. 13, news broke that the owner of Holland Lake Lodge has decided to cancel his controversial expansion and upgrade plans at the resort. He's ending his partnership with a large Utah-based resort company called POWDR and is trying to sell the lodge. It's huge news in Montana, as for the past year there's been quite a bit of an uproar as people protested the plan. You can't drive anywhere in western Montana without seeing billboards for “Save Holland Lake,” a group that's been criticizing the expansion plans. The whole saga involved threats of lawsuits and lots of heated public meetings. Exactly a year ago Dave Erickson of the Missoulian newspaper joined me as news broke on the expansion proposal and he's on this episode to cover all that's happened since last year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a chance encounter with a northern pintail drake that made Chuck Black's lifelong dream come true. That dream: to win the Federal Duck Stamp art contest and have his painting in the pocket of every waterfowl hunter in the country. Chuck's interest in the Federal Duck Stamp started as a youth growing up in Minnesota, where water-fowling is a religion and many of the legends of the contest call home. After nine failed tries to win the contest, on Sept. 16 a lifelong dream came true when he finally won the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Duck Stamp art contest. On this episode, we hear from Chuck about his quest to get his painting on the stamp and life as an artist in Montana.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In late September the Legislative Audit Division released a report investigating Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Enforcement Division. The audit documented a division riddled with morale problems and distrust in management. What's more, the report found FWP's Human Resources Division – which is responsible for all FWP employees – was opening the agency up to the risk of litigation because of its practices. Prior to the audit's publication, the Enforcement Division chief retired with an additional $150,000 in compensation, two top administrators were reassigned and FWP's director has stepped down and been replaced. Here to talk about the audit today is Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A little over a month ago, the world watched in horror as fast-moving flames leveled the idyllic oceanside town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The fire had started just that day but winds from a distant hurricane swept the flames into a firestorm that killed more than 100 people, making it the deadliest American wildfire in more than a century. Similar things happened around Montana this summer, thankfully with no deaths reported. But there were other similarities between them: A new fire grows rapidly, fanned by hot and dry winds, to quickly threaten a town. And that happened as Montana has seen a remarkably quiet season for wildfires by some measures. On this episode Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian talks about the River Road East Fire outside of Paradise, Montana.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On September 1, the U.S. Interior Department announced that the last energy lease in the Badger-Two Medicine area had been relinquished. This piece of ground surrounded by the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness, was considered sacred to the Blackfeet. It was also considered so valuable by the Louisiana-based Solenex LLC energy company, they held onto the lease through seven presidential administrations, two federal court fights and 40 years of negotiations. When we last talked about the Badger Two-Medicine a year ago, it was on its way to a second round before the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals.  On this episode, Rob Chaney, managing editor of the Missoulian, fills us in on what has changed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you were a grizzly on the move, where would you go and how would you get there? As the federally protected bears roam farther each year beyond their recovery zones, more Montana communities are seeing grizzlies for the first time in decades. Eventually, wildlife managers hope that two separate populations centered around Glacier and Yellowstone national parks could connect. And the species' recovery plans target the bears expanding to other places, too. Now, a new study from the University of Montana shows how the animals might do that. With me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks recently released the results of two hunter surveys. One was sent to 5,000 residents and another to 800 nonresidents. The surveys asked questions about the state's management of elk and mule deer, two iconic species in the state. Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette, recently wrote about the results of the survey. Since the story on the FWP survey came out, Montana Backcountry Hunters and Anglers examined the methodology the agency used. The group contends that counting neutral responses to the survey as those satisfied with the state's elk management sways the calculation to FWP's favor. On this episode French, talks about the survey and subsequent blowback to the results.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ailments like brucellosis and chronic wasting disease have become well-known in hunting circles over the past few decades. Both are known to infect elk and be spread by close contact between infected animals.  That's why it seems ill-advised that Wyoming operates winter feedgrounds for elk. Spread across the western third of the state, the sites congregate elk allowing brucellosis and CWD to spread. Right now.  The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is taking public comments on its newly unveiled feedground management plan. To learn more about the issue, we're talking with Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last June south-central Montana suffered a historic 500-year flood. High water wiped out bridges and roads in Yellowstone National Park and the Custer Gallatin National Forest, as well as destroyed private homes and bridges.  On August 4th, more than 400 days later, the Forest Service has restored access to one of the most popular areas in the Beartooth Mountains – East Rosebud Lake. Here to talk with us today about the recovery efforts is Brett French, outdoor editor for the Billings Gazette.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.