Articles written by Amanda Eggert
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Environmental groups challenge logging project bordering Yellowstone National Park
Three environmental groups signaled Wednesday their intention to stop a 16,000-acre logging and prescribed-fire project located in a national forest west of Yellowstone National Park. In their notice of intent to sue the Custer Gallatin National... Full story
EPA scales back federal wetland protections to comply with Supreme Court order
Federal rules codifying which waterways are afforded Clean Water Act protections under the “Waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, rule have been changed once more, continuing a back-and-forth regulatory saga shaped by presidential...
Montana attorney general urges the EPA to scrap CO2 rule aimed at the energy sector
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen this week joined 20 other attorneys general urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to scrap a proposed rule that seeks to dramatically decrease carbon dioxide emissions in the energy sector. In a...
Declining trout population in southwest Montana prompts research and advocacy push
Marked declines in trout populations across several of Montana’s iconic fisheries have led a group of anglers, fishing guides and community members to launch a “Save Wild Trout” initiative in hopes of better understanding the cause of those...
Gianforte announces leadership change at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Friday that Henry “Hank” Worsech is retiring as director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the agency charged with managing Montana’s wildlife and 55 state parks. Dustin Temple, who’s been serving as the... Full story
Bill sponsor pushes for veto override after Gianforte rejects popular marijuana tax bill
The sponsor of a popular initiative seeking to divvy up more than $50 million of marijuana tax revenue is requesting that lawmakers be given an opportunity to override a veto Gov. Greg Gianforte issued in the final hours of the 2023 legislative...
$1 million wildlife crossings fund passes MT legislative committee
A bill seeking to make Montana roadways safer for motorists and wildlife by creating a $1 million pilot program for wildlife crossing structures passed out of committee last week. The House Fish,... Full story
PSC greenlights NorthWestern Energy's restructuring plan
Montana's largest utility company has garnered approval from the state's utility board to restructure its multi-state operation. Last June, NorthWestern Energy asked regulators to separate its...
Committee votes on four wolf bills
The House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee voted on four wolf-related measures last week ahead of a key legislative deadline. The committee narrowly approved two bills that would codify wolf trappin... Full story
Feds to explore delisting of Greater Yellowstone and NCDE grizzlies
nnounced Friday that it is exploring whether grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems are sufficiently recovered to no longer be considered as an endangered... Full story
Fish and Wildlife Commission calls for a 'legislative solution' to Madison River crowding
An 11-year-old effort to manage crowding on one of Montana's most popular fisheries stalled out without resolution in late December when the Fish and Wildlife Commission decided not to advance... Full story
Judge rules against suspending Montana wolf hunts while lawsuit proceeds
A Helena judge reinstated the 2022-2023 wolf hunting and trapping regulations passed by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission Tuesday in a ruling that rejected environmental groups' request for an... Full story
Montana wolf regulations challenged in state court
Environmental groups WildEarth Guardians and Project Coyote are asking a Lewis and Clark County District Court judge to toss out Montana's current wolf-hunting regulations and declare four hunting... Full story
Revised Montana wolf regs aim to limit Yellowstone-area kills
The Montana Fish and Wildlife commission recently to reinstate a cap on the number of Yellowstone-area wolves that hunters and trappers can kill, abandoning an approach that allowed hunters and... Full story
NorthWestern plans August repair of Hebgen Dam
At an event last week, NorthWestern Energy outlined its plan to prevent future Hebgen Dam malfunctions like the one that dewatered the Madison River late last year, cutting flow to one of the state's flagship trout streams in half in a matter of minu...
'Exceptional set of circumstances' converge to shatter streamflow records across southern Montana
Low temperatures and persistent precipitation combined with an unusually high June snowpack to set the stage for historic flooding in southwest and south-central Montana last week. At least five rivers in Park, Carbon and Stillwater counties set... Full story
EPA nixes Montana's new water quality standards
The Environmental Protection Agency thwarted Montana lawmakers’ attempt to loosen water quality standards last week, telling the state that it acted out of turn by adopting a new regulatory framework without first obtaining federal approval. In a...
Gov. Gianforte presses to extinguish all fires in 2022 Montana wildfire briefing
Gov. Greg Gianforte asked land managers for their commitment to aggressive initial attack to extinguish all wildfires at a 2022 wildfire briefing in Helena last week. "In Montana, we do not, and will not, have a 'let it burn' policy," Gov. Greg... Full story
Poll finds three-quarters of Montanans worried about housing affordability
Housing affordability, development and Montana's changing character topped the list of issues Montanans identified as serious problems facing the state in a poll commissioned by University of Montana researchers last month. A striking majority of... Full story
The Custer Gallatin National Forest's new guiding doc
BOZEMAN - After six years and tens of thousands of public comments, one of the largest and most popular national forests in the Northern Rockies has a new forest plan to guide its management for the... Full story
Heavy wolf harvest triggers new limits near Yellowstone
The state Fish and Wildlife Commission voted last week to close wolf trapping and hunting in southwestern Montana if or when six more wolves are harvested in the region. Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that 20 wolves that roamed... Full story
A road runs through it
Road ecologists say wildlife crossings are one of the best ways to reduce wildlife-vehicles collisions and mitigate one of the most significant human impacts on ecosystems. This three-part series... Full story
How does the wildlife cross the road?
Road ecologists say wildlife crossings are one of the best ways to reduce wildlife-vehicles collisions and mitigate one of the most significant human impacts on ecosystems. This three-part series... Full story
Federal judge: At least two Public Service Commission districts are 'presumptively unconstitutional'
A federal judge issued an order yesterday blocking the state's top election official from certifying candidates running for the Public Service Commission until the constitutionality of the commission's district map has been evaluated. Read the... Full story
'Firestorm' of public comment leads FWP to rethink elk management proposals
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has backpedaled on a controversial elk management strategy after a public response that FWP Director Henry “Hank” Worsech described as a “firestorm.” Even after the department backed away from the most... Full story
