An appeals court hearing could determine whether feds reconsider Endangered Species Act protections for wolves across the West.
Montana
Posted inIssues
OnlyMarms, dino doings, sailor cats and “Thank you, Jimothy!”
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
Duck banding in the Centennial Valley helps save the lesser scaup
The longest-running study on breeding ducks has given Montana state biologists the highest-resolution dataset to aid in the bird’s survival.
Posted inArticles
Montanans are demanding better Indian education, setting an example for other Western states
Experts say good education is about relationships – and a constitutional amendment doesn’t hurt.
Posted inArticles
As bears ‘spin out’ in southern Montana, wildlife managers are at wit’s end
Amid a record-breaking year of Western bear conflict, the historically tolerant Red Lodge community is grappling with opposing views on how to live with the species — and if a ‘fed bear’ really should be a ‘dead bear.’
Posted inIssues
Montanans push back against corporate money
A novel approach to curb big money in political spending heads to the ballot.
Posted inSeptember 2026: On the Trail with Gary Paul Nabhan
Even cowgirls get the Instagram blues
A Montana rancher wonders what is lost in her urge to share her Western life online.
Posted inSeptember 2026: On the Trail with Gary Paul Nabhan
How Bozeman is preventing human-wildlife conflicts before they start
A ’wildlife first responder’ is developing a tool for coexistence.
Posted inSeptember 2026: On the Trail with Gary Paul Nabhan
The GOAT of all goats, a mystery solved, and the rez dog who chose not to ‘stay’
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
Feds transfer grizzly bear management to states
After 20-year controversy and numerous court battles, the Trump administration declared grizzlies recovered despite public lands rollbacks.
Posted inArticles
Meet the students graduating from Montana’s smallest classes
The people graduating from classes of 3, 2 and 1 have big ambitions.
Posted inJune 2026: River Revival
Bazillions of bunnies, Montecito’s ‘hog heaven,’ and pride will always prevail
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inJune 2026: River Revival
How socialism built the reddest states in the West
The history of labor in the region gets shouted down by corporations.
Posted inJuly 2026: Lost in the Weeds
Billions in border wall contracts are going to a Montana firm run by a Trump donor
Barnard Construction’s leadership donated over $1 million to the president’s campaign. They’re among the administration’s top wall contractors.
Posted inArticles
How Interior helped push bison off Montana’s federal lands
In an uncommon move, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum intervened in a case that involved the former legal clients of Karen Budd-Falen, one of his top deputies.
Posted inArticles
The billionaires’ club at the center of America’s public lands fight
A controversial land swap orchestrated by the mega rich could be ‘a harbinger of what’s to come’ for public lands under Trump.
Posted inArticles
Tribal leaders reflect on a year of uncertainty — and possibility
Federal turnover and policy shifts have forced Indigenous communities to adapt.
Posted inArticles
Montana’s wild week in politics could have national consequences
What was shaping up to be a sleepy election year in Montana is now anything but.
Posted inMarch 2026: The Uncertainty of Farming in the Colorado River Basin
How Montana tribes are using sovereignty to restore their waterways
‘We live at the backbone of the world, where the water begins.’
Posted inArticles
Americans generally like wolves − except when reminded of politics
Recent studies found that attitudes toward wolves became more polarized when people’s political identities were activated.