A novel approach to curb big money in political spending heads to the ballot.
Montana
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.
Posted inJanuary 2026: Deep Time in the West
How plate tectonics revolutionized our understanding of Earth
And how scientist Tanya Atwater was at the center of it all.
Posted inArticles
‘We’re basically slitting our own throat’: Montana rolls back water-quality standards
The EPA approved Montana’s weaker standards for nutrient pollution during the government shutdown.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
How ranchers accused of breaking the rules dodge oversight
Elected officials interfere with agency efforts to protect the land.
Posted inArticles
The big data center buildup
An AI server farm tsunami threatens to overwhelm the West’s power grid and water supplies.
Posted inArticles
Yellowstone protects wolves. What happens when they leave the park?
Crossing what’s an arbitrary boundary for wildlife, an apex predator becomes prey.