Environment

For the second year, a conservation coalition is asking Montana’s governor to create a task force to protect the struggling streams and fisheries of southwestern Montana. With the current drought outlook, the need is just as great as it was last year. On Wednesday, a broad coalition of fly-fishing businesses, conservation organizations, and 875 concerned citizens submitted a … [Read more...] about Coalition renews request for fisheries task force as drought worsens

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is changing its process to review and publish fishing regulations every two years instead of every four. Montana Trout Unlimited is backing the shift so that fewer regulations are changed after the fact. FWP is hosting statewide meetings this month to let Montanans know of yet another change to the way it does business. Starting this year, … [Read more...] about Montana FWP fishing regulations to see more frequent review

(MTFP) Bull trout were so significant to the Salish and Pend d’Oreille people who originally inhabited the Missoula Valley that they called it “Place of the Small Bull Trout.” The name specifically refers to the area near the confluence of Rattlesnake Creek and the Clark Fork River where bull trout once provided an abundant food source for the tribes. Today, bull trout are a … [Read more...] about Could rehabbing dams in the Rattlesnake Wilderness help native trout struggling with climate change?

Privately-run campgrounds are adding another complication for wildlife managers trying to reduce human conflicts with grizzly bears, experts said this week. On Thursday, the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem subcommittee met in Kalispell to review last year’s management of NCDE grizzly bears and discuss future challenges as more people with little wildlife awareness move … [Read more...] about Web-based tourism complicates efforts to reduce grizzly conflicts