Environment ~ Missoula Current

City of Missoula, Trout Unlimited move forward with Rattlesnake Dam removal

January 16, 2019

Missoula will move forward with Trout Unlimited to remove an obsolete dam from Rattlesnake Creek. On Wednesday, the City Council's

Some Orchard Homes residents willing to sell land to avoid future floods

January 15, 2019

Before the next flood on the Clark Fork River, some in the Orchard Homes area would like Missoula County to

Public lands advocates bring message of protection to Capitol

January 11, 2019

On Friday, hundreds of Montanans converged on the Capitol to participate in a rally supporting public lands. Busloads of people

Appeals court tosses Oregon suit over climate change

January 10, 2019

Oregon has no duty to protect natural resources as part of a public trust, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday,

Trump to FEMA: No more wildfire recovery money for California

January 9, 2019

Less than two months after firefighters extinguished a deadly California wildfire deemed the world’s costliest natural disaster in 2018, President

Mount Dean Stone: Five Valleys planning access projects up Miller Creek

January 9, 2019

The projects include trail improvements to Little Park Creek such as public parking and wheelchair access. It would also see

Public access: Meagher County commissioners oppose land sale to Forest Service, but conflicts alleged

January 8, 2019

After indicating in a Dec. 4 meeting that they wouldn’t oppose the sale of the Holmstrom Sheep Creek Ranch to

Montana’s Crow Tribe argues for ancestral hunting rights at U.S. Supreme Court

January 8, 2019

An attorney for a Native American tribe took aim at century-old Supreme Court precedent Tuesday, telling the justices they should

Despite shutdown, Missoula County looks to rekindle Smurfit relationship with EPA

January 7, 2019

Missoula County will take its environmental concerns over the shuttered Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. pulp and paper mill to the Environmental

Federal shutdown stops monitoring, cleanup efforts at Frenchtown pulp mill site

January 4, 2019

All progress on monitoring and assessing environmental contamination at the former Smurfit-Stone Container mill site in Frenchtown has stopped because

Rise in snow lines tied to climate change in California

January 4, 2019

Water officials must change how they manage California’s elaborate storage and distribution system to address six years of warmer-than-average temperatures,

Vermillion leaves FWP Commission, confident in management, discouraged by rancor

December 31, 2018

During his dozen years on the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission, Dan Vermillion has patiently overseen many changes in

Lolo Pass as winter begins: Full moon, meteor shower, dedicated government workers

December 27, 2018

We kept a steady pace, skis softly swooshing and our poles puncturing the snow with repeated squeaks. Then stopping to

Montana FWP, feds, Wyoming ag groups appeal Yellowstone grizzly protection

December 22, 2018

In an 11th-hour move, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service filed an appeal Friday to remove Yellowstone grizzly bears from

Northwest dams agree to spill more water to help salmon, orcas survive

December 20, 2018

Dam operators will send more water spilling over the eight dams along the Snake and Columbia rivers in an effort

Ninemile land buy gives grizzly bears safe passage across Clark Fork River

December 18, 2018

The nonprofit organizations Vital Ground and Yellowstone to Yukon have closed a two-year negotiation to buy 52 acres of private

Trump administration denies protections to 13 threatened wildlife species

December 18, 2018

The Trump administration declined Tuesday to extend federal protections to 13 rare species of wildlife. The decision alarmed wildlife conservationists

‘Wake up, the planet is burning up!’ Brown tells polluting nations

December 14, 2018

Outgoing California Gov. Jerry Brown had some harsh words for world leaders at the United Nations Climate Conference in Poland,

New science bolsters findings that emissions put U.S. in danger

December 14, 2018

The peril from climate change is clearer than ever. And scientists are fighting to justify the EPA’s endangerment finding in

It’s not just Montana: Thinning glaciers will affect freshwater across Asia

December 14, 2018

Asia’s rapidly shrinking high-mountain glaciers are flowing at a slower pace due to widespread ice loss, jeopardizing freshwater availability for

Biologists: Agencies must better assess, respond to human-grizzly conflicts

December 12, 2018

Wildlife managers say they expected more conflict with growing grizzly bear populations, but one biologist thinks agencies aren’t doing enough

Vast Bitterroot ecosystem grows in importance as grizzly bear recovery unfolds

December 11, 2018

With grizzly bears back on the endangered species list, an interagency group has unexpected time to consider its next steps,

Trump set to unwind wetlands protections; Gianforte casts support for roll back

December 11, 2018

The Trump administration unveiled a plan Tuesday to drain federal protections for wetlands and other isolated bodies of water, doing

Missoula County, Army Corps agree on $1M repairs to flood-damaged levee

December 11, 2018

While the spring floods that inundated portions of the Missoula Valley have been replaced with winter's freeze, county commissioners continue

Montana FWP adopts management plan for grizzly bears, but delisting must come first

December 10, 2018

Grizzly bears are still federally protected, but Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is prepared to manage them once they’re not.

Bitterroot River: FWP Commission accepts donation of Stevensville fishing access site

December 10, 2018

On Monday, Montana's FWP Commission unanimously approved allowing the agency to accept a donation of 6.25 acres along the east

Trout Unlimited, Missoula bank work toward West Fork, Rattlesnake creek restoration

December 10, 2018

A $4,500 donation from Stockman Bank is the third to Trout Unlimited in the past few years with a focus

Dispatches from the road: Three miles of Glacier National Park

December 10, 2018

The shore of Lake McDonald was our first stop. At 10 miles long, more than a mile wide and 472

Daines praises EPA’s rollback of emission standards; opponents fear environmental disaster

December 7, 2018

Despite the deepening impacts of climate change, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines on Friday praised a Trump administration proposal to roll

Study: Vast forests needed to offset effects of burning coal for electricity

December 7, 2018

The study, published in Scientific Reports, said a coal-fired generator that creates one gigawatt of electricity – enough power for about 700,000

From pledges to action: U.S. cities are key to fight against climate change

December 6, 2018

As world leaders negotiate rules for cutting greenhouse gas emissions at the COP24 meeting in Poland, U.S. cities have a

Bullock vs. Fox: State Supreme Court hears arguments in conservation easement case

December 5, 2018

On Wednesday in Helena, Supreme Court justices heard arguments from attorneys for Gov. Steve Bullock and Attorney General Tim Fox

Scientists: Greenland Ice Sheet is melting on ‘overdrive’ as planet warms

December 5, 2018

Surface ice melting from Greenland – one of the key drivers of global sea level rise – has shifted into

Shrinking Grand Staircase National Monument in Utah may harm bees

December 5, 2018

A year after President Trump signed a proclamation reducing the size of Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by nearly a million

Meagher County ranch proposes $7.5M land sale to U.S. Forest Service

December 4, 2018

Montanans often say they want better access to public land, but are state and county leaders willing to improve access

Montanans fall short of waste-reduction goals; Missoula leads the way

December 3, 2018

Missoula’s plan to decrease its solid waste by 90 percent over the next 30 years may seem ambitious, but a

New House Natural Resources chairman says he’ll force a reckoning with climate change

December 1, 2018

Now that Democrats have won a majority in the U.S. House, Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva will have his chance, as

Federal judge: U.S. law doesn’t protect ancient trees from logging

November 29, 2018

A judge’s stark warning that natural wonders have no right to exist under federal law unsettled a group of conservationists

Montana FWP won’t seek fee hike from Legislature, but needs $1M for ailing parks

November 29, 2018

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks won’t ask the state Legislature for any license fee increases, but that doesn’t mean the

By resolution, Missoula City Council urges Congress to reauthorize troubled LWCF

November 28, 2018

Members of the Missoula City Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution urging Congress to reauthorize the Land and Water

Montana group opposes destruction of Interior Department documents

November 28, 2018

A Montana organization that has been dogging Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for ethics violations is opposing the Interior Department’s attempt

Weather bedevils western Montana hunters; 7 percent come home with game

November 27, 2018

This year, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks estimated about 7 percent of western Montana hunters were successful during the five-week

Legal fight on climate change the likely winner of buried U.S. report

November 27, 2018

Environmental lawyers say a comprehensive climate change report released by 13 different federal agencies will provide substantial assistance to plaintiffs

Researcher: Wildfire smoke is becoming nationwide health threat

November 23, 2018

The impacts of recent forest fires in California reach well beyond the burned areas. Smoke from the Camp Fire created

51 grizzly bear deaths in 2018, a record for Northern Rockies

November 20, 2018

A lot of grizzly bears died in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem this year, so it might not hurt that

Secretary Zinke calls for forest reforms in wake of deadly fires, blames radicals

November 20, 2018

Citing loss of life, destruction and mounting wildfire costs, the secretaries of the U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture on

Sportsmen side with FWP in fight over conservation easement approval authority

November 19, 2018

As the question of which state body can approve conservation easements heads to the Montana Supreme Court, some organizations are

UM researcher’s study of past planetary cooling offers warnings, strategies for today’s warmup

November 19, 2018

A University of Montana researcher recently co-authored a paper that provides insight into the ways in which people in ancient

Missoula receives ‘silver’ certification for solar energy efforts

November 19, 2018

Missoula is one of Montana’s leaders in supporting renewable energy, and now it has a certification to prove it. The

U.S. House votes to end protection of gray wolves

November 16, 2018

The House of Representatives voted 196-180 on Friday to drop legal protections for gray wolves across the lower 48 states.

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Watchdog groups sue to force review of Montana coal mine's harm to water, climate