Construction of what may become the nation’s largest lithium mine can proceed after a U.S. appeals court denied a last ditch effort by tribes and conservationists to block the controversial project.
A fire weather meteorologist told Gov. Greg Gianforte and other state agency officials Tuesday that Montana should prepare for a shift to a warmer and drier back half of the summer and expect wildfires beginning in drought-stricken northwestern Montana.
While most rivers are still managing to stay somewhat cool, water levels have dropped significantly in the Bitterroot, Beaverhead, Jefferson and rivers, causing them to heat more during the day.
While households work to cover a 19% rate increase from NorthWestern Energy, the City of Missoula also is facing rising electrical costs, and a portion of that will be passed on to residents within the city's 52 street lighting districts.
Drought and a quick-melting snowpack have put Flathead Lake at record-low levels, and anglers are under the first fishing restrictions of the season on portions of the Sun and Madison rivers due to warm water temperatures and low flows.
Across the West, a vast swath of federal land has been staked out by oil and gas drillers, miners, cattle grazers, loggers, renewable energy developers and outdoor recreationists. Soon, the federal agency that oversees those lands will allow them to be leased for a new purpose — conservation.
The Bureau of Reclamation said any water release outside of 18" to the full pool mark could not be supported without significant research and studies on potential biological and ecological impacts.