habitat

The issue of whether the U.S. Forest Service can amend longstanding protections for grizzly bear and bull trout habitat in Montana’s Flathead National Forest is before a Ninth Circuit panel.

Josh Osher writes, "These ranchers want Montana to be the last best place exclusively for their sheep and cattle, at the expense of native wildlife and their habitat, and the people who value Montana’s unique treasures."

Les Castran writes, "Legislators recently introduced three bills that propose to eliminate appropriations of marijuana tax revenue dedicated to Habitat Montana and reallocate the funds to other programs."

The 21-acre conservation easement would preserve some of the habitat and agricultural soils on the valley bottoms that are quickly being lost in Missoula as growth spreads ever-further from the city center.

Temperatures are still cool in western Montana, but with days getting longer, the first plants of spring will soon make an appearance. Unfortunately, a once-common pollinator might not be around to visit the wildflowers.