habitat

A Legislative committee is backing the Gianforte administration in its opposition to a proposed U.S. Forest Service amendment that could make small changes to preserve old-growth forests.

Jerry Oconnell writes, "A UM poll in 2022 found that 83% of Montana voters support the BCSA. Unfortunately, Senator Daines does not yet support the BCSA."

The act would add about 78,000 acres of wilderness to the Bob Marshall, Scapegoat and Mission Mountains wilderness areas and create two recreation management areas for snowmobiling and mountain biking.

Gas drilling can go ahead in the Wyoming land where sage-grouse live and migrating pronghorns pass through, a Tenth Circuit panel ruled.

Among other things, the settlement agreement grants the developer, Tia Tam, preliminary approval of the McCauley Meadows subdivision but reduces the number of lots that can be placed on McCauley Butte – a prominent landmark on the valley floor.

SB 442 enjoyed widespread bipartisan support and may have been the best example of compromise during the 2023 legislative session.

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.