Environment
Federal judge dismisses lawsuits seeking to halt Alaska’s Willow oil drilling project
Alaska’s largest oil drilling project in decades will continue toward production. On Thursday, a federal court judge in Anchorage dismissed two challenges against ConocoPhillips’ Willow project, saying plaintiffs failed to show that the federal government made significant mistakes when it approved the project. Some of those plaintiffs, which include a constellation of local and national […]
Feds buy $2 million parcel to save Wyoming toad — warts and all
Federal officials hope a $2 million land purchase just outside Laramie will help reestablish the only wild population of the Wyoming toad in the world. The 1,078 acres the government acquired last month is part of the new Wyoming Toad Conservation Area. The 43,200-acre complex became the 569th unit in the National Wildlife Refuge System […]
Group sues in attempt to block Absaroka-Beartooth trout poisoning, restoration project
A Missoula-based environmental group has filed a federal lawsuit in its latest effort to block a planned project to poison a 45-mile stretch of waterways in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness over several years to kill off rainbow trout and replace them with Yellowstone cutthroat trout. Wilderness Watch sued the USFS Wednesday in the U.S. District Court […]
Sagebrush is suffering, even in Wyoming. Saving what’s left is complicated.
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK—Laura Jones spoke from the grassy flats at the base of Blacktail Butte, a place where Mormon settlers made a go at homesteading the 6,600-foot-high heart of Jackson Hole nearly a century and a half ago. A vegetation ecologist for the National Park Service, Jones was showcasing Teton Park’s long-running effort to do […]
Ryan Busse confirms 1998 hunting ticket, said honest mistake, fixed immediately
Gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse confirmed Tuesday he received a hunting ticket in 1998, but the Democrat also took a shot at Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s record. Lee Enterprises reported this week a records request showed Busse was cited 25 years ago for taking game birds without a license, and he paid a $120 fine. Tuesday, […]
Problems plaguing small outdoor recreation businesses explored at U.S. Senate hearing
WASHINGTON — Operators and promoters of outdoor recreation companies said at a U.S. Senate hearing that small tourist businesses like theirs are a critical part of the rural U.S. economy facing multiple challenges. Witnesses before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on Wednesday listed climate change, inflation, high gas prices and a potential […]
Management team discusses winter plans for Yellowstone bison after deadly year prior
Yellowstone National Park’s bison herd dropped to a population of fewer than 4,000 after the harsh winter, which forced most of the northern herd outside of the park in search of food and more than 1,000 of them to their demise at the hands of mostly tribal hunters. Though the calving season brought the total […]
U.S. Forest Service may face steep fine for leaks at Holland Lake wastewater system
The U.S. Forest Service could be fined as much as $10,000 a day for violations related to leaks and unreported, unapproved repairs at the wastewater treatment system at Holland Lake, according to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. The Forest Service confirmed this week the system isn’t receiving any new waste, and the DEQ said […]
Endangered Species Act protections for wolverines likely imminent
An analysis of wolverines in Wyoming and the rest of their Lower 48 range paints a grim picture of a low-density species that’s losing its habitat and facing an uncertain future. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a 100-page “species status assessment” for North American wolverines in late September. That document presages a final determination that […]
Millions of grassland acres lost in Great Plains, new research report says
The Great Plains lost 1.6 million acres of grasslands in 2021. That’s according to a World Wildlife Fund report released on Thursday, detailing the loss of grasslands in the U.S. and Canadian Great Plains. From 2012 to 2021, grassland conversion in the Great Plains totaled 32 million acres, or 50,000 square miles. The Plowprint report […]
Mixed results for hunters in Montana, weather impacting take
Hunters are having mixed results this season so far, including one record low number of hunters at a check station in Billings on opening weekend, but some young hunters are finding success this year, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Monday, FWP said a number of young hunters killed their first elk this year […]
Millions of rural Americans rely on private wells. Few regularly test their water.
FORT DODGE, Iowa — Allison Roderick has a warning and a pledge for rural residents of her county: The water from their wells could be contaminated, but the government can help make it safe. Roderick is the environmental health officer for Webster County in north-central Iowa, where a few thousand rural residents live among sprawling […]