Environment
The oldest historic building in Yellowstone National Park (was never built)
Yellowstone is dotted with historic places. But did you know that the oldest building that is still standing, built 140 years ago, was constructed because of a thermal spring? Every historic building in Yellowstone has a story to tell. You may be familiar with the impressive Old Faithful Inn or Fort Yellowstone’s tidy rows of red-roofed buildings. But […]
Congressional panel splits on orphaned gas and oil wells
Members of a U.S. House Natural Resources panel agreed Thursday on the need to clean up and cap abandoned oil and gas wells, but disagreed along party lines about the extent of the federal government’s role in well regulation. The Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee hearing was held to consider a bill introduced by Rep. Teresa […]
Montana’s Stone-Manning tapped to lead BLM
President Joe Biden intends to nominate National Wildlife Federation senior adviser and veteran Montana Democrat Tracy Stone-Manning to direct the Bureau of Land Management, an individual familiar with the process confirmed to States Newsroom Wednesday. Stone-Manning joined the NWF as associate vice president for public lands in 2017 and was promoted to senior adviser for […]
Yellowstone’s volcanic giants hiding in plain sight
While geysers and hot springs are relatively easy to find in Yellowstone, what about the caldera, and the lava flows and the two massive resurgent domes that formed after the caldera erupted? They’re there. You just need to know where to look. Its physical grandeur and charismatic wildlife notwithstanding, Yellowstone can be frustrating to visitors interested in exploring […]
Biden’s budget aims to fight climate change, promote conservation, aid Native Americans
President Joe Biden’s first budget request laid out on Friday reflects the administration’s commitments to advancing conservation and combating climate change, proposing new money across federal agencies to address those issues. Like most domestic programs in Biden’s overall $1.5 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2022, the recommendations for increased spending on conservation and climate goals […]
Yellowstone’s cool thermal areas
Yes, some of Yellowstone’s thermal areas are cool—as in, no longer hot. Cooling is part of the “life cycle” of a thermal area. And, just as it’s important to keep track of where thermal areas warm up, it’s also important to keep track of where they are cooling down. We do not define the habitat of […]
The mystery of the Ringing Rocks
PIPESTONE – Thanksgiving and Butte were in the rearview mirror. There was no snow on the last Sunday of last November, but it was beginning to feel a bit like Christmas. After a bumpy 4½ -mile drive up from the Pipestone Exit of Interstate 90, it seemed only natural for a nimble girl and her […]
Biden administration mum on gray wolves endangered species listing
A controversial decision in the last months of the Trump administration to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list led to a massive overhunt in Wisconsin this year that Ojibwe tribal representatives said disrespected their wishes. But there’s no indication yet that the Biden administration will attempt to roll back that move, despite an order the […]
‘American Prairie Reserve’ bill dies in committee
A bill that would have prohibited the sale of agricultural land to nonprofits of more than 80 acres died on Thursday in the House Agricultural Committee. Rep. Dan Bartel, R-Lewistown, introduced House Bill 677. He said his purpose was to protect agricultural land in Montana. He pointed out that the state’s largest industry, agriculture, needed […]
Glacier will do ticketed entry
Motor travelers on Going-to-the-Sun Road across Glacier National Park will need to reserve a ticket this summer. The park is using the $2 tickets to manage a record number of visitors in recent years and heavy traffic on the scenic roadway. Details about tickets are available here on the National Park Service website. “We’re not […]
Biden pairs climate crisis with rebuilding infrastructure, jobs
The sprawling $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs proposal President Joe Biden laid out Wednesday in Pennsylvania includes significant spending to address climate change, providing what conservationists say is an important “down payment” to address the crisis. A 25-page outline calls for $10 billion for a Civilian Climate Corps, $16 billion for capping abandoned wells and […]
This land is your land, this land is mine: Bill aims to limit nonprofits, increase ag land protections
The title of Rep. Dan Bartel’s bill, House Bill 677, seems broad enough: “An act prohibiting certain nonprofit corporations from purchasing agricultural lands.” That was the one thing both opponents and proponents seemed to agree on — the bill would stop ag land sales. They also agreed that the certain nonprofit addressed in the bill […]