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Mountain Journal
Nonprofit Sues Montana DEQ Over Gallatin Mine Approval
A 2021 revision to Montana’s Opencut Mining Law has raised persistent concerns around community safety and the DEQ’s capacity to fulfill its regulatory duties effectively. The Gateway Conservation Alliance, a Gallatin Gateway-based nonprofit created in July 2023 to address critical issues that threaten the area's water quality, citizen health, traffic safety and wildlife, alleges that House Bill 599 enables arbitrary loopholes in the opencut mining permitting process.
As Feds Delay Decision on Grizzly Protections, Montana and Wyoming Threaten Lawsuits
Federal wildlife officials are postponing their decision about whether to remove grizzly bears from the Endangered Species Act protections, prompting threats of lawsuits from Wyoming and Montana claiming the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is dragging its feet. FWS was expected to rule on the matter by July 2024. The...
Yellowstone Bison Plan Looks to Balance Interests
A new bison management plan is expected to modernize practices and largely reflect the way the icon of the West is currently managed in Yellowstone National Park. The National Park Service recently released both its final environmental impact statement and record of decision to round out the National Environmental Policy Act process that began in 2022. The agency went with its “preferred alternative” in the plan, which will manage bison within a population range of 3,500 to 6,000 after calving, averaging 5,000.
Food-Conditioned Grizzly Killed in Yellowstone River
Anglers on the Yellowstone River in late July floated past an unusual and disturbing sight: a grizzly carcass floating in the river, its head and paws missing. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks confirmed the carcass had been a problem bear they had to remove due to ongoing conflicts in the Gardiner area, north of Yellowstone National Park.
Warm Waters, Low Flows Trigger Early Hoot-owl Restrictions on Montana, YNP Rivers
As locals and visitors in Greater Yellowstone converge on area rivers for hot-weather reprieve, fisheries across the area are feeling the heat. Since the early 2000s, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has been enforcing what are known as hoot-owl restrictions and closures on rivers to alleviate stress caused by angling pressure on fisheries impacted by warming river temperatures and lower streamflows. FWP typically enacts these closures in late July or early August, which are typically the hottest weeks of summer.
Montana, Wyoming among states petitioning Supreme Court to block EPA’s new pollution standards
The rule has major implications for Colstrip, Montana's largest coal-fired power plant. Montana and Wyoming are among 20 states petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to block new climate change-oriented emissions standards from taking effect. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, along with 19 of his Republican colleagues in other states, on...
UPDATE: Biscuit Basin Explosion Sent Debris Hundreds of Feet in Air, Deemed 'not Volcanic'
This is an update on the hydrothermal explosion that occurred just before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 23, in Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park. National Park Service field crews have completed a preliminary assessment of the conditions following the hydrothermal explosion at Black Diamond Pool. Visit usgs.gov to see a map showing the locations of the features in that area.
Can We be Better ‘Masters of the Household?’
As residents and visitors in Greater Yellowstone, Susan Marsh writes that we must consider other species and give them the respect—and space—they deserve. I recently watched a documentary about residents of villages in Namibia who are learning to live peacefully with elephants. How? After numerous attempts to haze or fence them out of cropland and keep them away from dwellings, a nonprofit provided the elephants with a large concrete water tank well away from human settlements.
Shooter Identified from July 4 Incident in Yellowstone
On the morning of July 4, Yellowstone National Park law enforcement rangers confronted an individual shooting a semi-automatic rifle toward a dining facility at Canyon Village located in the central part of the park. The shooter has been identified by the Park County, Wyoming coroner as Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, of Milton, Florida. Fussner died after an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement. The investigation into this incident, including the actions of the National Park Service (NPS) law enforcement rangers, is being led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and will be reviewed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming.
The Lost Lesson of Stewardship
A new—and old—accusation keeps popping up these days with some folks: “You are just one of those Montanans who wants to come to paradise, and once you have your little piece of it, just lock the gate behind you. How can you justify that?”. Well, quite easily,...
Save Bears, Drink Cider
For those perusing their local grocery store in Wyoming and its neighboring states, a can of Farmstead Cider might stand out. On the side of the can, big black letters read, “Save Bears, Drink Cider.”. The cans, along with several bottled varieties, come from a garage in Jackson, Wyoming,...
A Bill to Ban Wildlife Whacking
On heels of a Wyoming man torturing and killing wolf, Texas Republican announces introduction of bill to outlaw running over wildlife with motor vehicles, holds off so stakeholders can weigh in. WRITER’S NOTE: On June 11, I sent out my op-ed on “wildlife whacking”—the killing and maiming of certain predators...
Yellowstone Visitor Gets Jail Time for Trespassing on Park Thermal Feature
Washington Man Sentenced to Week in Jail and Fined After Walking off Boardwalk toward World's Tallest Active Geyser. A 21-year-old Washington state man was sentenced to seven days in jail last week for trespassing on a thermal feature in Yellowstone National Park. Viktor Pyshniuk of Lynwood, Washington, was also banned from Yellowstone for two years and ordered to pay more than $1,500 in fines and court fees for the violation, according to a June 13 statement from the park.
Squeezing the Waterways in Greater Yellowstone
As Jackson Hole swells with development, MoJo columnist Susan Marsh writes that waterways like Flat Creek need our attention. While the Teton Pass landslide continues to make national news, a consortium of expert engineers is hard at work figuring out a way to reopen it this summer. Discussions continue over a longer-term solution; meanwhile, the event is a reminder that we can’t take anything for granted. So I leave the experts to their work while focusing on another issue—one that also asks for a long-term solution.
BLM Public Lands Rule: Why is it Important in Greater Yellowstone?
Roughly one in every 10 acres in the United States is public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management, an area totaling 245 million acres. And about 15 percent of this land sits in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. These landscapes are federally stewarded for recreation, livestock grazing, mining and drilling, among other uses, per BLM’s governing law, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
The Short and Imperiled Life of Bees
The lifespan of a bee is just 40 days. This seems short, but during that time it can visit as many as 1,000 blossoms. In so doing, such a short-lived creature can secure the longevity of many a flowering species simply by ferrying pollen from one flower to the next. Multiply that by millions of bees and you have the makings of a diverse ecosystem.
Wolf Whacking Must Go
A wolf died a few weeks back; a Wyoming wolf, slowly and deliberately killed at the hands of a snowmobiler exhibiting little respect for the wolf’s life. Pursued through deep snow until near exhaustion, the wolf was eventually run over and severely wounded. The young canine was then tied up, its jaws bound shut with duct tape, and hauled to the pursuers home to be shock-collared and leashed.
The Greater Yellowstone Drought Continues
Weather experts predict warm, dry summer, ‘normal’ wildlife conditions. Much of Greater Yellowstone was treated to a late-season snowstorm earlier this week, topping off what was largely a low snow year courtesy of the winter’s El Niño weather pattern. Despite this week’s storm however, it’s likely that the above average temperatures and below average precipitation that characterized much of the winter months will persist through spring and summer in the region, according to the National Weather Service.
The Healing Nature of Nature Therapy
The wildness of Greater Yellowstone inspires wonder and awe in everyone willing to venture out and touch it, walk in it, observe its wildlife, and breathe in its air. We are beginning to understand time in nature also has a curative effect on everything from PTSD, depression, anxiety and substance abuse, to lowering cortisol levels. Many therapists have begun seeing their clients in the woods in lieu of a stuffy office, using the backdrop as an integral part of the treatment. But what exactly is nature therapy, how does it work, and how can we self-medicate?
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