Montana Untamed

The Smith River is a crown jewel of Montana’s natural splendor, but a proposed copper mine at its headwaters in central Montana has many people worried about negative impacts to the river’s pristine waters.

After years of litigation, the state Supreme Court approved a mine permit for the operation in February. 

But, environmental groups also took the state to court over the mine company’s water permit — a key regulatory hurdle for mine construction and operation to commence. 

On March 29, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Missoula over the mine as part of the court’s annual visit to the law school at University of Montana. 

There’s no decision yet but a decision either way will set precedent in Montana and could have wide-ranging effects. 

Billings Gazette Reporter Brett French has covered the mine extensively for years. But with me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian, who reported in person on the oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

 

Missoula County is reeling from the announcements recently of two huge wood products industry businesses closing and laying off all employees. 

Pyramid Mountain Lumber, the largest employer in Seeley Lake for 75 years, announced on March 14 it is permanently shutting down this spring. Less than a week later, Roseburg Forest Product’s Missoula particleboard plant announced it is permanently closing in May. 

Combined, the two companies are eliminating 250 jobs. They are the last two remaining large wood products businesses in the county, and the closures mark the end of a 150-year-era of wood products as an economic driver in the county.

With me today is David Erickson, a reporter at the Missoulian newspaper who’s been covering the news.

 

When the big game season ends in November, there is a guaranteed influx of goose hunters along the Yellowstone River east of Billings.

Since 1958, a portion of the river has been closed to waterfowl hunting. From the junction of the Yellowstone and Bighorn rivers, downstream to the Rosebud-Custer county line, the river has been off-limits to waterfowl hunting.

The closure was initiated when goose and duck numbers were low in the region. A survey in 1961 found only 500-some geese. By 2013 the same section held almost 40,000 geese. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has proposed reopening the river section to hunting.

The Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider the idea at its April 17 meeting.

Brett French, Billings Gazette outdoor editor, recently wrote about the issue and is here to discuss what he found out.

Moose hunting in southeastern Montana?

That may sound like the punch line for a off-beat joke, but Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is offering its first moose hunting permit for Region 7 this spring. The lone tag is being offered as the population of the largest member of the deer family has steadily grown in the region.

This seems at odds with what’s happening with the long-legged creatures in what is considered their native habitat, where populations have declined.

To learn more about the story, Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette, is here to talk about the story he recently wrote.

The mission of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is to “ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands, waters, and wildlife.”

The national hook and bullet conservation organization has state based chapters in all but two states nationwide.

In Montana, the group advocates for protecting large parcels of backcountry fish and wildlife habitat, as well as the opportunity for traditional non-motorized hunting and fishing experiences.

With me today is Kevin Farron, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers regional policy manager for Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota to discuss how the organization work to shape policy.

 

Last week the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission debated what’s become a hot-button issue – restrictions on nonresident upland game bird hunters.

The debate arose after Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Dustin Temple asked Commissioner Lesley Robinson to carry two amendments to the group. One would push back the nonresident bird dog training season by two weeks, the other would delay the nonresident bird hunting season by two weeks.

Here to discuss what led up to the discussion and the resolution is Brett French, Billings Gazette outdoor editor.

The Great Burn is referred to as “one of the last best places” by wilderness and wildlife advocates, snowmobilers and mountain bikers. All of them revere the quarter million-acre jumble of peaks along the Montana-Idaho border. 

But wilderness and wildlife advocates  — who have long pushed for bikes and snowmobiles to be banned from the area — now worry that new U.S. Forest Service plans could chip away at what they believe is the would-be crown jewel connecting the largest chain of wilderness in the Lower 48. 

The issue is a tangled bureaucratic web ensnaring two national forests, two states, one Forest Service regional office, a variety of user groups and a history of conflicting management on one shared landscape full of animals who can’t see boundary lines on maps. 

With me today is Joshua Murdock, the outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian, to help explain the issue. 

 

It’s been twenty years since Mac Minard took the reins of the Montana Outfitters and Guides association. And today he hangs up that hat as he officially retires from the organization.

Before his tenure at MOGA, which it is commonly referred to, Minard spent over twenty years as a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

MOGA represents over 250 of Montana’s professionally licensed outfitter and guides who operate throughout the entire state of Montana. The industry accounted for over $500 mil. In non-resident spending in 2021 alone according to data from Montana’s office of tourism.

A lifelong outdoorsman, Minard is here to talk about his career and provide his wisdom on the past, present and future of hunting and outfitting in Montana.

 

In the bird world eagles are majestic, swans are elegant and ravens are … amazing.

At least, that might be your conclusion after talking to scientist John Marzluff, who has studied the king of corvids in Yellowstone National Park for decades.

His recent research where Yellowstone National Park ravens were fitted with tiny GPS backpacks is revealing astonishing facts about the birds. 

With me today is Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette, who recently talked to Marzluff who’s now retired about his studies in the park.

 

It’s hard to imagine a better classroom on conservation than in the shadow of Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front.

The Boone and Crockett Conservation Education Program does just that from its headquarters on the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch along Dupuyer Creek. 

In the classroom students learn about ecosystems, wildlife conservation and land ethics.

In the field students try their hand at shooting sports, fishing, backpacking, packrafting and other hands-on outdoor skills.

With me today is Luke Coccoli, Director of Conservation Programs for the Boone and Crockett Club.