Montana/Region

Govs say BLM ban could hurt sage grouse

DENVER — Some governors in the U.S. West say a new Trump administration directive threatens to undermine a hard-won compromise aimed at saving a beleaguered bird scattered across their region.

Glacier park challenged by record visitation

MISSOULA (AP) — Lake McDonald was smooth, and the sunlight soft, on a recent early morning. But Jim Foster took little solace in the scenery. "It's not a relaxed environment

Bozeman ammo plant operators plead guilty

BOZEMAN (AP) — Two Montana men who ran a now-defunct ammunition company have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges over the dumping of lead-contaminated wastewater into the Bozeman sewer system.

Aug. 13 Montana News Briefs

Ride girl fell from closed for rest of Western Montana Fair MISSOULA (AP) — A high-speed carnival ride that an 11-year-old girl fell from at the Western Montana Fair will

Montana to keep 1,000 bears amid push to lift protections

\BILLINGS — Wildlife officials endorsed a plan Thursday to keep northwestern Montana's grizzly population at roughly 1,000 bears as the state seeks to bolster its case that lifting federal protections

US wildlife boss departs after stirring fears on species law

BILLINGS (AP) — The head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is stepping down after a 14-month tenure in which the agency proposed broad changes to rules governing protections

Outgoing Yellowstone boss says he feels he was punished

HELENA (AP) — National Park Service officials told Yellowstone’s departing superintendent that he wasn’t being forced out over a disagreement with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, but Dan Wenk said Thursday

July 27 Montana News Briefs

Official: Russian hackers targeted 2016 Montana election HELENA (AP) — Montana’s secretary of state has said for the first time that Russian hackers unsuccessfully probed the state’s election systems for

Firefighters use respirators in asbestos-contaminated forest

LIBBY (AP) — Before firefighters entered the Modified Fire Response Zone of the asbestos-contaminated forest near Libby to suppress the Highway 37 Fire, they donned full-face respirators, and recited a

Bullock says state Medicaid cuts will be restored as tax revenues recover

HELENA — Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said Wednesday that the state budget is back on track nearly a year after his administration projected a huge shortfall, and that some funding