Montana Untamed Montana Untamed

Montanans of all stripes seem to agree on at least two things: They care deeply about conservation and public lands, and life here is getting worse. 

Those were some of the key findings from a recent statewide poll conducted by the University of Montana. The results were released last Tuesday morning.

With me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian. He reported on the poll results and has covered results of similar polls across the West.

 

After more than 40 years and 1,200 holes, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has dug its last pit latrine on the Smith River. 

Starting this year, floaters are now required to carry with them something they have always been able to leave behind - their excrement.

According to FWP, the Smith River corridor was the only permitted river in the lower 48 that did not require people to pack out human waste.

In early April, I joined personnel from the U.S Forest Service, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and volunteers from the Montana Vet Program on a five-day trip down the river to remove and raft out the latrines, officially ushering in the new era of recreational management on the river.

On this episode I sit down with Colin Maas, manager of Smith River State Park, to talk about the past present and future of managing the river.

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.