The Fight for Wild Lands: Part 1

February 17, 2025 // MoJo Special Series

by Robert Chaney

Axolotl Lakes southwest of Ennis, Montana, in the foothills of the Gravelly Range

As organizers prepare for the biennial Rally for Public Lands, the conservation world faces down a changing climate, an administration determined to dismantle environmental protections, and its own internal contradictions.

In Response to 2024 Wolf Torture, Killing, Wyoming Seeks to Write New Chapter

February 6, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

by Claire Cella

In Wyoming, House bills 275 and 331 are aimed at reducing animal cruelty in the state

Two bills in the Wyoming Legislature seek to outlaw cruelty to predatory animals.

Grizzly Bear ESA Status in Question as FWS Cancels Public Meetings

January 27, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

by Robert Chaney

FWS announced this month its decision to retain protections for grizzlies under the ESA

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pulls out of all four meetings intended to explain its decision to retain grizzlies’ threatened status.

Myth-Busting and the Great Gray Wolf

January 26, 2025 // NEWS: Feature

by Benjamin Alva Polley

A member of Yellowstone's 8-Mile Pack glances back before nightfall

As we look back on the 30 years since the wolf was reintroduced in Yellowstone, we examine what wolves are and what they aren’t.

Forest Service Authorizes Controversial Crazy Mountain Land Swap

January 20, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

by Amanda Eggert

For nearly a century, the Crazy Mountains have been the site of heated access debates

A handful of conservation easements and deed restrictions are incorporated in the Forest Service’s final iteration of the East Crazy Inspiration Divide Land Exchange.

Back to the Land

January 19, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

by Robert Chaney

BLM's Missouri Breaks National Backcountry Byway in North Central Montana

Tracy Stone-Manning turned in her BLM keys last week. As she exits civil service, she reflects on her career, the incoming administration, and the public’s love for public land.

Fighting for Survival

January 14, 2025 // NEWS: Analysis

by Robert Chaney

FWS on Jan. 8 announced its decision to keep grizzlies protected under the Endangered Species Act

At a charged time for grizzly bears, MoJo takes you inside the complex U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to keep grizzlies on the endangered species list.

FWS: Grizzly Bears to Remain Protected Under Endangered Species Act

January 8, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

by Robert Chaney

Grizzlies have been protected under the Endangered Species Act since 1975. For now, they'll remain so.

The agency rejected state petitions for local management, creating a single recovery area for grizzlies in the Lower 48.

Feds Buy Kelly Parcel, Conserving Last of Unprotected Land in GTNP

January 6, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

by Sophie Tsairis

Elk herd on the Kelly Parcel, gateway to the Path of the Pronghorn

‘Decades-in-the-making’ $100 million purchase adds 640 acres to Grand Teton National Park, while protecting a key Greater Yellowstone wildlife migration corridor.

The Year of the Wolves

January 3, 2025 // FEATURE: History

by Amanda Eggert and Mike Koshmrl

The 1995 reintroduction of gray wolves, in the words of those who were there

Thirty years ago this month, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. Today, the people who made it happen remember the mayhem and magic of one of the 20th century’s most controversial acts of ecosystem management.