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Federal Budgets Reveal Plans to Consolidate Wildland Firefighting Forces

June 11, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

Wildland firefighters look on as the Forest Service faces an uncertain future
The U.S. Forest Service would surrender wildfire duties to the Interior Department starting in 2026.

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Inside the Science of Dousing Wildfires

June 10, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

A Neptune Aviation BAe-146 jet drops fire retardant
In the world of aerial firefighting, one MSU professor is looking at how science can transform the multimillion dollar industry of wildfire retardant. And save lives in the process.
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Wyoming Eyes Higher Predator Quotas

June 5, 2025 // NEWS: In Short

In Wyoming, mountain lions and wolves are in the crosshairs
State wildlife officials propose expanded hunting limits on wolves and mountain lions, invite public comment.
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Planned Repeal of ‘Public Lands Rule’ Could Unleash Federal Resource Development

May 6, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

The Bureau of Land Management oversees 245 million acres of public land across the country
The Interior Department is exploring multiple ways to ‘restore American prosperity’ by capitalizing on timber, grazing, fossil fuels at the expense of conservation. It could also push billions of dollars of management costs onto state taxpayers.
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Trump Budget Proposal Portends Deep Cuts to Public Lands

May 5, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

President Donald Trump's budget proposal includes allocating $1.1 trillion to defense spending while reducing non-defense federal spending by $163 billion
Recommendations include new consolidated wildfire service, more tasks in state hands, less science.
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DEQ Denies Petition to Designate Big Hole River as Impaired

April 28, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

Two nonprofits in February petitioned Montana DEQ to designate the Big Hole River as impaired
Petitioners urge DEQ to ‘use all available science’ in considering a future impairment designation.
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Draft National Wildfire Plan Under White House Consideration Returns Firefighting ‘to the 1930s,’ Experts Say

April 18, 2025 // NEWS: Feature

Looking back at the "10 a.m. rule," a 1930s wildfire policy to suppress all fires by 10 a.m. the morning after they are discovered
On the cusp of wildfire season, a new proposal recommends consolidating all federal firefighting resources, calls for immediate fire suppression.
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How Wyoming Sought to Stave off Wolf Torture

April 15, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

Our Lady of The Forest: Alpha female of Yellowstone's Wapiti Lake Pack
Two bills in the 2025 Legislature were introduced in response to the torture and killing of a wolf in Daniel, Wyoming.
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Future of Grizzly Bear Study Group in Dire Straits

April 14, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

'Someone to watch over me': Grizzly 399 and Spirit look to the future
As Interior Secretary Doug Burgum touts successful dire wolf revival, IGBST fights for survival.
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Enviro Groups Petition DEQ to Limit Nutrient Pollution on Big Hole River

April 10, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

Algae blooms in the Big Hole River
Petitioners say pollution-related algal blooms are threatening the Big Hole’s famed trout fishery.
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Montana Updates Wolf Management Playbook as Hunting Bills Advance

April 3, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

Wolves on the move in Yellowstone National Park
Wildlife managers release first wolf management plan in 22 years, set minimum baseline population to 450.
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Inside the Battle Over the ESA

March 31, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

A threatened Canada lynx checks its six
Since the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, has it been a winning or losing proposition? It depends on who you ask.
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River Study Offers New Angle on Yellowstone Recreation

March 26, 2025 // NEWS: In Short

Boaters float the Yellowstone River on a hot August day
The Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group report hopes to inform better management for a cherished regional resource.
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Wolves Need Federal Protection to Survive

March 24, 2025 // OPINION: Op-ed

Bumper stickers supported by the anti-wolf contingent read, "Smoke a pack a day"
As wildlife proponents in January celebrated the 30th anniversary of wolf reintroductions to Yellowstone National Park, wolves remain under fire.
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