Will Federal Freeze Stymie Wildland Fire Fights?

March 4, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

by Robert Chaney

Firefighters hold the line at the September 2018 Roosevelt Fire near Bondurant, Wyoming

Delays in hiring crews and funding hazardous fuels projects worry officials as the 2025 fire season approaches.

Ranchers Weigh Shorter Leases Against Permanent Easements

February 28, 2025 // NEWS: Dispatch

by Sophie Tsairis

Conservation easement or conservation lease? FWP looks to incentivize landowners in different ways

Amid concerns over the long-term value of Montana's conservation leases, FWP program races toward 500,000-acre goal.

The Fight for Wild Lands: Part 2

February 18, 2025 // MoJo Special Series

by Robert Chaney

The federal government employs as many as 10,000 wildland firefighters each year. With hiring freezes in place nationwide, fire season is in limbo

Executive orders coming from the White House could transform a range of core issues affecting Greater Yellowstone. From Forest Service and BLM priorities to national park staffing cuts, public lands advocates must brace for a long season of conflict.

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.

Bill Would Redraw Lines Between Wyoming Trappers, Trail Users

February 13, 2025 // NEWS: In Short

by Sophie Tsairis

Traps and snares near roads and trails can be dangerous to wildlife as well as domesticated pets

Lawmakers push to give wildlife officials authority to end unrestricted trapping access on public lands.

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.

A Microdose of Hope

January 29, 2025 // OPINION: Column

by Susan Marsh

A sign of hope: Pieris brassicae, or white butterfly, perches on a lantana flower

In a time in American history when we can feel confused, helpless and alone, remember the butterfly.

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.

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.

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.