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Are Western Mountain Towns Ready For The Coming Flames?

March 21, 2023

Can't happen here? The Bridger Foothills Fire was Bozeman's WUI wake-up call
Rural sprawl is expanding the "wildland-urban interface." It is elevating the costs and perils of dealing with wildfire, and taxpayers are footing the bill. Part 2 in our ongoing series


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Protected Islands In The Stream Help Keep Mighty Yellowstone Wild

March 15, 2023

Yellowstone magic: vision of protected islands in a healthy wild  braided river
Investing in nature = smart ecosystem thinking: Beartooth Group and state of Montana preserve pair of wildlife-rich islands that now provides legal access to those who savor Yellowstone River by boat
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The Usual Suspects: In Colorado, Wolves Blamed For Losses They Didn't Cause

March 13, 2023

Experts say wolves have a rap sheet they don't deserve
Story Warren, in this personal essay for Writers on the Range, notes how an investigation shows 40 recent cattle deaths can't be pinned on lobos 
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Wolverines: Barometers For Pondering Impacts Of The Anthropocene

March 12, 2023

Plight of wolverines a test of human willingness to give them protected space
Changes in habitat and rising human pressures leave many wondering how long just 300 or so wolverines can persist in the West
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Moving Into The Flames

March 8, 2023

A crown fire approaches the Old Faithful Photo Shop, Yellowstone National Park, 1988
As climate refugees flee extreme weather events, they’re relocating to wildfire-prone areas like Greater Yellowstone. Part 1 in our ongoing series on wildfire
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Wake-Up Time: First Grizzly Of 2023 Spotted In Yellowstone

March 7, 2023

A male grizzly wandering the still-wintry interior of Yellowstone
Bears are coming of their dens in Greater Yellowstone and given the tough winter we've had there are a lot of carcasses awaiting them. Be aware and be careful
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In Jackson Hole, Good News About CWD—For Now

March 5, 2023

Thousands of elk bunched up over artificial feed at the National Elk Refuge
Senior biologist with National Elk Refuge says Chronic Wasting Disease hasn't shown up there yet. But any sense of solace is probably short lived
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Checkerboard: Do Laws In Greater Yellowstone Favor Private Rights Over Public Interest?

March 3, 2023

The Hoback River flows toward the Gros Ventre Range
Award-winning writer and longtime Forest Service veteran Susan Marsh writes a parable for our time that underscores how we must take action to save our fragile ecosystem
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Mayor Ghosts Nature In Bozeman's Annual State Of The City Address

March 1, 2023

Elk find solitude on an undeveloped hillside in the Gallatin Valley outside Bozeman
It's strange how so few elected officials in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are willing to speak out for our world-class wildlife. And that does not bode well
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Montana, In The Wake Of 'Yellowstone' and 'A River Runs Through It'

February 27, 2023

Is all the attention destroying last, best places?
Thirty years after Norman Maclean's novella was brought to big screen, many are lamenting how it, and the TV melodrama 'Yellowstone' have fueled an inundation of western Montana
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Kissing The 'Quieter Side' Of The Tetons Goodbye?

February 27, 2023

Sunset, amid moonrise, brings alpenglow to the west side of the Tetons above Teton Valley, Idaho
Will Grand Targhee Resort expansion put Teton Valley, Idaho on course to become a doppelgänger of Big Sky? A county commissioner voices her concerns
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If Jackson Hole Is On Wrong Path, Then What Is The Right One?

February 26, 2023

Development is squeezing out people and wildlife in Jackson Hole
In this opinion essay, Jonathan Schechter, a member of the Jackson town council, explains why he voted against an affordable housing project
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It's Too Soon To Delist Grizzly Bears

February 21, 2023

Grizzlies facing massive threats to secure habitat in Northern Rockies
In this op-ed, longtime grizzly bear conservationist Lance Olsen notes how threats to the bear's fragile ecological recovery are expanding and intensifying
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How Did They Do It? Zooming in on the First Geological Map of Yellowstone

February 21, 2023

Swans and geese in the Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley, named for 1871 expedition leader Ferdinand Vanderveer Hayden
In 1871, a federal expedition led by Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden conducted a detailed geological survey of the Yellowstone area leading to the first geological map and convincing Congress to establish Yellowstone as America's first national park.
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