Episodios
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Just as Montana, Idaho and Wyoming politicians prepared to sign a three-state agreement on grizzly bear management, grizzly protection advocates sent a warning they plan to sue over a crucial part of the states’ plan.
They don’t like the idea of trucking grizzlies from one recovery area to another as a solution to the bears’ genetic diversity.
Grizzly bears remain a threatened species under federal Endangered Species Act protection. State wildlife officials say the bears are recovered and should be turned over to local state management.
Grizzly defenders counter that will open the door for trophy hunting and unsustainable predator shooting. It would also put grizzlies in conflict with a different kind of advocate – black bear hunters.
On this episode, Rob Chaney, Lee Montana's statewide enterprise editor and author of 'Grizzly in the Driveway' makes sense of recent grizzly bear related headlines.
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The fifth night was the coldest, and Thomas Gray worried he might freeze to death if he stopped moving.
The 73-year-old boater from North Fork, Idaho, was huddled inside a pitch-black trailer just outside the remote Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness on May 21. He was near an empty campground and silent airstrip; the only road there was snowed in and the highway was miles away and over a mountain pass.
Gray’s story is harrowing and improbable, not only because of his own feat of backcountry survival, but because his brother died two years earlier, almost to the day, in almost the same place, when they attempted the same float that year.
With me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian. He extensively interviewed Thomas Gray, his wife Lori, the people who found him and the people involved in searching for his brother two years ago.
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Scot Bealer loves to tell stories. And it turns out his love of fishing works well for this. Because a life spent fishing results in many adventures and misadventure that become fodder for good stories.
That’s all wrapped up in his new book “Most Trout Don’t Read” published earlier this year by Farcountry Press in Helena.
Bealer has always been drawn to teaching the ways of fishing. A bulk of that knowledge came from the L.L. Bean Fly Fishing Schools and casting into trout waters across the west.
When he’s not on the water fishing, Scot works as an instructor for the Hooked on Fishing Program through Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
He’s here with me to share the lessons he has learned from his time pursuing trout on the fly.
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Since Intake Diversion Dam was completed on the Yellowstone River in 1905, pallid sturgeon have faced a blockade during their annual upstream spring spawning runs.
The dam is located between Glendive and Sidney and became a popular place for paddlefish snagging since the fish stacked up below the dam in spring.
In the spring of 2022, after three years of construction, a 2-mile long bypass channel was opened. This short waterway allows pallid sturgeon, paddlefish and other native species to swim around a dam that has long blocked their passage. The bypass channel was a $44 million investment to see if pallid sturgeon, which were listed as an endangered species in the river in 1990, will now have enough room to migrate upstream and successfully spawn.
To learn more about pallid sturgeon and efforts to save the fish, Brett French, outdoor editor of the Billings Gazette, is here to talk with me today.
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It’s one of the most obvious and dramatic signs of wildland firefighting, a bright red slurry raining down from the bellies of large planes that roar through the mountains like fighter jets. Fire retardant.
For years, the U.S. Forest Service used the same ammonium phosphate retardant on wildfires large and small across the country. Last year it authorized a new formula, pioneered by a company that was partially based in Montana, that was supposed to be more environmentally friendly. But while the new retardant may be kinder to waterways it sometimes gets dropped into, it seems to be dangerous to the planes that carry it.
The result is grounded planes, a federal investigation, and questions around how the Forest Service determines what’s safe to use on fires.
With me today is Joshua Murdock, outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian, who regularly covers wildfires and the Forest Service.
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At least seven grizzly bears died in Montana in 2023 after being shot by hunters. Another grizzly was wounded by a bird hunter’s shotgun but not found.
All were judged to be self-defense.
Official accounts from the investigating agencies mention close encounters, but the phrase “close range” is never defined.
The investigative criteria used in fatal grizzly encounter is elusive to the public.
So Duncan Adams asked FWP, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Justice what criteria are used to determine whether a grizzly shooting occurs in self-defense.
He’s with me today to discuss his findings.
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When it comes to accessing public lands, the Bullwhacker Road dispute south of Havre has been one of the longest simmering and most contorted in Eastern Montana.
For 18 years the public, agencies and landowners have jousted over motorized access into a section of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument via the road.
It provides vehicle access to between 35,500 and 50,000 acres of public land, depending on how it’s counted. The rugged coulees peppered with pine trees is located north of the Missouri River, west of Cow Creek and south of the Bears Paw Mountains.
Driving the Bullwhacker Road to reach the land, overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, requires traveling across almost 4 miles of private property. That’s where the dispute started.
On this episode, Brett French, outdoors and natural resources reporter for the Billings Gazette newspaper, untangles the back and forth of public access into the Bullwhacker area.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The mission of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is to “ensure North America's outdoor heritage of hunting and fishing in a natural setting, through education and work on behalf of wild public lands, waters, and wildlife.”
The national hook and bullet conservation organization has state based chapters in all but two states nationwide.
In Montana, the group advocates for protecting large parcels of backcountry fish and wildlife habitat, as well as the opportunity for traditional non-motorized hunting and fishing experiences.
With me today is Kevin Farron, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers regional policy manager for Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota to discuss how the organization work to shape policy.
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Last week the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission debated what’s become a hot-button issue – restrictions on nonresident upland game bird hunters.
The debate arose after Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Dustin Temple asked Commissioner Lesley Robinson to carry two amendments to the group. One would push back the nonresident bird dog training season by two weeks, the other would delay the nonresident bird hunting season by two weeks.
Here to discuss what led up to the discussion and the resolution is Brett French, Billings Gazette outdoor editor.
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The Great Burn is referred to as “one of the last best places” by wilderness and wildlife advocates, snowmobilers and mountain bikers. All of them revere the quarter million-acre jumble of peaks along the Montana-Idaho border.
But wilderness and wildlife advocates — who have long pushed for bikes and snowmobiles to be banned from the area — now worry that new U.S. Forest Service plans could chip away at what they believe is the would-be crown jewel connecting the largest chain of wilderness in the Lower 48.
The issue is a tangled bureaucratic web ensnaring two national forests, two states, one Forest Service regional office, a variety of user groups and a history of conflicting management on one shared landscape full of animals who can’t see boundary lines on maps.
With me today is Joshua Murdock, the outdoors and natural resources reporter at the Missoulian, to help explain the issue.
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It’s been twenty years since Mac Minard took the reins of the Montana Outfitters and Guides association. And today he hangs up that hat as he officially retires from the organization.
Before his tenure at MOGA, which it is commonly referred to, Minard spent over twenty years as a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
MOGA represents over 250 of Montana’s professionally licensed outfitter and guides who operate throughout the entire state of Montana. The industry accounted for over $500 mil. In non-resident spending in 2021 alone according to data from Montana’s office of tourism.
A lifelong outdoorsman, Minard is here to talk about his career and provide his wisdom on the past, present and future of hunting and outfitting in Montana.
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In the bird world eagles are majestic, swans are elegant and ravens are … amazing.
At least, that might be your conclusion after talking to scientist John Marzluff, who has studied the king of corvids in Yellowstone National Park for decades.
His recent research where Yellowstone National Park ravens were fitted with tiny GPS backpacks is revealing astonishing facts about the birds.
With me today is Brett French, outdoor editor at the Billings Gazette, who recently talked to Marzluff who’s now retired about his studies in the park.
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It’s hard to imagine a better classroom on conservation than in the shadow of Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front.
The Boone and Crockett Conservation Education Program does just that from its headquarters on the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch along Dupuyer Creek.
In the classroom students learn about ecosystems, wildlife conservation and land ethics.
In the field students try their hand at shooting sports, fishing, backpacking, packrafting and other hands-on outdoor skills.
With me today is Luke Coccoli, Director of Conservation Programs for the Boone and Crockett Club.
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AI has come for the animals.
When the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks unveiled its 43rd annual photo issue of Montana Outdoors on Jan. 1, the magazine carried an explanation on page 1: Magazine staff, editor Tom Dickson wrote the magazine had gone to great lengths to verify that photos submitted for the issue were, in fact, photos.
Dickson's concern was that images produced by generative artificial intelligence — AI programs that create new material in response to a prompt — now often appear as realistic as actual photographs and could be submitted to the magazine for publication.
On today's episode, Joshua Murdock, natural resources reporter for the Missoulian newspaper, discusses his reporting on AI-generated wildlife imagery.
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