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The Upland Game Bird Council will meet in Glendive on Sept. 23 and 24 to review habitat enhancement activities that occurred during the 2019 field season. A habitat tour is scheduled for Sept. 23, followed by a meeting at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, located at 1919 N. Merrill Ave., Glendive, MT 59330. The public is invited to attend the meeting and may provide comments to the council during the time identified on the agenda. The agenda includes an overview of the Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program’s history and the r...
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Corey Stapleton announced the awarding of 2018 HAVA Election Security Grants to Montana’s counties. The funds are part of a federal appropriation to update and improve security in elections. A $750,000 subgrant was made available to all Montana counties to share in the replacement of antiquated voting equipment or to supplement current voting equipment. A listing of each county and its subgrant allocation and required county match showed that Carter County was allocated $7,058.42. Fallon C...
Billings, Mont. – The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) last week released an update to proposed rules guiding the disposal of radioactive oil waste in Montana. Among the proposed changes is a quadrupling of Montana’s radioactivity concentration limit for materials entering waste facilities. The limit has been raised from 50 to 200 picocuries per gram of radium-226 and radium-228. North Dakota’s radioactivity limit is 50 picocuries per gram. “This increase to Montana’s radioactivity limit is unaccepta...
On Friday, August 23, 2019, Mid-Rivers Communications mailed capital credit checks of $1,042,000.00 to its cooperative members and patrons. The 2019 distribution of capital credits includes 17% of the remaining unretired balance for the year 1994, as well as 5% of the 2018 patronage allocation. Receiving capital credit checks is just one of the many benefits that comes with utilizing the services of a cooperative. A cooperative business is owned and democratically controlled by its member patrons. Any profit is distributed...
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 7 has received some inquiries about a black bear that was struck and killed by a vehicle near Volborg recently. According to FWP Warden Kyle Queer of Broadus, a larger male bear weighing in at 185 pounds was struck by a small vehicle on Highway 59 South around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 18. The impact disabled the vehicle, but there were no injuries to passengers. The bear was killed on impact. “It was a rather large bear,” Queer said. Queer responded to the incident just inside of Powder Riv...
For the majority of Block Management Areas allowing public hunting in Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 7 this fall, sportsmen and women can begin calling to make reservations on Thursday, Aug. 22. But for some properties, people will have to call on different dates to schedule a hunt this season. FWP currently handles access for 15 BMAs, and reservation dates for those will range from Aug. 22-28. “Instead of taking reservations for 15 places on one day to start with, we thought we would break it up so it would be e...
(MILES CITY, Mont.) – The BLM Miles City Field Office, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and Custer County will jointly host a public meeting for the residents of the Pine Hills, Wolf Creek and Squirrel Ridge subdivision areas located East of Miles City, to discuss wildfire fuel mitigation work Aug. 27. The meeting will be in the main conference room of BLM office at 111 Garryowen Road and will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This locale is a wildland-urban interface area. The BLM plans to take measures to r...
Fall is right around the corner and as we all gear up for hunting season we want to remind everyone of important dates coming up. Also, don't forget to check out the Hunt Planner online. You can begin planning your hunt using either a regional map by species or go right to the hunting district information you are interested in. • Aug. 15- 900 archery season opens • Aug. 19 - Special Mountain Lion drawing • Sept. 1 - Turkey and Upland Game Bird (excluding Pheasants) Season Opens, Special Permit Sandhill Crane Opening • Sep...
Two weeks ago a man in Havre gave out his Social Security number to a scammer. This week a woman in Great Falls became another victim. Calls are being received across the state of Montana by persons pretending to be Social Security Administration employees. The intent of these calls is to steal the victim's identity and/or money directly from their bank account. The calls often sound official and are designed by con-artists to get around their victim's logic and caution by creating a sense of urgency and fear. Various...
For Montana State University undergraduate Isabelle Brenes, digging a triceratops out of a hillside in the badlands near Ekalaka in July marked only the beginning of a long, familiar process of readying fossils for study and display. When she isn't volunteering on field digs with the Museum of the Rockies at MSU, Brenes, a senior majoring in paleontology in the Department of Earth Sciences in the College of Letters and Science, works at the museum as a fossil preparer,...
Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center (EMCMHC), headquartered in Miles City, Montana, and Rimrock, headquartered in Billings, Montana have entered into a partnership to provide enhanced addiction and mental illness treatment for the people of Eastern Montana. The partnership was created through a collaboration between EMCMHC CEO Brenda Kneeland, and Rimrock CEO Lenette Kosovich, representing over 25 years of combined experience in leading the two organizations. EMCHMC and Rimrock have provided treatment services for...
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – Combat Raider, a military exercise involving various aircraft, is scheduled to begin Sept. 10 in parts of the Powder River Training Complex (PRTC), and will conclude Sept. 12, 2019. Combat Raider provides joint and coalition training under realistic scenarios that support full spectrum operations against modern threats and replicate today’s combat operations. There is also potential for increased noise levels from areas around Ellsworth Air Force Base and throughout the PRTC. A map of the air...
As surplus licenses go on sale on Monday, Aug. 12, hunters should remember that, according to the 2019 regulations, they are allowed only one Elk B License, despite legislation passed during the recent Montana Legislature. In the 2019 legislative session, House Bill 497 was passed providing hunters the opportunity to harvest up to three elk. However, this legislation doesn’t change the regulations for this year, which state: “Each hunter may possess only one Elk B License per year in addition to a General Elk License.” “For...
On Wednesday, Governor Steve Bullock announced that Montana’s fire fund will be nearly doubled to $66.5 million, up from $36 million, heading into the wildfire season. “Montanans can rest assured that due to strong fiscal management by the state our budget is well positioned heading into the wildfire season,” said Governor Bullock. “Not only will we protect firefighters and our communities when fire strikes, we will also protect taxpayer dollars and continue to invest in the priorities Montanans expect with a robust and bal...
The 900-20 Archery Only Antelope licenses were drawn with Deer B and Elk B licenses in mid-July. All other antelope will be drawn on Aug. 8. This delay gives local biologists time to complete antelope population surveys that often don’t even start until mid-July, and then to set the final quotas accordingly. On Aug. 12, hunters can buy over-the-counter and surplus B licenses (antlerless) for deer and elk. Also, on Aug. 12, surplus general antelope, antelope B and antelope archery 900 series licenses go on sale. The a...
Signup opened last week for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program to assist farmers who continue to suffer from damages because of unjustified trade retaliation from foreign nations. Through MFP, USDA will provide up to $14.5 billion in direct payments to impacted producers, part of a broader trade relief package announced in late July. The sign-up period runs through Dec. 6. “Our team at USDA reflected on what worked well and gathered feedback on last year’s program to mak...
Helena, Mont. – The Montana Department of Agriculture has updated its noxious weed list to include ventenata (Ventenata dubia). The Noxious Weed Listing Workgroup recommended adding ventenata to the Priority 2A list at its meeting on March 21, 2019. The amendment was adopted on June 21st, 2019. Priority 2A weeds are common in isolated areas in the State and require eradication or containment where less abundant. Management can be prioritized by the local weed districts. "...
Two particular flowering plants are the toast of late spring and summer in Montana. In the mountain forests and openings of northwestern Montana, beargrass – the official flower of Glacier National Park – struts its stuff along roads and highways, as well as throughout the wilderness areas in northwest Montana. Meanwhile, the sturdy yucca stands guard over the rolling land and river breaks east of the mountains. Both plants, so similar yet so different, are symbolic of the...
It’s been a busy summer on the front to combat aquatic invasive species. So far, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and its partner agencies have conducted more than 52,000 watercraft inspections – with more than 7,000 of those happening over the Fourth of July weekend. To date, 13 vessels with zebra or quagga mussels have been intercepted. Several new watercraft inspection stations opened in the last couple of weeks, including the Broadus inspection station on Highway 212, operated by the Powder River Conservation District. Als...
State public health officials recently announced a free online resource that offers coaching and support to young Montanans who want to stop using tobacco products, particularly electronic cigarettes like JUUL. “The number of young Montanans addicted to e-cigarettes is alarming,” said DPHHS Director Sheila Hogan. “It’s unfortunate that people under 18 have already been exposed to harmful substances like tobacco, but it’s critical we offer every resource possible to help them quit now to avoid a lifelong addiction. I’m excited...
Helena, Mont. – The Montana Department of Livestock is working in conjunction with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks in administering the voluntary fund for wolf mitigation, which was created through the passage of HB 291 in the 2019 legislative session. Donations to the account began to be accepted on July 1st. The new law facilitates donations of $1 and higher and donations can be made by selecting the Wolf Mitigation donation option under the Conservation heading on FWP’s Online License Service Website or in person at any...
Mid-Rivers Communications has added Robocall Blocking, a feature available with its landline telephone service, to all customers’ local service lines free of charge. The announcement follows a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vote on June 6 to allow voice service providers to aggressively block unwanted robocalls before those calls reach consumers. The FCC ruling allows voice service providers to block unwanted calls based on reasonable call analytics, and to apply these features as the default, as long as their c...
UM News Service Nonresident travelers spent $3.58 billion throughout Montana in 2018, according to an annual report published by the University of Montana's Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research. This is a 10.4% increase from the previous year's estimate. "We see this as a big plus for Montana since our numbers indicate that visitation was relatively flat in 2018, but spending was up," said ITRR Director Norma Nickerson. Analysis of each of Montana's six travel...
The 2019 winter and spring aerial surveys of deer populations in Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' Region 7 revealed above long-term average numbers for both mule deer and white-tailed deer. "We had abundant precipitation last spring and summer, which made for excellent forage conditions and deer going into winter in good body condition," said Wildlife Biologist Melissa Foster. "The winter was mild up until February, when we got about six weeks of bitter cold and snow. Seems lik...
From boosting women’s leadership and self-reliance to enhancing rural heritage, the Red Ants Pants Foundation shares proceeds from the Red Ants Pants Music Festival in a meaningful way each year. Festival fans can know that their choice to join the festival has a lasting impact through the Red Ants Pants Foundation’s community grant program. Grant applications are considered based on how they best help fulfill the foundation's mission of developing and expanding leadership roles for women, preserving and supporting wor...
