Montana
9th Circuit upholds length-of-season restrictions for Montana wolf trapping, snaring • Daily Montanan
A federal court on Tuesday mostly upheld a judge’s decision last fall to limit Montana’s wolf trapping and snaring season to six weeks in January and February over what he said was the potential for grizzly bears to incidentally get caught in the traps in violation of the Endangered Species Act.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, upheld the main part of District Court Judge Donald Molloy’s November order, which limited wolf trapping and snaring season to Jan. 1 to Feb. 15 to ensure as many grizzlies were in their dens as possible and could not be caught in the wolf traps.
But the circuit court panel disagreed with the portion of his order that limited the season length in hunting Regions 1 through 5 and in Blaine, Hill, and Phillips counties, and said the lower court needed to modify that part of its original order to only include areas where grizzly bears are known to live.
The panel also vacated the part of the order that the court said appeared to have prohibited Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks from trapping wolves for scientific purposes, which the state says is necessary and often happens during the summer months. The order says plaintiffs’ attorneys had agreed to the injunction not applying to scientific research trapping.
The order comes as the plaintiffs in this case seek a permanent injunction to keep the restrictions on wolf trapping seasons in place, as a judge in Idaho implemented similar restrictions there, and as conservation groups appeal the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision that wolves don’t need heightened Endangered Species Act protections in the states that are allowed to manage their wolf populations.
The two groups that challenged Montana’s 2023 wolf trapping regulations, WildEarth Guardians and the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force, said they see the decision as a small victory as they continue to push for a permanent injunction in the district court.
“We must give grizzly bears a fair shot at recovery, and hostile state management like Montana’s has a long way to go before it measures up to what wildlife and the public need,” said Lizzy Pennock, the carnivore coexistence attorney for WildEarth Guardians.
The defendants in the case, Gov. Greg Gianforte and Fish and Wildlife Commission Chair Lesley Robinson, almost immediately appealed Molloy’s November order to the 9th Circuit. Their attorneys argued the district court wrongly considered new arguments and materials submitted by the two conservation groups, applied the wrong injunction standard, and that the injunction did not prevent irreparable harm and was geographically overbroad.
The circuit court panel, in the majority opinion, disagreed with the state on nearly everything but the geographic overbreadth argument.
Judge Judge Mark J. Bennett and Judge Robert S. Lasnik, a Washington district court judge sitting on the appeals panel for the case, also said that the court’s consideration of a news story highlighting a sighting of a grizzly bear as far east as one had been spotted in 100 years, which was published just before the hearing, was not improper.
The state had also argued that Molloy used the wrong injunction standard by saying the plaintiffs had shown the case involved a serious question on the merits rather than meeting the higher standard of showing that they had a likelihood to succeed in the case.
But Bennett wrote that the 9th Circuit uses the “serious questions” test, and Molloy correctly used that as well. Bennett wrote that the conservation groups had shown evidence grizzly bears are not limited to geographical borders, are attracted to baited traps and can get caught in them. He also said they had shown grizzly bears would be active outside of their dens during the state’s proposed trapping season, which was to start on a floating date sometime between Nov. 27 and Dec. 1 and run through March 15.
“Given all the evidence, it was plausible for the district court to find a reasonably certain threat of imminent harm to grizzly bears should Montana’s wolf trapping and snaring season proceed as planned,” Bennett wrote. “In other words, the district court’s finding was not implausible given plaintiffs’ evidence and the evidence as a whole.”
Judge Richard C. Tallman disagreed with the other two judges on that finding, offering a partial dissent in which he said Molloy based his decision off speculative evidence offered by the plaintiffs and their exhibits.
“The record viewed in totality does not support a finding that irreparable harm is likely, other than just possible,” he wrote. “Of the four exhibits, ten declarations, and nine affidavits submitted by the plaintiffs, the bulk of the information provided is speculative in nature, offering theories about what could happen in the face of climate change or food scarcity, instead of offering any actual evidence that the harm is likely to occur.”
The other two judges disagreed with his assessment however, saying Tallman was giving more weight to evidence that would undermine Molloy’s decision than to the evidence that led him to make his decision.
“Because the district court’s finding of a reasonably certain threat of imminent harm was not implausible on the record, we must affirm that finding,” Bennett wrote.
District court will have to decide new geographic boundaries
But all of the judges agreed that the geographic area to which the season restrictions applied was too broad and said there was not enough evidence in the record to conclude having restrictions across more than half the state was necessary to prevent the accidental capture of grizzly bears.
Molloy’s decision on where the season restrictions would apply seems to have been based on the plaintiffs’ citing of a news release from FWP saying grizzlies have the potential to be found “anywhere in the western two-thirds of Montana” and a news story about the bear being spotted near the Missouri and Judith rivers in eastern Montana. But the judges said those did not constitute enough evidence to close off all wolf trapping west of Billings except for six weeks out of the year.
“The bulletin’s statement is thus couched in speculation and is too hypothetical to support the conclusion that grizzlies will likely be present in all areas of west of Billings such that the injunction’s geographic scope is necessary to protect the grizzlies,” Bennett wrote.
The judges remanded the geographic scope question back to the district court and asked it to make a finding “expeditiously.” But they also ordered that the current geographic scope stay in place until a new one is decided. Montana’s wolf hunting and trapping season concluded on March 15.
Meanwhile, the Montana Trappers Association and Outdoor Heritage Coalition have intervened in the district court case in an attempt to loosen the restrictions. Also, the two conservation groups that are plaintiffs in the case last week filed for summary judgment, asking Molloy to extend the injunction permanently and to include coyote trapping and snaring season restrictions that are identical to the wolf season restrictions – something Molloy declined to do with the preliminary injunction, meaning they can still be trapped and snared year-round for the time being.
It’s currently unclear how the court will handle the remanded geographic question in conjunction with the request for a permanent injunction, but attorneys for Gianforte and Robinson will have until May 6 to file their opposition to the request, and the two sides will have about another month to fully brief their arguments, at which time the decision would rest in the court’s hands.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Greg Lemon said FWP agreed the geographic area of the original injunction was too broad and said the state was focused back on the district court case.
Pennock and Mike Bader, a consultant to the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force, said the state needed to acknowledge how climate change was shortening grizzlies’ den times and start to better acknowledge how some of its hunting and trapping policies could harm animals, like grizzlies, that do still have protections under the Endangered Species Act.
“The State of Montana cannot be entrusted with management responsibility for grizzly bears because they are acting irresponsibly towards carnivores and predators,” Bader said.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 30, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 30 drawing
01-27-35-44-52, Powerball: 12, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from May 30 drawing
05-08-09-11-15, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 05
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from May 30 drawing
15-18-22-27, Bonus: 14
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from May 30 drawing
04-27-65-66-69, Powerball: 04
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from May 30 drawing
17-19-23-32-38
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 30 drawing
05-14-22-28-30, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
A group of legal and civil rights organizations late Friday sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over conditions at Camp East Montana in El Paso, the country’s largest immigration detention facility.
“Camp East Montana is nothing short of a civil rights catastrophe,” Kyle Virgien, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project, said in a statement. “We’re suing to ensure that no other human being has to endure the inhumane treatment that the Trump administration has inflicted on our clients.”
The Texas Tribune has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Filed by the ACLU of Texas, the ACLU, the Texas Civil Rights Project and law firm Farella Braun + Martel, the federal lawsuit comes less than a year after the opening of the sprawling tent camp.
In that time, the facility has seen at least three detainee deaths, a measles outbreak and nearly 50 detention standards violations as reported by ICE’s own inspectors, prompting calls for the camp’s closure from immigrant advocates and Democratic lawmakers.
The civil rights groups behind the lawsuit also alleged in a December letter that detained immigrants were subject to medical neglect, physical and sexual abuse by officers, insufficient food and denial of meaningful access to attorneys. In March, ICE switched out the facility’s prime operator for a more experienced contractor, saying the agency would “work closely with them” to improve services, including higher standards of medical care. Still, in a subsequent letter to ICE dated May 22, the groups said the situation “continued to deteriorate” and outlined additional complaints such as hazardous dust exposure.
Friday’s lawsuit argues that conditions at the facility are “unconstitutional punishment” and violate detainees’ due process rights under the Fifth Amendment.
“These conditions are longstanding, pervasive, and well documented, and Defendants’ continued inaction in the face of known risks shows their deliberate indifference — not mere negligence — to detainees’ constitutional rights,” the lawsuit said.
The petition, filed on behalf of four detainees, is also seeking approval to proceed as a class action to cover all those who are currently or will be detained in Camp East Montana.
One of the plaintiffs is Gerald Akari Angye, a detained immigrant who called the conditions at the camp “inhumane and cruel.”
Prior to this lawsuit, the 35-year-old man had filed a petition in January seeking release from ICE detention. According to the filing, Angye was a high school teacher in Cameroon but fled after being kidnapped and tortured amid a separatist conflict. He sought asylum after crossing through a New Mexico port of entry in December 2024. An immigration judge later denied his application, and Angye appealed.
In a statement provided by the civil rights groups, Angye said he had been beaten at Camp East Montana and never thought he would face “such severely violent treatments” in the United States. He was also placed in solitary confinement for 15 days, according to the lawsuit.
“No one deserves such cruel treatment,” he said. “We are all humans and deserve to be treated like it.”
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar said in a statement to the Tribune that she is grateful for the legal fight. A leading critic of Camp East Montana, the El Paso Democrat called the facility “a purgatory for human beings held there.” She also vowed to continue her oversight visits and demand for the tent camp’s permanent closure.
Camp East Montana, first opened in August 2025, is located on Fort Bliss U.S. Army base.
Expected to ultimately reach a 5,000-bed capacity, the camp had a daily average of more than 2,500 detainees as of April 2, according to the most recent public data from ICE. The facility has also held the largest number of detained immigrants thus far in fiscal year 2026, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University found.
“Camp East Montana is at the epicenter of the administration’s cruel deportation agenda,” Savannah Kumar, staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement.
Disclosure: ACLU Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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BUTTE, Mont. — The Sentinel Spartans are the kings of Montana AA baseball.
In the inaugural season of AA baseball in the Treasure State, Sentinel took the title by winning three games in two days at the State AA Tournament, culminating with a 6-3 championship game victory over the Gallatin Raptors.
“It’s tough to find words right now,” said Sentinel head coach Brian Moser. “It was pretty emotional celebrating with the guys. Just really happy for them. What an opportunity. They took advantage of it. Very proud of them. Very appreciative of everything they’ve done for me and Sentinel High School and Sentinel baseball. It’s a great night to be a Spartan.”
Junior Stellan Ridley was stellar for Sentinel, with two triples, two runs scored, and two runs batted in. Kaden Thennis added two hits, two runs, and an RBI while also drawing a hit by pitch. Owen Dale had a hit and a run batted in.
“We have a great mentality,” said Ridley. “I’m so proud of these young guys. As a junior and the seniors, leading us to this and showing how discipline works. We faced some chirpy people, and we just stayed with our level of the game and we performed, as you can see. We won the State Tournament!”
Each win for Sentinel in the tournament came in vastly different fashion.
The Spartans earned a nine-inning victory in their quarterfinal against Butte on Thursday, then came back from a 6-0 deficit after 4.5 innings in their Friday semifinal matinee against the Glacier Wolfpack. But on Friday night, in a game that started at 10 p.m. and ended at 12:08 a.m., Sentinel took an early lead and never trailed enroute to a victory over a Raptors team that had lost just one game all season.
“I had never played a game that late. Going from the early game, it was good that we had that little gap, we got to recuperate and take a solid power nap and come back out here with a lot of energy. Because if we came out flat, there was no way. But we came out with a lot of energy, and we stuck it to them. I mean, that team was good,” said Ridley of their hot start in the title game.
“Baseball is a funny game. There’s a lot of ways to win, there’s a lot of ways to lose. Just happy for the guys for sticking to it and never giving up.” said Moser. “Honestly, it takes a couple of lucky bounces here and there in a State Tournament, and we got those and took advantage. Beat a really, really good Gallatin team tonight. Just extremely proud.”
Gallatin managed to tie the game at 3 apiece in the fifth inning before the Spartans scored one in the sixth and two in the seventh, allowing freshman pitcher Lucas Johansson to earn the win and the save on the mound.
“It’s a big deal. 3 runs are way more than 1. It takes a lot of what the offense can do away. So those were huge, huge runs,” said Moser.
Johansson picked up two of the three wins in the tournament for Sentinel, while fellow freshman Paxson Onstot had the victory in the triumph over Glacier.
“I’m not going to say that’s how we drew it up, but that hopefully gives them confidence to come back next year ready to go,” said Moser. “We’ll have a target on our backs, but that’s okay. A lot of youth, it’s fun.”
Keaton Elliott tossed the first 4.1 innings of the title game for Sentinel, allowing just two hits, three earned runs, and five walks while striking out two.
The title marked the end of a remarkable turnaround for a Spartans team that started the season with a record of 5-7 before winning 10 of their last 11.
“(We got) absolutely shamed by our entire school (at assembly). It sat with me this whole time and I hated that. I just had so much drive,” said Ridley. “What are they going to say now?”
Wyatt Ford pitched a complete game for Gallatin, allowing three earned runs, five hits and a hit by pitch while striking out 10 on 103 pitches.
Ford and Louis Musial had the Raptors only two hits on the night, a triple and double, respectively, while Harvey Kimmel had two runs batted in.
Sentinel ends their season with a record of 15-8, while Gallatin concluded their campaign at 18-2.
“I think Gallatin came in here a little cocky. One loss the whole season, thinking they were going to probably roll us,” said Ridley. “No. We showed them up. Their eyes got big, and they realized we’re not a team to mess with.”
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