Montana
Large conservation easement proposed for northwest Montana
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public input on a potential project that would place nearly 33,000 acres of private timberland in northwest Montana under a conservation easement and protect working lands, public recreation access and wildlife habitat.
The deadline to comment on this proposal is May 15. To comment and learn more, visit https://fwp.mt.gov/news/public-notices.
FWP has published a draft environmental assessment that outlines the proposed first phase of the project named the Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement. This is the first of a potential two-phase project totaling 85,792 acres of private timberland and fish and wildlife habitat owned by Green Diamond Resource Company.
The first phase includes forestlands in the Salish and Cabinet mountains between Kalispell and Libby. The private property provides abundant public hunting and angling opportunities that would be permanently secured under this proposal.
The elevation of the property ranges from 3,000 feet near Cow Creek to 6,300 feet above sea level near Bar Z Peak. The property consists primarily of Douglas-fir and mixed
conifer stands interspersed with long valleys and wet meadows, but forest type varies according to aspect and
elevation.
Dry ponderosa pine stands are found at low elevation sites and on south-facing slopes, while shadetolerant trees such as grand fir and subalpine fir are found on cool north-facing slopes and at higher elevation sties. Engelmann spruce and western red cedar are typically found along streams in riparian habitat. Major drainages in the project area include the Thompson River, Indian Creek, Twin Lakes Creek, and Wolf Creek.
This project would conserve wildlife winter range and a movement corridor for elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and moose. It would provide critical habitat for grizzly bear and Canada lynx, federally threatened species found on the property, and protect streams for the westslope cutthroat trout and Columbia River redband trout, both Montana Species of Concern.
If the project were approved, Green Diamond would maintain ownership of the land under an easement owned by FWP. The easement would allow Green Diamond to sustainably harvest wood products from these timberlands, preclude development, protect important wildlife habitat and associated key landscape connectivity, and provide permanent free public access to the easement lands.
The U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program, the Habitat Montana program and funds raised by Trust for Public Land would be funding sources if this proposal were to proceed. Green Diamond would provide an in-kind contribution in the form of donated land value arising from the sale of the easement.
In 2019, Weyerhaeuser sold all 630,000 acres of their Montana lands to Southern Pine Plantations (SPP). In 2021 and 2022, SPP sold 475,000 acres of their Montana lands to multiple landowners. Green Diamond Resource Company (Green Diamond) made the largest purchase of SPP lands at 291,000 acres, including all the lands located within the footprint of both Phase 1 and 2 of the proposed Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement.
The affected property has historically been owned by mining and timber companies and private landowners that have allowed the public to access the property through short-term Block Management agreements or voluntary open land policies.
Completion of this project would build on the success of the nearby 142,000-acre Thompson-Fisher Conservation Easement (FWP), the 100,000-acre USFWS Lost Trail Conservation Area (US Fish and Wildlife Service) and other protected lands including the Kootenai and Lolo national forests, the Thompson Chain of Lakes State Park and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation lands.
FWP will review comments and forward a recommendation to the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission this summer. If approved, the project would go before the Montana Land Board for final review.
Montana
Montana Disaster Services reports high turnover since ‘22 flood
Montana Disaster and Emergency Services said it has seen 60% staff turnover in the two years since the Yellowstone River flood and asked lawmakers Tuesday for 14 more full-time employees.
Administrator for the Disaster and Emergency Services Division Delila Bruno told legislators the staff losses are in part due to burnout, and most often they lose employees to the private sector after training them.
Legislators are looking into disaster and emergency service recovery response in Montana as part of a study bill passed in the last legislative session. Lawmakers in a subcommittee of the State Administration and Veterans’ Affairs Interim Committee will eventually have to draft recommendations for how to improve emergency response in the state.
Department suggestions beyond staff increases included enhancing recovery coordination between agencies pre-disaster, training state experts to provide damage assessments to reduce reliance on federal partners, developing a statewide debris management plan and increasing staffing to assist individual assistance post-disaster.
In June of 2022, the Yellowstone River flooded in a 500-year event with nearly 10 inches of rain and snowmelt in 24 hours, destroying homes and structures along the river and sections of northern roads leading into Yellowstone National Park from gateway towns. The event required a massive recovery effort.
In the past 12 years, Montana has made 50 statewide disaster declarations and 15 federal declarations, including the 2022 flood, Bruno said. The recovery team, which works to restore a community to pre-disaster conditions, has six open disasters it is working on – half of which are floods.
She said federal resources for recovery efforts significantly outweigh what’s available at the state and local level. It would be better to reduce the reliance on the federal government to get communities back on their feet, she said, and may allow for a faster response.
Rep. Kelly Kortum, D-Bozeman, proposed writing a bill to provide emergency services with the additional 14 staff members, but other lawmakers shot the idea down as premature and wanted to hear from other stakeholders first.
Bruno said in an example of how the department loses staff, if they trained someone up to be a floodplain manager, then they suddenly became incredibly marketable for disaster firms for nationwide projects.
“They pay way more than we do,” Bruno said. “That’s very, very common to see people get gobbled up in the private sector and work nationally.”
The legislature gave staff raises during the last legislative session, which Bruno said has been a huge help in retention. She said getting more employees to share in the workload could also help with burnout.
Bruno said there also needs to be an emphasis on hiring for different skill sets in the division, and said they need more grant writers and people who understand local policies.
“What is appealing to a lot of emergency managers that we have apply for these positions is that they still associate the work with kind of a first-responder type work,” she said.
She said the division is looking to develop a certification program to train people on the recovery aspect of the job and the more administrative side of the division, which she said is the bulk of their work, though there are opportunities for first responders as well.
“We want to make sure that whether you’re at the local level or you’re at the state level, when you take a job with disaster emergency services, it’s clear what your what your job really is,” she said.
Bruno said Montana needs to increase support for local communities to be able to respond and recover from disasters.
“We know we need more training at both the state and local levels,” she said. “We do know that Montana communities do a better job when they have the resources at their fingertips.”
The SAVA sub-committee did not take action Tuesday, but will meet with the full interim committee on May 23.
Nicole Girten is a reporter for the Daily Montanan, a nonprofit newsroom.
Montana
University of Montana protest: 'Ceasefire Now' • Daily Montanan
More than 100 people at the University of Montana demonstrated Wednesday to protest Israel’s bombing of Gaza and to show solidarity with protesters arrested this week on other campuses.
“Israel, Israel. Stop the slaughter. Gaza must have food and water,” they chanted.
The UM demonstrators asked spectators to keep their focus on children who are dying, a count the Washington Post put at 13,000 this week.
“While you are here watching us, children are being murdered with your tax dollars,” said one demonstrator with a bull horn.
Nearly 1,000 arrests had taken place on campuses across the country as of Monday including in violent clashes between police and pro-Palestian protestors from New York to California, according to a count from the Associated Press.
The demonstration at UM in Missoula was peaceful. A law enforcement SUV was parked near the Oval but rolled away after the group started marching.
The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 34,000, according to a report this week from the Wall Street Journal citing health authorities. However, the story said it’s becoming difficult to keep up with the number of fatalities because many hospitals aren’t functioning, and people are buried under rubble.
Students from UM and also high schools were among those demonstrating with chants, chalk art after the rain subsided, and signs.
Some signs called on the UM Foundation to divest, joining calls at more than 80 other campuses across the country to redirect higher education investments from funding war, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The UM Foundation is the university’s fundraising nonprofit, and in a statement, it said its board “is committed to responsible investment stewardship” to generate the “highest levels of returns” to support UM for generations.
“The Foundation’s endowment portfolio has no direct investments with weapons manufacturers,” said the UM Foundation board in a statement.
Journey Lynn, a UM graduate student in social work, said they joined the demonstration because the crisis in Gaza is deplorable: “I think that calling attention to the genocide is imperative.”
Lynn also said as a student pursuing a master’s in social work, they believe the protest aligns with the code of ethics from the National Association of Social Workers.
“The essence of a lot of those values are to honor and value all life,” Lynn said.
At least one legislator, Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a Missoula Democrat, joined the protest. Demonstrators started the action in front of Main Hall and then marched around the Oval carrying signs raised with their messages.
“Free Palestine.” “Israel Bombs Hospitals.” “Food Is Not A Weapon.” “Ceasefire NOW.” “Fund Schools Not Genocide.”
As the demonstration began, one man carrying a flag of Israel walked in front of the group and yelled at them. Jon Murphy stayed with the demonstrators in their march around the Oval.
He told the Daily Montanan he wanted to stand up for Israel’s right to exist as a state. Murphy said he is not a student at UM but lives in the community.
“I don’t agree with everything that Israel does, but it has a right to exist, and the people have a right to live there without getting the rockets and missiles sent at them,” Murphy said.
The recent war started in October 2023 after Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, attacked Israel and killed at least 1,200 people. Israel then launched military strikes in Gaza, a small strip of land 25 miles long between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea.
A recent food insecurity analysis said famine is imminent in at least the north of Gaza, and it projects more people will die. The report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee (FRC) said the entire population of 2.23 million faces acute food insecurity.
“The FRC concludes that famine is imminent unless there is an immediate cessation of hostilities and full access is granted to provide food, water, medicines, and protection of civilians as well as to restore and provide health, water, and sanitation services, and energy (electricity, diesel, and other fuel) to the population in the northern governorates,” the report said.
The IPC describes itself as an initiative to improve food security and analysis based on science and one led by a global partnership of 15 organizations.
Montana
Former Montana State QB Sean Chambers gets NFL rookie minicamp invite from Carolina Panthers
BOZEMAN — Former Montana State quarterback Sean Chambers was extended a rookie minicamp invitation by the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-3, 221-pound Chambers, from Kerman, Calif., finished his career with 33 rushing touchdowns, the program’s second-most all time. He was was a first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection following his senior season in 2023 after finishing with 23 total touchdowns (14 rushing), 896 yards throwing and 671 yards rushing.
He also earned AP second-team All-America and Stats Perform third-team All-America honors for his performance last season. In 2022, he earned the Big Sky newcomer of the year accolade after transferring from Wyoming.
Throughout his career with the Bobcats, Chambers finished with 50 total touchdowns, 1,519 yards throwing and 1,516 yards rushing.
He joins former teammates Treyton Pickering and Clevan Thomas Jr., in getting a minicamp invites.
Pickering announced on Saturday he got an invite with the New York Giants.Thomas announced on Wednesday he received an invite with the Cleveland Browns.
No players from the Bobcats or the Montana Grizzlies were drafted, and none have signed rookie free-agent contracts as of Wednesday. All tryout invitations were reported by the Montana State football program via its X account.
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