Montana

Montana Governor and Park Superintendent clash over Yellowstone Bison

Published

2 years ago

July 27, 2024

Montana Governor and Park Superintendent clash over Yellowstone Bison

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — Yellowstone National Park published its bison management plan for the coming years this week to both praise and condemnation. Parks superintendent Cam Sholly is reacting to some strong criticism from Montana Governor Greg Gianforte.

“This comes down mostly to population,” said Sholly.

He added, “We’ve tried to strike a balance, listen to various stakeholders, cooperating agencies, tribes, the general public, to come up with a balanced plan that’s by far not perfect.”

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“We’ve tried to strike a balance, listen to various stakeholders, cooperating agencies, tribes, the general public, to come up with a balanced plan that’s by far not perfect,” said Cam Sholly.

Yellowstone bison, have always elicited a strong response from people. Some want to see a lot more, others want to see a lot less. The state of Montana is among the latter. It has almost always advocated for fewer bison.

Sholly says reducing the herd too much could jeopardize the population. He said, “People remember the 2022-23 season. We had almost 4,000 bison out of the park. We had to capture almost 1,000 and hold them for almost two months to prevent a massive starvation situation, which no one wants.”

This week, Yellowstone National Park published its bison management plan for coming years this week to both praise and condemnation. Parks superintendent Cam Sholly is reacting to some strong criticism from Montana Governor Greg Gianforte.

That season the herd dropped from about 5,900 animals to about 3,700 in just a matter of months.

“If we had only 3,000 bison as a state as requested in the population and we had another migration out like that, then what?” Asked Sholly.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said the state has legitimate concerns about the bison population and claims that the Park Service is refusing to listen. He said in a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland that Montana was shut out of the conversation. He wrote, “The NPS did not solicit meaningful input from, or collaborate with, my administration prior to the publication of its January 28, 2022, Notice outlining the alternatives for consideration.”

Sholly maintains that’s not what happened. He said, “I offered for the state to present its own alternative that we would include in the analysis that didn’t happen.”

Sholly claims the park’s efforts to protect Montana’s cattle from brucellosis are successful.

“There’s been elk transmitting to cattle. There’s not been a documented bison transmission. That’s because we maintained that separation successfully,” said Sholly.

But Gianforte says facts are on his side. in the letter, he writes the state was, “Given only 15 days to review a 230 page document.” He added that on May 1 he was given until May 24th to schedule a meeting with the park. He wrote, “Unable to accommodate such a short and impromptu comment timeframe… I declined YNP’s offer to meet.” He also said the state asked for a 60-day extension of the comment period but the park only extended that time by 15 days. Sholly maintains the state’s desire to have a fixed population of 3,000 bison is not realistic.

“You can’t manage a wild species to a static population target. Even the state just changed, from their elk objective of 2005, which was somewhere around 92,000, to a range last year, which is like 96,000 to 140,000, because they were over their objective in multiple areas in the state, including North of Yellowstone,” said Sholly.

Gianforte concluded his letter by writing there is a new day in the West and closed with an ominous note, when he wrote, “Repeated and continuous procedural abuses, like those outlined above have hardened those who once believed in fair play. Instead states like Montana will now show up prepared for marginalized participation, short-changed processes, dishonest brokerage and ultimately, litigation.”

“So it’s pretty easy just to come out against everything. It’s another thing to come up with solutions to managing the species successfully,” said Sholly.

Sholly said the park works successfully on bison management with many agencies, plus the public and Indian tribes.

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Montana

Montana Supreme Court allows ballot measure on initiative process to move forward

Published

4 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Montana Supreme Court allows ballot measure on initiative process to move forward

HELENA — The Montana Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a proposed ballot measure intended to simplify the process for introducing ballot measures in the future.

Justices ruled 5-2 that the measure, currently called Ballot Issue #8, did not violate state requirements that a single constitutional amendment can’t make multiple separate changes to the Montana Constitution.

“We’re very grateful to the Montana Supreme Court for agreeing with us that the attorney general’s finding of legal insufficiency for Ballot Issue #8 was incorrect,” said SK Rossi, a spokesperson for Montanans Decide, the group sponsoring the measure.

Montanans Decide argues the Montana Legislature has passed laws making it harder for the public to propose and pass ballot issues. The Montana Constitution already guarantees the people the right to pass laws and amendments through ballot measures, but Ballot Issue #8 would expand that to include a right to “impartial, predictable, transparent, and expeditious processes” for proposing those measures. It would seek to prevent “interference from the government or the use of government resources to support or oppose the ballot issue.”

Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office argued the measure “implicitly amended” multiple provisions in the state constitution, including by limiting the “power and authority of public officials to speak officially on ballot issues that affect those officials’ public duties” and by putting restrictions on judges and on the Legislature. Montanans Decide, the group sponsoring Ballot Issue #8, disagreed – and the majority of justices sided with them.

“Its provisions operate together to define and protect a single constitutional right—the people’s exercise of initiative and referendum,” wrote Justice Katherine Bidegaray in the majority opinion. “They are closely related components of one constitutional design.”

Bidegaray’s majority opinion was joined by Justices Jim Shea, Laurie McKinnon, Beth Baker and Ingrid Gustafson.

Chief Justice Cory Swanson and Justice Jim Rice each wrote dissenting opinions, saying they would have upheld Knudsen’s decision to disallow Ballot Issue #8. Rice said the language restricting government interference with a ballot issue was not closely related and should have been a separate vote. Swanson agreed with Rice and said the measure’s attempt to fix a timeline for legal cases surrounding ballot measures was also a separate substantial change.

In a statement, Chase Scheuer, a spokesperson for Knudsen’s office, reacted to the decision.

“This decision only further muddies the courts’ jurisprudence on ballot issue questions,” he said. “This initiative would violate the separate vote requirement by amending multiple parts of the Montana Constitution, but the court contradicted its prior rulings. Attorney General Knudsen will continue to neutrally apply the separate vote requirement in his review of ballot initiatives.”

The court’s decision means that Knudsen’s office will now need to approve ballot language for Ballot Issue #8. Once that language is finalized, Montanans Decide could begin gathering signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

However, last year, sponsors of another initiative went to the Supreme Court to argue that the ballot statements Knudsen prepared were misleading. If Montanans Decide object to their ballot statements, that could further delay signature gathering while the case plays out in court.

“Regardless, we’re going to push as hard as we can to get those petitions into the hands of voters and let them sign and support if they so choose,” said Rossi.

Rossi said the legal battle this measure has gone through – and the possibility of more to come – shows why Ballot Issue #8 is needed.

“The state Legislature, and also statewide elected officials, have taken every opportunity to create burdens and hurdles and rigamarole for campaigns to get through in order to just get to the signature gathering phase, and then to get through the signature gathering phase onto the ballot, and then get through the election phase,” said Rossi. “The reason we filed this initiative is just to make sure that the process is simple, that the timeline is clear, and that Montanans can have their will heard when they want to propose and pass laws that they deem worthy.”

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Montana

Christi Jacobsen enters race for Western House seat

Published

16 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Christi Jacobsen enters race for Western House seat

HELENA, Mont. — Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen is running for Montana’s Western Congressional District seat, entering the race a day after U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke announced he would not seek reelection.

Jacobsen’s announcement sets up a new contest for the open seat after Zinke, a Republican, said he would seek reelection.

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“As your Secretary of State, I’ve stood up to Washington overreach, defended election integrity, and delivered real results for Montanans. In 2020, voters gave me a mandate to clean up our elections, grow Montana business, and push back against radical liberal special interests. I delivered. Now it’s time to take that same results-driven, America First leadership to Congress.”

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Montana

Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for March 2, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 2 drawing

06-12-19-29, Bonus: 11

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

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.

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