Montana
Montana ranchers urge for state help following Remington fire damage
BROADUS — Gov. Greg Gianforte held a roundtable on Thursday with local officials to discuss fire-relief steps.
In attendance at the Broadus Community Center were several federal and county officials, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), the Montana Stockgrowers Association, and tribal representatives to present fire information and resources to the governor.
Raylee Honeycutt is the executive vice president of the stockgrowers association and was one of the speakers at the table.
Justin McKinsey/MTN News
“(Gianforte) is great at showing up and really being a listening ear and trying to find solutions for those local needs,” said Honeycutt. “I’m excited to be a part of the conversation and be able to offer solutions and work with the governor hand in hand on supporting locals.”
She and the other attendees hoped to provide as many places for affected ranchers to find help. Money has been raised to assist them, but they now need a place to go.
“The key takeaway from this meeting was to kind of have a one-stop shop for people affected to go to and find resources,” said Honeycutt. “Over the next couple days, we’ll be building out our website and providing those resources available for everybody to kind of connect to federal agencies, local partners, local agencies as well to help them recover as quickly as possible.”
Honeycutt encourages all who were affected to report their losses in livestock, hay, and land. The numbers reported will also assist in determining if a disaster declaration would be filled, something the officials asked for assistance with from Gianforte. Justin McKinsey/MTN News
Also in attendance were ranchers that were affected by the devastating Remington Fire. While the fire is at 88% containment, the damages have been severe.
“The fire pretty much got it all. Right now we’re at 105 miles of fence that’s burned up,” said rancher Jae Notti, who attended the roundtable. “We lost our shop, 40 by 60 shop. Everything. Had 39 years of my tools and pieces and parts.”
Notti said he was glad he attended Thursday’s meeting as the help will be much needed in the long recovery.
“That’s going to be a long-term fix and a major expense. We usually take care of ourselves, but this is a big one. I wanted to learn more about the fences and actually thank some of these guys that have been in on this and coordinated it,” said Notti.
Gianforte made sure to highlight the community effort from all parties that helped stop the fire.
“We have a whole lot of people step up, a lot of hay, fencing stuff. It’s amazing,” said Notti.
The links below have several relief, recovery, and support resources:
Farm Service Agency Disaster Assistance Programs
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Montana Department of Natural Resources
MSA Wildfire Relief Fund
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Clark Fork River has long been a defining feature of Missoula, shaping the city’s culture, economy and outdoor lifestyle.
The river is so closely tied to the area that it helped inspire the well-known book and film “A River Runs Through It.” But local conservation advocates say its importance goes far beyond scenery.
“Without the Clark Fork River, Missoula would just be another town,” said Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers. “We wouldn’t be the River City. I think we’re known in Montana as Missoula the River City, and it’s really because of the Clark Fork River and its central role in business, in economics, in recreation, that really makes Missoula the town that it is.”
Carmen Murill, a field organizer with Wild Montana, said the river is deeply woven into daily life for people who live in Missoula.
“A lot of us would wonder what to do on a beautiful or a rainy summer day,” Murill said. “I mean, it’s really a lifeforce of town. And I think it’s pretty unique that Missoula, as a community is living and breathing on both sides of the river. It’s really like two downtowns but connected by the Clark Fork.”
Conservation groups say protecting the river begins with community involvement.
Advocates encourage residents and visitors to spend time outdoors, whether on a trail, in the woods or along the river, and to learn how they can become better stewards of the environment.
MISSOULA — Sam Forstag edged out Ryan Busse to secure the Democratic nomination in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Busse conceded the race to Forstag on Wednesday morning. Forstag had trailed behind Busse Tuesday evening, but he made up ground as the votes were counted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Russl Cleveland and Matt Rains, are sitting at third and fourth, respectively.
Forstag leads in close race for Montana’s 1st Congressional District
Forstag spent eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four as a smokejumper, and he’s been vice president of the local National Federation of Federal Employees union. Last week, U.S. House of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, held a rally in Missoula to support Forstag’s campaign.
He told MTN on Tuesday that his campaign has been for the working class.
“We got a whole lot of people here that have been working their tail off to finally get some working-class representation in Washington,” Forstag noted. “So proud of everything we’ve done and so grateful.”
Forstag further noted he wants Montanans to be able to afford groceries, have universal free childcare and restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act subsidies.
“Hearing people’s stories and struggles and commonalities in the ways that we’re all fighting in the system that does not serve us so often, and the government serves corporations and the richest people in this country more than working people. It has been frustrating and saddening, but it has also inspired so much hope in me, like the fixes we can actually make,” he told MTN.
The 1st Congressional District covers much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. It is currently held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who chose not to seek reelection.
By securing the nomination, Forstag is slated tol face off against Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy and Republican candidate Aaron Flint in November.
Brian Miller won the Democratic primary Tuesday for the U.S. House seat in Montana’s eastern district.
The Associated Press called the race for Miller, an attorney in Helena, who fended off a challenge from state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a longtime legislator from Box Elder, and Sam Lux, a farrier from Great Falls.
In the Republican and rural eastern district, any Democrat will be an underdog, and Miller will face off against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, who was unopposed Tuesday.
Libertarian Patrick McCracken is also running.
In the primary, Miller took 58% of the vote. Lux took 27% and Windy Boy took 16%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website.
In April, Windy Boy paused his campaign amid “serious sexual abuse” allegations raised by the Montana Democratic Party — but Windy Boy restarted his campaign and later called the allegations “political attacks.”
Miller is representing the victim of the alleged abuse and her mother, although he said he didn’t take on the role until after Windy Boy initially suspended his campaign.
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