Montana
Public lands emerge as flashpoint for Montana U.S. senators in Big, Beautiful Bill debate
BILLINGS — The battle over public lands is intensifying as President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, referred to as the “One, Big Beautiful” bill, faces scrutiny from wilderness advocates.
Watch advocates make their case in the video below:
Daines, Sheehy reiterate support for public lands during budget debate
A significant concern is the reintroduction of language authorizing federal public land sales, which was initially removed from the budget just hours before the House Budget Committee approved the package. Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, has indicated plans to reintegrate such provisions into the bill, causing alarm among public land advocates, including former Bureau of Land Management Montana director Mike Penfold.
“Once that public land is gone. It is gone forever. We never have it back,” Penfold said on Wednesday. “These guys who want to take this public land away from us, take that heritage away from us, know that the rich people in this country are the ones who would benefit from it. It’s not going to be the people who use it right now, it’s going to be somebody else. So this is a mistake.”
MTN News
During a Wednesday Senate and Natural Resources Committee hearing, senators questioned Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about which states might be affected by the proposed sales. Burgum named Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, and Utah as states with considerable federal land.
While Montana Republican U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy support the budget bill, they have sidestepped questions about whether they would endorse the bill should it include provisions for public land sales.
MTN News
MTN News requested interviews with both senators but was given prepared statements.
“There’s no question that public lands belong in public hands. That’s not just a slogan, it’s a way of life and one thing most Montanans agree on regardless of party. I will always fight to protect our right to hunt, fish, and recreate on our public lands,” Sheehy said.
A spokesperson for Daines has sent conflicting statements in the last week. On June 5, the senator’s spokesperson said, “Sen. Steve Daines is in talks with Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee to minimize or prevent public land sales in the Republicans’ tax cut, energy and national security megabill.”
MTN News
On June 11, that same spokesperson told MTN News, “Senator Daines is against the sale of public lands and is making his strong concerns clear to his colleagues.”
During the committee hearing, Daines did not mention the sale of federal public lands. Instead, he spoke about delisting grizzlies and Montana energy.
Burgum confirmed ongoing discussions regarding the potential sale of up to 2 million acres of public land, which he argues would create affordable housing.
Critics warn that such sales could set a dangerous precedent. Penfold cautioned that any movement toward privatizing public lands could lead to further encroachments.
“You know, it’s going to be coming here. Once they get their foot in the door they will never stop,” Penfold said. “It’s the biggest public asset that exists and they can’t wait to get their hands on it.”
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.
Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.
Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:
The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….
There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:
While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.
The Missoulan article includes this response:
In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”
As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.
Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.
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