Montana
Ranchers concerned about impact of Montana State University animal exclusion fence on elk herd
BOZEMAN — North of Bozeman in the Springhill community, a large fence surrounds Montana State University research land. It was installed last summer for the sole purpose of keeping elk out. But some ranchers in the area are concerned about what this fence might mean for those animals.
“There’s definitely no animals in there. They can’t get in or out. Yeah, there’s pretty much nothing in there,” Doug Graves tells me.
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Ranchers concerned about impact of MSU animal exclusion fence on elk herd
Doug is a rancher who’s lived in the Springhill community for around 45 years.
“We have elk, deer, moose, antelope, that come across this property. They have been for probably hundreds of years,” says Doug.
But recently, Doug has been missing that wildlife. He suspects a fence surrounding nearly 600 acres across from his property is the problem.
“Last summer Montana State University started the construction of this fence. They finished it this fall,” he says.
MTN News
The fence surrounds Lutz Farm which was donated to MSU for agricultural research. The university explained in an email that the research being done on the fields of Lutz Farm produces new crop varieties for the unique conditions in Montana.
The email said, “The production from that field is extremely important (and valuable) to Montana agricultural producers.”
MSU goes on to explain how a few years ago, nearly 30 acres of the Lutz Farm research land was destroyed by elk. Since then, they’ve tried different options to mitigate elk damage, including limited hunting and temporary fencing, but they say nothing worked. So, the fence went up—for the sole purpose of keeping elk out.
Doug says the fence may be good for research, but he thinks it’s had a negative effect on wildlife.
“The elk are stuck currently on the other side of it to the west. They haven’t been able to get back over here, and the big concern with that? This area to the east of us is very open, conservation easement, national forest land. They breed up there. They’re not hunted. And it’s very un-stressful for them,” Doug explains.
Cassidy Powers
Doug’s noticed the elk roaming on farm fields where there is limited food.
“I’ve seen some people out there trying to move them off their haystacks. So they’re getting into other people’s hay,” says Doug.
Which Doug fears could lead to Depredation hunts, which are seasonal hunts that allow hunters to kill animals that are harming livestock, agriculture, or humans. So, I was curious what Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks thinks of this predicament.
“For this area, along Springhill road north of Bozeman, it does have an elk herd of about 200 or so head of elk that use that area between the foothills of the Bridger mountains, over to Bear Creek and Reese Creek Road,” says Morgan Jacobsen, the information and education manager for Montana FWP Region 3.
An area of about 60-70 square miles these elk use year-round. But FWP doesn’t have GPS trackers on this specific herd, which has made it harder to predict the effects of the fenced-off area.
“In terms of wildlife and landscape, we know that there’s a herd there. And we know that there’s other wildlife there as well that use the area. In terms of potential impacts, you know, that’s something we’ll be monitoring,” Jacobsen explained.
Cassidy Powers
But I was curious, although this land is used for agricultural research I asked how common it is for people build a fence to keep out elk.
“I’d say it’s fairly uncommon. Most fences are your typical barbwire fence that’s about waist height,” Jacobsen says.
Such as the fence in Doug’s front yard, which elk are still able to travel over.
“They’re part of the system out here, and they’ve been here longer than any of us have. Me and some of my neighbors? We’ve always kind of looked at it as a price of admission to live here. You live with the elk. You don’t necessarily help them out. But you give them a place to live,” says Doug.
Doug tells me he hopes something can be done about the fence before spring when the elk begin calving.
Montana
Montana Supreme Court Decides International Child Custody Case – Transnational Litigation Blog
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act discourages forum shopping in child custody disputes by assigning subject-matter jurisdiction to the court located in the “home state” of the child. In Allen v. Allen, decided on April 21, 2026, the Montana Supreme Court had to determine whether the child’s “home state” was Montana or the Netherlands. This case shines an important spotlight on the importance of timing in international child custody disputes. The left-behind parent’s likelihood of success is strongly correlated with how quickly he or she acts to vindicate their legal rights.
Facts
Jonathan Edward Allen (Father) and Petronella Gerline (Van Oosterom) Allen (Mother) were married in Colorado in 2009. Father is a United States citizen. Mother is a dual citizen of the United States and the Netherlands. Their child (R.A.A.) was born in 2015. In 2020, the family moved from Colorado to Montana.
In August 2023, after Father and Mother began having marital difficulties, Mother and R.A.A. relocated to the Netherlands. In February 2024, Mother filed a petition for divorce and custody with the District Court of Central Netherlands (Netherlands District Court).
In January 2025, Father filed a petition with the District Court of The Hague seeking the return of R.A.A. pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This petition was denied. Although the court held that R.A.A. had been wrongfully removed from the United States, the court reasoned that the one-year automatic return period had passed and that R.A.A. had become settled in her new environment in the Netherlands. This decision was affirmed on appeal.
In September 2025, Father filed an Emergency Motion for Temporary Custody and Petition for Permanent Parenting Plan in Montana state court. That court dismissed the petition on the grounds that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. Specifically, it held that it lacked the power to adjudicate the dispute because Montana was no longer the “home state” of R.A.A. Father, acting pro se, appealed to the Montana Supreme Court.
Analysis
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) assigns exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction to courts located in the child’s “home state” when it comes to matters relating to child custody. The “home state” is “the state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as parent for at least 6 consecutive months immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding.” The UCCJEA specifically provides that courts “shall treat a foreign country as if it were a state of the United States” for purposes of resolving these disputes.
On the facts presented in Allen v. Allen, the Montana Supreme Court correctly held that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to consider Father’s emergency motion. Mother and R.A.A. relocated to the Netherlands in August 2023. Six months later—in February 2024—R.A.A.’s home state shifted to the Netherlands. The Dutch courts—rather than the Montana courts—now had exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction to resolve custody disputes involving R.A.A. Father did not file his motion in Montana until September 2025, which was nineteen months too late.
Conclusion
If Father had filed his suit in Montana before February 2024, he could have shown that Montana was R.A.A.’s “home state” because the child had not yet resided in the Netherlands for six months. The suit was, however, not filed until September 2025.
If Father had filed suit in the Netherlands before August 2024, he could have argued that R.A.A. should be returned to the United States pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction because the child had not yet resided in the Netherlands for a year. The suit was, however, not filed until January 2025.
The key takeaway of Allen v. Allen is the need for speed in international child custody cases. The timelines baked into the relevant laws and treaties mandate that the left-behind parent move quickly to assert their rights. If they are slow off the mark, they be forced to litigate in foreign courts under less favorable legal rules.
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.
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