MISSOULA — Wildfire season is here and with that comes all the smoke that often accumulates in the Missoula Valley.

Smoke presents numerous health risks, especially for those who are part of vulnerable populations with chronic health conditions, are elderly, or have asthma.

But even if you’re not in a more vulnerable population, smoke can still have adverse health effects, especially if you’re recreating outside and exerting a fair amount of energy.
Small smoke particles get into the lungs and then the bloodstream impacting overall health, mood, and even sleep. So what are some ways that you can help protect yourself from the smoke especially when you’re trying to escape it indoors?

“If you have a portable air cleaner that has a HEPA filter, those can clean out smoke particles from the air inside. And you can also build a DIY box fan filter with a MERV 13 or higher rating furnace filter and just attach it to your box van. And those filters also remove smoke from the air” explained Missoula Public Health Air Quality Specialist Kerri Mueller.

Besides creating these filters for your home, you can also wear an N95 mask or respirator if you’re headed outside for an extended period of time. But be sure you watch how hot you’re getting as heat-related illnesses oftentimes pose a greater risk than the smoke itself.

Visit https://www.montanawildfiresmoke.org/ for more information on how to keep yourself safe and stay up to date on smoke conditions.

A grant from the U.S. Department of Labor is providing $2 million to the State of Montana to provide workforce retraining and other services to lumber workers losing their jobs because of the closures of two lumber companies in western Montana.

The U.S. Department of Labor provided the Montana Department of Labor and Industry with the first disbursement of $800,000 on Monday, the governor’s office said, to help workers affected by the pending closures of Pyramid Mountain Lumber, the largest employer in Seeley Lake, and Roseburg Forest Products in Missoula.

“For over a century, the timber industry has been an integral part of the Montana economy, and the loss of these companies is felt across our state,” said Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Sarah Swanson. “Empowering Montanans through work and opportunity is our work at DLI, and with these funds we will help every impacted worker in the region leverage their Montana work ethic, skill up, and reenter the workforce in high wage, high skilled jobs.”

The Missoulian reported last week that Pyramid Mountain Lumber had run its last logs through its sawmill last week, and the company was set to lose 10 employees. Between Pyramid and Roseburg, according to the Missoulian, more than 250 people will be laid off by the two companies this year.

The money will come through the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Dislocated Worker Grant program, which helps dislocated workers and others by utilizing local organizations to provide job training, career services, and transitional help so workers can find new jobs.

Counties that are eligible to access money from the grant include Missoula, Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Powell and Sanders. The Blackfeet and Flathead reservations can also utilize the funds.

The Montana Department of Labor and Industry said it would work with local organizations to develop a plan for the timber workers to get them into high-demand jobs in western Montana. In April, the department launched a skills-matching dashboard so affected workers could match their skills to other jobs.

“Thanks to the work of Commissioner Swanson and the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, our lumber industry professionals facing unemployment due to recent mill closures will have more resources to get back on their feet and in a career,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a statement. “Our administration will continue to secure support for Montanans and industries in need.”

With the dismissal of a “bad actor” lawsuit following the retirement of former CEO Phillips Baker Jr., mining company Hecla said it is ramping up exploration in the Cabinet Mountains area south of Libby.

But a coalition of Indian tribes and environmental groups said it will keep fighting to enforce Montana laws that prevent “irresponsible mining” and leave Montanans to pick up the tab.

Hecla describes itself as the largest silver mining company in the country and as owning “a number of exploration and pre-development projects in world-class silver and gold mining districts throughout North America.”

It acquired the Montanore project near Libby in 2016.

The coalition of Indian tribes and environmental groups had sued the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in 2021 alleging the state agency wasn’t enforcing the state’s “bad actor” provision in relation to Baker. That law bars corporations with outstanding obligations from embarking on new projects without paying old cleanup costs.

The groups alleged the DEQ shouldn’t let Hecla move ahead with “bad actor” Baker at the helm. Baker was one of the former leaders of Pegasus Gold Incorporated, which filed for bankruptcy in 1998 and left behind more than $80 million in reclamation and water treatment obligations, the groups alleged.

In May 2024, however, Hecla announced Baker had retired after nearly 23 years of service and was also stepping down from the board. It said the Board of Directors appointed Catherine “Cassie” Boggs, its board chairperson, as interim president and CEO.

In a statement, Boggs thanked Baker for his “valued contributions” to the “silver industry overall” and said a search for a permanent leader would start. She said mining would continue.

“Hecla’s day-to-day mining operations will carry on unabated with the talented and dedicated staff we have at all our operations and at our headquarters,” Boggs said in a statement. “Senior management and I will continue to support and guide our operations and personnel throughout this leadership transition.”

Baker could not be reached late Monday afternoon through a message via LinkedIn about the circumstances under which he retired. His profile page said he left Hecla in May and is in a “career transition.”

Filed by Earthjustice, the lawsuit hinged on Baker’s leadership at Hecla, however. On July 11, the tribes and conservation groups filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss their claim, but said they would continue to work to prevent “irresponsible mining.”

Earthjustice represents the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Fort Belknap Indian Community, Ksanka Elders Advisory Committee, Earthworks, Montana Environmental Information Center, Clark Fork Coalition, Rock Creek Alliance, Montana Conservation Voters, Montana Trout Unlimited, Save Our Cabinets, and Cabinet Resources Group in the “bad actor” litigation.

The coalition said Baker has “no continuing roles at Hecla, no continuing connections, and no continuing responsibilities.” The tribes and conservation groups also said Baker’s retirement would help ensure Montana’s environment is safeguarded “from the worst mining practices.”

“The Cabinet Mountains hold an important position in the relationship between the Ksanka (Kootenai), Salish, and Qlispe people, and all of creation, with the Ksanka holding a particularly special connection to the area,” said Vernon Finley, director of the Kootenai Culture Committee and member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, in a statement.

“While this place is now safe from one bad actor, we stand firm in our resolve to protect our ancestral territory from mining that threatens our sacred places and landscapes. The lands, waters, and wildlife in the Cabinet Mountains are too precious to let our guard down.”

The groups had asked a Lewis and Clark County District judge to rule the DEQ had violated its enforcement obligations under the Metal Mine Reclamation Act and force the agency to enforce the “bad actor” provision against Hecla and Baker.

In their recent news release, the coalition said it had compelled DEQ to bring the initial enforcement action, but then brought its own after the DEQ “abruptly abandoned its enforcement effort.”

“Those of us who live or recreate in the Cabinet Mountains of northwestern Montana know how important it is to protect this special place from irresponsible mining executives,” said Mary Costello of the Rock Creek Alliance and Save Our Cabinets in a statement.

“We are relieved that Phillips Baker is no longer at the helm of Hecla Mining Company, but regret that Montana DEQ reversed direction and chose not to enforce the Bad Actor law.

“Regardless of what mining company or mining executive arrives next on the scene to push through an ill-conceived mining scheme, we will be ready to protect the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness and our clean water.”

The coalition said DEQ filed a “bad actor” enforcement action against Hecla and Baker in 2018, and a district court ruled that DEQ had jurisdiction. However, it said “DEQ announced it was dropping the case, citing the election of a new governor,” among other reasons; the Daily Montanan previously reported DEQ argued the case would take too much “time and money” to pursue.

In an email Monday, a spokesperson for the DEQ said the agency had no comment.

Last week, Hecla announced the Lewis and Clark County District Court had dismissed the lawsuit, as the coalition requested. It said the groups had wanted DEQ to deny exploration and mining permits to Hecla’s subsidiaries.

“With Mr. Baker’s recent retirement from the Company, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit,” Hecla said.

However, Hecla said the groups had made “bad actor” allegations “not based on (Baker’s) roles with Hecla, but because of his prior leadership positions” and defaults at Zortman-Landusky, Basin Creek and Beal Mountain mines.

“With the dismissal of the ‘bad actor’ lawsuit, the company is focused on advancing permitting of the Libby Exploration Project, a silver-copper project located 23 miles south of Libby, Lincoln County, Montana, (about 50 miles north of the company’s Lucky Friday Mine in Idaho),” Hecla said.

The news release from Hecla also said it owns other patented mining claims and “numerous unpatented mining claims at the project, and has submitted a plan for review to the U.S. Forest Service.

“The plan of operations, if approved, would allow for dewatering and rehabilitation of an existing 14,000’ adit (mine entrance), completion of 10,500’ of new underground development, and the commencement of exploration activities at the project,” Hecla said.

But the groups that filed the lawsuit said they will continue their work to protect “some of Montana’s most iconic species in the Cabinet Mountains,” including grizzly bears, wolverines, and bull trout, which the proposed Montanore Mine “gravely threatens.”

“Now that Phillips Baker is no longer at the helm of Hecla, Montanans can breathe just a bit easier knowing that a bad actor is not attempting to open another mine in Montana,” said Derf Johnson, deputy director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, in a statement.

“However, even without Baker, Hecla still intends to open a dangerous mine in Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, and we are not going to give up in assuring that the mine never proceeds.”