Montana/Region

State aircraft sidelined after Montana fire helicopter crash

Published on Thu, 06/17/2021 - 3:40pm
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BILLINGS (AP) — A Montana firefighting agency imposed a 48-hour stand-down of all its aircraft after a helicopter crash landed and burned in heavy winds.

The sidelining of the state Department of Natural Resources Conservation fleet of seven helicopters and three fixed-wing aircraft comes as Montana’s fire season grew dramatically more severe this week. Numerous major blazes ignited across central and southern Montana.

Osprey population recovered, but newer challenges emerge

Published on Thu, 06/17/2021 - 3:39pm
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By Keila Szpaller
The Daily Montanan

 

NorthWestern Energy was in Augusta earlier this month putting up a nesting platform for ospreys following a fire this spring from a nest built on a power pole. 

US West swelters in record-busting heat, risking wildfires

Published on Wed, 06/16/2021 - 3:16pm
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PHOENIX (AP) — Dangerous, record-busting heat spread across the U.S. Southwest on Tuesday and into parts of Utah, Montana and Wyoming as a dome of high pressure hovered over a large swath of the region, pushing temperatures into the triple digits this week and intensifying the risk for wildfires amid a long-running drought. 

Some of the highest temperatures were seen in bone-dry Arizona, where the National Weather Service forecast a record high of 117 degrees in Phoenix. The previous high for the date was 115 degrees, set in 1974. 

Biologists set to begin grizzly bear trapping

Published on Wed, 06/16/2021 - 3:15pm

As part of ongoing efforts required under the Endangered Species Act to monitor the population of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone Ecosystem, the U.S. Geological Survey, in conjunction with Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, informs the public that pre-baiting and scientific capture operations are once again about to begin within northwestern portions of the Custer-Gallatin National Forest, south of I-90, in Montana. 

Just where did that 60 million years go?

Published on Tue, 06/15/2021 - 3:39pm
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By Michael Poland

Visitors to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park might have noticed an odd geological feature near the top of Mount Everts — an unconformity! This juxtaposition of different rocks serves as a marker of missing history in the Yellowstone region.

Glacier considers radio, cell signal upgrades

Published on Tue, 06/15/2021 - 3:37pm

MISSOULA (AP) — Public review has begun for a proposal to boost radio and cellphone service in Glacier National Park in Montana, park officials said. The deadline to comment is July 11.

The proposal calls for upgrades to communications from the National Park Service, which uses outdated technology or can’t reach remote areas of the park, the Missoulian reported.

Currently, cellphone service is only available in the western part of the park at Apgar and the eastern part of the park because of commercial cell towers outside the park borders.

Yellowstone National Park sets tourism record for May

Published on Mon, 06/14/2021 - 3:18pm
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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park had its busiest May as tourism continued to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.

The park had over 483,000 recreation visits last month, up 11% from May 2019, park officials said Friday.

So far, Yellowstone is having its busiest year in recent memory. The park recorded over 658,000 visits from January through May, the most since 594,000 visits during that time in 2016.

Two killed in mine accident identified

Published on Mon, 06/14/2021 - 3:10pm

NYE (AP) — The Stillwater County Coroner’s Office has identified two men who were killed last week in an underground accident at a Montana mine.

Sixty-five-year-old Dale Ketola of Columbus, Montana and 55-year-old Jerry Ashlock of Caldwell, Idaho died Wednesday in a crash at the Stillwater Mine near the community of Nye, according to a coroner’s statement released by county Sheriff Charles Kem.

The Billings Gazette reports that both men were pronounced dead by the time first responders arrived at the scene.

Yellowstone unveils automated electric cars

Published on Fri, 06/11/2021 - 4:28pm
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BILLINGS (AP) — Park officials have launched the first tests of electric vehicles in Yellowstone National Park that are capable of operating without drivers.

The park on Wednesday launched a $360,000 public experiment into the potential future of visitor transportation, unveiling two eight-passenger, cube-shaped vehicles that will be tested at Canyon Village, The Billings Gazette reported  Wednesday.

Judge blocks drilling plans in 2 states, citing bird habitat

Published on Fri, 06/11/2021 - 4:16pm

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A judge has halted plans for oil and gas drilling on vast areas of Wyoming and Montana, citing concerns about a sagebrush-dwelling bird.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management didn’t adequately consider how the drilling would affect the greater sage grouse, nor an option to defer drilling in the bird’s prime habitat, Idaho U.S. District Judge Ronald E. Bush ruled Wednesday.

Bush ordered more study of potential effects on the bird before drilling may proceed.