montana
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Tribes sue to halt exploratory drilling in Black Hills near sacred ceremonial site | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
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SOUTH DAKOTA Tribes sue to halt drilling SIOUX FALLS — Nine Native American tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska are suing the federal government in a bid to stop exploratory drilling for graphite near a sacred site in the Black Hills. A small group of opponents has been demonstrating at the drilling location…
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Trump administration cancels rule that made conservation a ‘use’ of public lands | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
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MONTANA Interior cancels conservation ‘use’ rule BILLINGS — The Interior Department is canceling a rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as President Donald Trump’s administration eases restrictions on industries and seeks to boost drilling, logging, mining and grazing on taxpayer-owned land. The 2024 rule adopted under former President Joe Biden was meant…
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White House withdraws hospitality executive as National Park Service nominee | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
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MONTANA National parks nominee withdrawn BILLINGS — President Donald Trump is withdrawing his nomination of a hospitality company executive to lead the National Park Service, the White House announced on April 27. The withdrawal of nominee Scott Socha comes as the park service has been shaken by widespread firings as part of the Trump administration’s…
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Trump plans to move Forest Service headquarters to Utah, shutter research sites | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
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UTAH Forest Service bound for Salt Lake City SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump’s administration will move the U.S. Forest Service headquarters out of the nation’s capital to Salt Lake City as part of an organizational overhaul that involves shuttering research facilities in 31 states and concentrating resources in the West, the agency announced…
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Unsalaried legislature in New Mexico asks voters to reconsider volunteer status | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
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NEW MEXICO Voters to decide on paying legislators SANTA FE — Members of the nation’s only unsalaried legislature are asking voters to reconsider their volunteer status that has endured for 114 years since statehood in New Mexico. The state Senate on Feb. 17 narrowly endorsed a constitutional amendment that would do away with the state’s…
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New Mexico launches ‘truth commission’ investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s ranch | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
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NEW MEXICO State investigates Epstein’s ranch SANTA FE — State legislators in New Mexico launched an investigation on Feb. 17 into past activity at a secluded desert ranch where financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once entertained guests and whether local authorities looked the other way. A bipartisan, four-member panel of state House is investigating…
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Record snow drought in Western states raises concern for water shortages, wildfires | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
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MONTANA Record snow drought raises concerns A record snow drought with unprecedented heat is hitting most of the American West, depleting future water supplies, making it more vulnerable to wildfires and hurting winter tourism and recreation. Scientists say snow cover and snow depth are both at the lowest levels they’ve seen in decades, while at…
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Bureau of Land Management revokes American Prairie’s bison leases | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
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MONTANA BLM revokes bison grazing leases The U.S. Department of the Interior announced on Jan. 16 that it is revoking grazing permits in Phillips County that American Prairie had been using to sustain its herd of bison. The decision comes after a three-and-a-half-year battle between the Montana livestock industry, backed by Gov. Greg Gianforte and…
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Sundance kicks off in Utah with premieres, emotional tributes to Robert Redford | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
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UTAH Redford hailed at Sundance kick-off PARK CITY — Robert Redford liked to say that everybody has a story. He’s not the only person who said it, but he is one of the few who did something to celebrate it, his daughter, Amy Redford, said on Jan. 21 ahead of the Sundance Film Festival’s opening…
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Abortion stays legal in Wyoming as top court strikes down laws, including pill ban | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
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WYOMING Court strikes down abortion bans FORT COLLINS — Abortion will remain legal in Wyoming after the state Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 6 that two laws barring the procedure, including the country’s first explicit ban on abortion pills, violate the state constitution. The justices sided with the state’s only abortion clinic and others who…