According to a recent termination report from the Montana Office of Public Instruction, 180 employees have left OPI in the past five years — a turnover rate of nearly 90%. The Montana Free Press Reports 57 staff members left due to “personal reasons,” 45 employees left to pursue other career options, and 38 employees retired since January 2017...
Impact Statement Released For Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service recently released the revised Helena–Lewis and Clark National Forest Land Management Plan and final environmental impact statement. The 2.9-million-acre forest is expected to drive management for the next 15 years. The plan recommends protections for 45 rivers or streams as wild and scenic wh...
Iowa Deer Test Positive For COVID-19
A recently released Iowa study found about one-third of 280 captive and free-ranging deer had tested positive for COVID-19 raising concerns about deer being a reservoir for the virus to mutate. Jennifer Ramsey wildlife veterinarian for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks calls the recent research concerning because there’s a lot of uncertainty ab...
BLM Digitize Easements Of Montana Land With Public Access
The Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service have digitized easements identifying access routes to 450 tracts of public land including about 29,600 acres in Montana and Idaho that had previously been identified as landlocked. Efforts are also underway via legislation introduced in Congress. Both the House and Senate are considering the MA...
Vaccinated Travelers Can Now Pass Through The U.S. – Canadian Border
The United States has kept its land border with Canada closed to non-essential travel since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 but today will allow travelers from Canada as long as they’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Travelers entering by land will not have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test but should be prepared to v...
Montana Tribes Voice Concerns Over Final Congressional Map
Tribal nations and organizations say they’re frustrated with the congressional map Montana’s redistricting and apportionment commission has chosen. Chair Maylinn Smith broke a tie in favor of a map drawn by Republican commission members. Ta’jin Perez with the Native American advocacy group Western Native Voice says tribes in the state have exp...