Drilling information at the Montana Board of Oil Gas and Conservation shows development in potential helium sites. Helium prospecting is picking up in north-central Montana with Canadian companies expanding south after years of development in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Permit holders have six months to show the state what they’re drilling for, ...
Big-Game Hunting Numbers Down From Last Year
The 2021 general big-game hunting season closed Sunday with the four west-central Montana wildlife check stations reporting overall hunter activity and harvest totals down just slightly from last season despite extra mild November weather. As usual the hunter check station near Darby was the regional leader in elk harvest with 133 elk checked ...
U.S. Supreme Court Denies St. Peter’s Health Workers Request To Block Vaccine Mandate
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer denied a request Monday from a group that includes a newly hired oncologist at St. Peter’s Health to block the vaccine mandate being implemented by her previous employer pending an appeal to a lower court. The justice denied the application for injunctive relief against Mass General Brigham Inc., a Mas...
Fish & Wildlife Service Sued Over Expanding Montana Refuge
The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Monday over expansion of hunting and fishing access to federal wildlife refuges including the Swan River National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. It accuses Fish and Wildlife, now led by former Montana Department of Fish Wildlife & Parks Director Martha Williams, of fa...
Montana Sees Rise In COVID Deaths Over Holiday Weekend
The Thanksgiving holiday week brought 71 more COVID-19 related deaths to Montana boosting the total to 2,638 since the start of the pandemic. After adding 1,919 new cases last week active cases totaled 4,248 Monday with 215 active hospitalizations. Of the eligible population in Montana 51% are vaccinated and 8% of kids age five to 11 are vacci...
New COVID Variant Not Yet Detected in Montana
The World Health Organization said Monday the newly detected omicron variant which has a high number of variations could bring a “very high” risk across the globe but so far the variant has not been detected in Montana. The state Department of Public Health and Human Services will notify people when the omicron variant is detected in Montana a...