With the final purchase of 2,500 acres, Five Valleys Land Trust has not only preserved the majority of Mount Dean Stone for future generations, but it also created only the fourth community forest in the state.
On Wednesday, EPA Region 8 administrator KC Becker and her staff flew into Missoula mainly to tour some of the Clark Fork River Superfund sites, including the Smurfit Stone Mill site.
While Missoula and Bozeman are perfectly suited to let voters consider local measures, including the regulation of single-use plastics, a bill passed by the Legislature in 2021 gives more power to lawmakers from the likes of Circle and Malta – both located hundreds of miles away – than it does to municipal voters grappling with local issues.
Hundreds gathered at the state capitol to show state politicians that Montanans are watching legislators’ attempts to steal money from a popular public land fund.
Environmental groups are asking the U.S. Forest Service to stop diminishing one of the few ready-made tools mankind has to slow climate change: mature and old-growth forests.