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The Western Governors' Association released a report today highlighting the voluntary efforts in 11 states to conserve the habitat of sage-grouse as part of an effort to avoid a federal listing of the bird under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The association, which represents the governors of 19 Western states, said that “the breadth and depth of voluntary conservation efforts across the region, if allowed to run their course, will provide the bird with the necessary habitat to live and thrive.” The greater sage grouse is found in 11 states and its habitat encompasses 186 million acres . The U.S....

This afternoon, Fact Check.org produced a fact-check that ostensibly criticizes U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) for his contention that there has never been an instance of ground water contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing. Of course, this piece isn’t really about Inhofe at all; but before we get into that, we can’t help but wonder why they are fact-checking Inhofe and not former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson … or Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz … or Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell — all of whom have said exactly the same thing. Rather than a “fact-check,” it reads more like an advocacy...

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test reentry vehicle today at 3:53 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The test reentry vehicle impacted in a pre-established test area in the Pacific Ocean near the island of Guam approximately 40 minutes after launch. All test launches verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system, providing valuable data to ensure a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent. The launch team, under the direction of the 576th...

Greetings and Salutations, readers! My Nome de Guerre in the battle for truth and objective journalism is Jeremiah Johnson. I hope to pique your interest with a Montana issue that, regardless of the outcome, will have severe ramifications and set a precedent nationwide. This article covers the CSKT (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes) proposed water-rights compact that threatens to take away the private ownership of water for roughly 100,000 Montanans. Should this measure pass, it can set a precedent for the courts throughout the United States by the Federal Government to deprive us of our water rights. The tale of...

predation, not human activity, has reduced bird’s numbers. A coalition of rural Western counties and business interests is contesting the science being used to decide whether to list the Greater sage-grouse as endangered or threatened, accusing the Obama administration of relying on “selective, false and biased” research. Denver attorney Kent Holsinger filed three Data Quality Act challenges Wednesday with the Department of the Interior on behalf of the coalition, which includes the Western Energy Alliance, ranchers, mining and drilling companies and 19 counties in Colorado, Montana, Nevada and Utah. “We’ve documented real issues with transparency and scientific integrity ... The...

Rob O’Neill, former member of the Navy's famed SEAL Team Six and purported Osama Bin Laden killer, has inked a deal with the network to offer military expertise and analysis across the network's roster of programs. This comes after FNC hit ratings highs with its O’Neill sit-down, The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden. “Rob O’Neill is an American hero who dedicated his life to serving our country and protecting our freedoms," said chairman and CEO Roger Ailes. "It’s incredibly rare to have someone in a television contributor role with his leadership experience and expertise at the fighting unit level....

Forty-seven Senate Republicans are signaling in an open letter to Iran and the White House that a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program will be at risk once President Obama leaves office. “It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system,” the senators wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg. “Thus, we are writing to bring to your attention two features of our Constitution — the power to make binding international agreements and the different character of federal offices — which you should seriously...

As Nick Pavelich tells it, in the deadpan cadence of a stand-up comedian, the conversation with Sam Williamson on the subject of staging a two-man version of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" went fairly quickly. "We'd worked together on 'Macbeth,' " Pavelich said, "and I sent him a text. I said 'How about two-man Shakespeare'? Sam said, 'Yeah, what show?' And I said, 'Well, probably "Romeo and Juliet," huh?' And he said, 'Yeah, that's right.' " "It's the only acceptable answer," Williamson said. The inspiration for their production is as simple as that: a serious tribute to Shakespeare's language, sans...

Kansas appears on the verge of becoming among the most welcoming states to people who want to pack heat. A bill promising Kansans the ability to carry concealed firearms — without taking safety training or weathering the background checks required in most of the country — won initial approval in the state Senate on Wednesday. The change, expected to pass Thursday to a likely receptive House, would make Kansas a “constitutional carry” state. That would mean citizens would not need a permit to carry a hidden gun. The bill would maintain the current permit process for people who want to...

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline has stirred considerable debate about the future of American energy policy. While the Senate’s recent vote to block its construction tables the discussion for the time being, it does not resolve major questions about how the U.S. transports oil today. With the ongoing shale gas boom, the U.S. is set to pass Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer. Looking beyond KXL, such a rapid rise in production means American transportation networks are straining under new pressures to safely and efficiently move all this energy between different markets. The following figures show how Keystone...

Here are the 10 most bizarre Tea Party bills currently being debated in the Montana Legislature, which is now controlled by the right wing of the Republican Party. Some of these bills, believe it or not, have a chance of making it to the governor’s desk. 1) Prepare for National Ammunition shortage (SB 122). When Obama comes to get our guns and bullets, Montana will be ready... 2) Establish Armed Militias in Every Town (SB 130). Even if we have enough bullets, Montana could still be in grave danger from the federal government... 3) Require that nipples and areolae be...

Mesa County commissioners on Tuesday directed Mesa County Attorney Patrick Coleman to draft a notice of intent to sue the federal government over the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s listing of the Gunnison sage-grouse as a threatened species. Gunnison County filed its own notice of intent in December to bring civil action against the Fish and Wildlife Service for, the county believes, improperly listing the bird as a threatened species and naming Gunnison County and acreage in a handful of other Colorado and Utah counties, including Mesa, as critical habitat for the sage-grouse. Mesa County decided to follow with its...

HARRISON, Mont. — After Spencer Ore was banned from a Montana high school in 2013 for bringing two pistols to campus and was accused of making threats, his parents sought help with the hope that one day he'd reintegrate into society. Margaret and Stephen Ore visited him every weekend while he was in juvenile detention. They invested in nearly two years of treatment for underlying behavioral problems. When his doctors and probation officers said Spencer, now 16, was well enough to return to public school, the Ores moved across the state to enroll him at a school in quiet, rural...

Yoga pants are under attack. Lately, they have been a hot topic on Facebook, blogs and other corners of the web. Some say they are too tight. Others complain that we, as a society, have lost all sense of modesty. The question has been posed: Should women wear yoga pants in public? For one state legislator in Montana, the struggle against yoga pants is real. No. Seriously. From the Billings Gazette:

A Montana homeowner was sentenced to 70 years in prison for the “stand your ground” killing of German exchange student. Markus Kaarma, 30, was convicted in December of deliberate homicide after he gunned down 17-year-old Diren Dede in his garage. He’ll have to serve 20 years before he’s eligible for parole.

HELENA – The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a lower-court decision that had thrown out state laws requiring parents to be notified and give consent before their underage daughter could get an abortion. The 4-1 decision said District Judge Jeff Sherlock of Helena erred when he ruled that the questions of the constitutionality of the 2011 and 2013 laws are essentially the same as had been settled when a 1995 parental-notification law was ruled unconstitutional in 1999. That ruling sends the case back to Sherlock’s court, where Attorney General Tim Fox will now defend the laws against a lawsuit...

Montana legislators will consider Wednesday afternoon whether to join every other state in the nation in putting anti-bullying policy into law. A bill being introduced by Democrat Rep. Kimberly Dudik in the Montana House Education Committee would define bullying, prohibit it in public schools and require that public school districts enact their own policies addressing bullying. […] Julie Hertzog, director of PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, said most state laws enforcing bullying definitions and procedures were enacted in the mid-2000s, with updates like cyberbullying provisions being added every year. She said the laws build better environments for kids to learn...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday that both Nevada and Tennessee have joined the Lone Star state's challenge of President Obama's executive amnesty, bringing the total number of states fighting Obama's unilateral immigration policies to 26. “Texas is proud to lead a coalition that now includes a majority of the United States standing up against the President’s rogue actions,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “The momentum against the President's lawlessness continues to build with Tennessee and Nevada joining the effort to protect our states from the economic and public safety implications of illegal amnesty. As President...

Here is the full text of the bill: A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR AN ENHANCED SENTENCE FOR A PERSON CONVICTED OF A FORCIBLE FELONY AGAINST A PREGNANT WOMAN." BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA: NEW SECTION. Section 1. Additional sentence for forcible felony against pregnant woman. (1) An offender who is convicted of committing a forcible felony, as defined in 45-2-101, against a pregnant woman and who, at the time of the offense, knew or should have known that the woman was pregnant shall, in addition to the punishment provided...

Officials in Montana say they have detected traces of oil in the water supply of the town of Glendive, days after up to 50,000 gallons of oil spilled from a break in a pipeline along the Yellowstone River. NPR's Kirk Siegler is reporting on the story for our Newscast unit. He says: "The EPA and other emergency responders are having bottled water shipped to ... Glendive. Preliminary tests have indicated that some traces of oil have entered Glendive's water supply. There have been no reports yet of injuries, but the damage assessment is ongoing and everything is being hampered by...