Free Republic

The Bureau of Land Management has made it official Tuesday — coal leasing will end in the Powder River Basin by 2041. The move follows a court order in a federal lawsuit, Western Organization of Resource Councils et al. v. BLM. The judge on the case directed the BLM to redo its environmental analysis, and include both no-leasing and a limited coal leasing alternatives. As a result of that analysis, the BLM said it has determined that “additional leasing of BLM-administered coal is not necessary, based on the current analysis in the Final Supplemental EIS. The analysis indicates that operating...

A notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has been filed in the Gun-Free School Zone case in Billings, Montana.The notice was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Montana, Billings Division, on August 6, 2024. The case was settled with a plea agreement on August 2, 2024. Judge Susan P. Waters did not impose a fine or prison time, but Gabriel was sentenced to three years probation. The probation includes paying $75 per month for the costs of administering it.During the court hearings, Gabriel Metcalf preserved the right to appeal through his...

BILLINGS, Mont.—A Montana rancher illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep killed by hunters in central Asia and the United States to breed “giant” hybrid sheep for sale to private hunting preserves in Texas, according to court documents and federal prosecutors. Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana pleaded guilty to felony charges of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to traffic wildlife during an appearance Tuesday before a federal judge in Great Falls. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Court documents describe a yearslong conspiracy, beginning in 2013, in which Mr....

On January 31, 2024, US District Court Judge Susan P. Watters published an opinion on the motion to dismiss the Gun Free School Zone case in Billings, Montana. She found the Gun Free School Zone Act (GFSZA) to be constitutional. The case has been covered extensively here on AmmoLand. The person charged, Gabriel Metcalf, had reason to carry a firearm for his own defense and that of others outside his home in Billings, Montana. His home is across the street from an elementary school. The school was not in session while he was carrying outside his home.Gabriel Metcalf’s primary defense...

A Finnish cabinet minister saying all indications are that a Chinese ship deliberately damaged... South Korea proclaiming the launch of its first spy satellite... The Israeli Air Force extending its bombing campaign into the southern portions of Gaza... A Pro-Palestinian protester torching herself in front of the Israeli consulate in Atlanta... A federal judge ruling that President Trump has no immunity... The Turkish military striking 16 targets in northern Iraq. The targets linked to Kurdish groups... A former federal prison guard sentenced to more than five years in prison for sexually abusing inmates... A US base in northeastern Syria attacked......

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump. Friday’s ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to complete a new environmental review before they can resume coal sales from federal lands. Among President Joe Biden’s first actions in his first week in office was to suspend oil and gas lease sales — a move later blocked by a federal judge — and he faced pressure from environmental groups to take similar action...

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a rule to end a "secret science" regulation that was imposed under former President Donald Trump that excluded certain studies that didn't make all data publicly available. The agency announced the end of the rule on Wednesday. The move allows the EPA to consider studies that don't make available all data, which is sometimes done to protect privacy. Trump's administration billed the restriction as a transparency measure, but critics argued that it might ultimately do more harm than good for an agency that values such varying scientific data like the EPA. "This action...

Canadian company blocked from getting key permit to continue building BILLINGS, Mont. — The U.S. Supreme Court has handed another setback to the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada by keeping in place a lower court ruling that blocked a key permit for the project. Canadian company TC Energy needs the permit to continue building the long-disputed pipeline from Canada across U.S. rivers and streams. Without it, the project that has been heavily promoted by President Donald Trump faces more delays just as work on it had finally begun this year following years of courtroom battles. Monday’s order also put on...