HELENA, Mont. – Conservation groups in Montana are hoping state lawmakers can work out the details on a bill introduced to modify sage grouse protections.

Senate Bill 299 would exempt certain types of development in sage grouse habitat. In particular, the telecommunications industry has raised concerns about performing maintenance and other operations on remote cell towers.

But the bill raises red flags for Tom Puchlerz, a retired U.S. Forest Service employee who's now on the Montana Wildlife Federation board.

He says a diverse group of stakeholders reached the historic agreement to manage sage grouse habitat in 2015, and this bill could erode that.

"It tips the scales in favor of development, and that really handicaps Montana's effort and our track record of managing that species,” Puchlerz says. “We've done a good job of managing sage grouse, and it certainly could lead to a future endangered species listing."

Puchlerz says implementation of the Montana Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program four years ago kept the bird from being listed as endangered.

SB 299 has passed the Senate and is now in the House. Its sponsor, Sen. Mike Lang, a Republican from Malta, has been working with conservation groups to amend the bill.

Amy Seaman, conservation program manager for Montana Audubon, says the telecom industry wants to bypass an assessment known as the Habitat Quantification Tool to work on projects already in place.

She maintains the industry can already do that, making this legislation unnecessary. And she adds if the bill is passed, stronger conservation language should be included as well.

"Why don't we then add just a little more language to strengthen the fact that this plan does need to get us to a net gain in sagebrush habitat for sage grouse?" Seaman stresses.

Steve Platt, a volunteer board member with the Montana chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, says sage grouse habitat protections safeguard other species, such as antelope and mule deer.

And he says he’s worried management changes could trigger an endangered species listing for the bird.

"An endangered species list decision would be bad for hunters, and agriculture and industry – everybody,” he states. “It would tie our hands and that's the opposite of what we want to see in Montana."


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As the cleanup effort continues at Hobbs State Park Conservation Area in Rogers, officials with Arkansas State Parks have authorized a temporary firewood permit to help remove some of the fallen trees. The park was damaged by tornadoes in May of last year.

Mark Clippinger, superintendent at Hobbs State Park Conservation Area in Rogers, said the east side of the park received the most damage.

"One set of trees got knocked down and pushed some other trees down," he explained. "We also noticed that along the roadways and the hollows the air got pulled up into the inflow from the tornado where it was compressed before the tornado released it and sucked that timber up along those hollows and valleys, up onto the roadway."

The firewood permits are available at the Hobbs State Park Visitor Center and will be good for up to two months. Permit holders will be allowed to take unlimited quantities of downed timber within designated areas.

Park officials said removing the dead limbs will help reduce insect infestations, mitigate wildfire risk and support ecological recovery. Clippinger added that debris left around the park will be beneficial to wildlife, and said they are also conducting prescribed burns to open up more space for animals and nature.

"Having some of this material on the ground will provide shelter for turkeys and other ground-nesting birds as well. And there's plenty of debris down out here and in the surrounding community for that now that which will help those species. And some of the logs and material will help the reptiles and amphibians find shelter and a home," he continued.

The permitting program will run through December 31st. Hobbs State Park Conservation Area is the largest of Arkansas' 52 state parks.


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New Mexico residents have until the end of today to comment on a draft of the new State Wildlife Action Plan.

It identifies more than 500 species that require a need for conservation - more than double the number listed in the previous plan from 2017.

Ray Trejo's job as outreach coordinator for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation requires him to spend a lot of time outdoors in the southern half of the state.

He said he's seeing significant changes in the landscape due to ongoing drought and unprecedented dust storms.

Trejo pointed to mesquite shrubs - which both foxes and rabbits use for cover and shelter - not blooming on their previous schedule due to a changing climate.

"Things work in this ecosystem because of the diversity of the specifies that we have," said Trejo. "From our pollinators, vertebrates, habitat, it's one big family."

Last month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency due to persistent drought and escalating fire risk.

The state's game department updates the wildlife plan every ten years. The draft goes to the Department of Game and Fish on Friday for review and eventual approval.

The release of the plan follows passage by the New Mexico Legislature of a bill expanding the mission of the game department beyond its traditional role of managing game and fish for recreation and food supply.

Senate Bill 5 changes the name of the Department of Game and Fish starting next year to the New Mexico Department of Wildlife. Trejo said the change is overdue.

"The agency will be poised to lead the conservation movement," said Trejo, "in recognizing other species of greatest conservation need."

Trejo added that the plan is intended to avert the need for action by the federal government to list species under the Endangered Species Act - which can have dramatic impacts on other land uses.

Comments on the 2025 draft State Wildlife Action Plan can be submitted by email at wildlife.dgf.nm.gov.

The National Park Service faces at least two lawsuits for its latest bison management plan for Yellowstone National Park, the first update released in about 25 years.

The new plan allows for a slightly larger bison population in the park, between 3,500 and 6,000 animals, as well as more space for them to roam and increased capacity for people to hunt them.

The State of Montana is suing, alleging a lack of cooperation in planning. The conservation group Alliance for the Wild Rockies is also suing.

Mike Garrity, executive director of the alliance said, the plan's Environmental Impact Statement does not follow the most current science.

"We want the Park Service to do a new EIS that is honest," Garrity emphasized. "Then we could have an intelligent discussion and debate about wild bison."

The plan aims to prevent the spread of brucellosis, a bacterial disease that can lower birth rates in cattle, which is a priority for local ranchers. A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine showed all recent cases of the disease in cattle were transmitted by wild elk, not bison.

The Park Service plan received some praise for incorporating the Bison Conservation Transfer Program, which relocates some healthy animals to tribal nations across the U.S. but Garrity argued the plan needs work around hunting protocols, which lead to intensive hunting in one gulch which acts as a migration bottleneck.

"Hunters are just lining up and it's become a shooting gallery," Garrity explained. "It's not a 'fair chase' hunt."

Both the Alliance lawsuit and the state's will be heard in Montana's Billings Division U.S. District Court.