Public Lands & Waters

A suspect has been arrested for murdering two teenagers who were camping in Arizona in May of this year. Thomas Henry Brown, 31, is being held on a $2 million cash bond for two counts of first-degree murder after authorities say he shot and killed Pandora Kjolsrud, 18, and Evan Clark, 17, on May 2...

On September 10, the Trump administration announced a proposal to reverse the Public Lands Rule, a Biden administration fingerprint on the Bureau of Land Management that affirmed conservation’s equal-footing status with other uses of BLM lands and established conservation and restoration leasing...

Last week, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum signed an order that could drastically remake the Public Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)—an account created by Congress in 1964, using revenue from offshore oil and gas leasing to assist in public-land management. The new directives, as...

Just last month, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced her intention to roll back the 2001 “Roadless Rule,” which prohibits new road construction and most new development on nearly 59 million acres of Forest Service lands. Now, that rollback has been officially released for public...

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recently announced a slew of recent busts of illegal marijuana busts—and they included eye-popping wildlife infractions impacting some of the Golden State’s most iconic rivers. According to a Facebook post, “during the week of August 11, wildlife...

Every summer, trout streams in the West face hot, low water conditions, making for tough fishing—and sometimes lethal conditions for trout. In Montana, famed trout streams like the Big Hole and Beaverhead are plagued with fishing restrictions and sometimes full-on closures in July and August. But...

Sweat is gushing down our faces, pooling on our chins, and dripping onto our handlebars. My hunting buddy and I are pedaling up an old Forest Service logging road, loaded down with rifles and three days of camping gear. It’s unusually hot for a spring day—especially in Montana—but with only a week...

President Trump hasn’t been shy about wielding his pen and his phone to change public land policy, and last week was no different. On July 3rd, the president signed two orders he says are designed to “Make America Beautiful Again.” The first will establish the Make America Beautiful Again Commission...

Last week, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced an intended rollback of a 2001 “Roadless Rule” prohibiting new road construction—and therefore most new development—on nearly 59 million acres of Forest Service lands. The rule was originally established to prevent fragmentation of the...

It’s happened to me twice now, in two separate mid-sized western Montana towns — once in Hamilton and once in Dillon, near where I currently live. I’ve been driving along, completely lost in thought and the radio, when crowds of people standing on sidewalks holding signs have materialized in the...

A new ultra-luxury golf resort has been playing fast and loose with irrigation rules over in the Shields Valley of Montana. Crazy Mountain Ranch (CMR) was purchased in 2021 by CrossHarbor Capital Partners, the private equity firm that also owns the Yellowstone Club and other upscale retreats that...

In the wake of mounting pressure from both colleagues in Congress and hunters and anglers, Senator Mike Lee announced this evening that he has removed his public land sale provision from the "one, big, beautiful budget bill." "Over the past several weeks, I've spent a lot of time listening to...