Shutdown Smokescreen? Public Lands Furloughs Could Become Layoffs - Mountain Journal Trump administration leaders planned more job cuts before budget impasse closed federal government

As federal employees face furloughs amid congressional loggerheads over the federal budget, Yellowstone National Park employees, visitors and local businesses are navigating a series of uncertainties about operations at the destination that drew more than 4.7 million visitors last year.

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Shutdown Comes for National Parks, Nation - Mountain Journal It remains unclear if park gates will close or remain open with limited staff. But budget impasse could have bigger impact than just furloughs, government watchers warn

Shutdown plans come for National Parks, with indications of much bigger changes looming

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What Happens to National Parks if the Government Shuts Down? - Mountain Journal What we know as Congress hurtles toward a Wednesday funding deadline for the federal government

Odds are feds go dark midnight Tuesday

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UPDATED: Wildfire Services Stay Independent in New Federal Plans for 2026 - Mountain Journal US departments of Interior, Agriculture responses to Trump unification order keep Forest Service fire management separate

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Opinion | The wolf-killing case that could change Wyoming By dragging a muzzled wolf into a bar, Cody Roberts also dragged Wyoming’s outdated treatment of wildlife into broader public view, writes Wendy Keefover.

OPINION: By dragging a muzzled wolf into a bar, Cody Roberts also dragged Wyoming's outdated treatment of wildlife into broader public view, writes Wendy Keefover.

USDA Starts Rolling Up Landmark ‘Roadless Rule’ - Mountain Journal Critics say Trump administration’s attempt at ‘commonsense management of our national forests’ jeopardizes 58 million acres of public lands

Where the roads don’t go

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How to Count a Wolf - Mountain Journal Marathon FWP commission meeting reveals complexities of managing wolves in Montana and across Greater Yellowstone

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Newsmax pays $67 million to settle defamation case linked to 2020 election coverage The right-wing news channel Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to Dominion Voting Systems over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election. A trial had been scheduled for October.

The right-wing news channel Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to Dominion Voting Systems over its coverage of the 2020 presidential election. A trial had been scheduled for October.

What I Learned From Reading 1,334 Grant Applications - Nieman Reports An inside look at the journalism grant review process reveals how to write a winning application: Read the instructions carefully, flesh out your story, and please, don’t rely on AI tools, writes long...

Grant funding can open doors for journalists to pursue ambitious reporting projects — but how do you make your application stand out?

Read our top tips on how to write a winning grant proposal ⬇️

niemanreports.org/journalists-...

Please be careful on Thursday Montana

Wyoming will lose approximately $50 million in annual revenue to lower federal coal royalties contained in the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill, according to a report by state financial forecasters.

Read more ➡️ wyofile.com/forecasters-...

Feds Violated Endangered Species Act in Denying Gray Wolf Protections, Court Rules - Mountain Journal In 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied further federal protections to wolves in Western states, prompting lawsuit

A federal court in Missoula has sided with a coalition of environmental groups to block a ruling to remove Western gray wolves from protections warranted under the Endangered Species Act.

“Ultimately, management of Canis lupus must not be by a political yo-yo process," Judge Donald Molloy wrote.

"We’ve got 120-some national forests and administrative units. Do you want all those people reporting to the chief?”

I don't think they want anyone reporting. They just want folks to do as they are told.

RIP to this legend.

Tom Lehrer, one of the cleverest lyricists ever, pretty much defined political satire through his music in the 1950s and 60s.
He was also a really good piano player.

Damn.

Forest Service to Abandon Nine Regional Offices - Mountain Journal As Washington continues slash-and-burn policies for federal agencies, USDA announces consolidation of offices responsible for 193 million acres of public land

As Washington, D.C. continues slash-and-burn policies for federal agencies, the USDA plans to close the Forest Service's nine regional offices responsible for 193 million acres of public land.

Robert Chaney looks at what it means for Greater Yellowstone and the Region 1 Headquarters in Missoula.

Turning in my Badge Decades of analog folios retrieved from a silenced newsroom, but not the digital chronicles of years of research and reporting

Speaking out following a final visit to the headquarters of the silenced Voice of America. open.substack.com/pub/newsguy/...

New Wildlife Inventory Reveals Critical Role of Declining Rangelands - Mountain Journal MSU builds first catalog of rangeland-dependent species, creating baseline for conservation, land management.

Rangelands, those wide-open spaces dominated by grasses, shrubs and sagebrush are rapidly declining across the United States. Now, for the first time, researchers at MSU have created a comprehensive inventory of the wildlife that rely on these ecosystems, identifying a total of 1,066 species.

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Environmental regulators have launched an investigation into a heavily trafficked lake in the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range, following rumors of unsafe water.

With an enterococci reading 384 times the safety threshold, the lake topped all other 981 lakes sampled ➡️ WyoFile.com

Trump Invokes Roosevelt With ‘Make America Beautiful’ Plan - Mountain Journal President announces all-of-government effort to protect ecosystems, boost recreation access on public lands while stripping environmental guardrails in favor of energy development

Trump Invokes Roosevelt With ‘Make America Beautiful’ Plan mountainjournal.org/trump-invoke...

Trump Order: Foreign Visitors Will Pay for National Park Repairs - Mountain Journal As president rolls out new conservation policies, a recent study suggests surcharges on international tourists to Yellowstone would help allay its maintenance backlog. Would it also deter internationa...

3rd of July surprise: Trump plan to make foreign tourists pay for NPS maintenance

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Spent much of the week parsing a study claiming surcharging foreign visitors $100 extra would save NPS. 1 day before pub, Trump EO’d the idea. Updated story Friday at MountainJournal.org

Western public land sale axed from Senate budget bill - WyoFile Utah Sen. Mike Lee withdraws a plan that could have auctioned more than a million acres.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee axed his land-sale provision from the Senate reconciliation budget bill Saturday evening. Conservationists erupted in virtual applause when Lee conceded after weeks of contentious debate over whether to sell off property owned by all Americans. wyofile.com/western-publ...

Bigger question: Who at FWS is left to respond?

News: in aftermath of Israeli strikes on Iran, and the potential widening of the conflict, staffers from the Voice of America Persian language service have been urgently called back - per 4 VoA staffers.

An admission by Trump administration of the network's utility during crisis.

Not the ending many expected in this long,sad story

Federal Budgets Reveal Plans to Consolidate Wildland Firefighting Forces The U.S. Forest Service would surrender wildfire duties to the Interior Department starting in 2026.

One Big Beautiful Wildfire Force?

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Travel drying up

What a way to run a coal mine