Alexis Bonogofsky

Recent Posts

Film tracks efforts to protect prime elk-hunting habitat

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Durfee

In 2012, Montanans were introduced to two relatively unknown billionaire brothers from Texas who were in the process of purchasing hundreds of thousands of acres of ranch land in Montana. The Wilks brothers, Farris and Dan — now the second-largest landowners in the state — had made their fortune selling their company Frac Tech, one of the first large hydraulic fracturing companies in the country, at the height of the oil boom, in a deal that was reportedly worth $3.2 billion. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Culture, Montana, News, BLM, Durfee Hills, Elliot Woods, Little Snowy Mountains, Public lands

Rocky students lead the way in Montana turtle study

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Kayhan

Six years ago, during a walk along the Yellowstone River, I caught a glimpse of something I had never seen before. It was obviously a turtle, but with a shell unlike any I had ever seen before — a shell that looked like a pancake. One second this beautiful creature was there, sunning itself on a muddy beach, and then the next all I saw were ripples where it slid into the water to escape me. I found out later it was a spiny softshell turtle – a shy, elusive reptile that is found in the river systems of southeast Montana and about which wildlife biologists know little. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Montana, News, Fish, Kayhan Ostovar, Rocky Mountain College, spiny softshell turtle, Wildlife and Parks, Yellowstone River

The Top 10 (plus 6) Montana photo feeds on Instagram

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You know when you start a project and you think it will be simple and straight-forward but then you dig into it a little and it turns out it is going to be way more complicated than you thought and if you had known that in the beginning you probably wouldn’t have taken it on in the first place? That’s what happened to me last year when I proposed a “Top 10 Montana photographers to follow on Instagram” story to Last Best News. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Culture, Photo Galleries, Instagram, Montana, photography

Opinion: Five years later, thoughts on an oil spill

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Boat

Early in the morning on July 2, 2011, I walked down the gravel road on our farm to let the goats out to graze for the day. I found the Yellowstone River flowing through our hay fields and summer pasture and, along with the water, an oily rainbow sheen and large clumps of crude oil sticking to trees, cattails and brush. It was in our sloughs, our pond and Blue Creek. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Opinion, Alexis Bonogofsky, Exxon, oil spill, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Silvertip pipeline, Steve Daines, Yellowstone River

Otter Creek: An important victory for an important place

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Overlook

By now the demise of the Otter Creek mine is old news. I thought I should write something about it but I didn’t. Talking to a good friend a couple of weeks later, I told him that it felt weird to write, photograph, organize and spend a significant amount of my life and emotional energy on something and then let the end of it pass without a note or retrospective. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Opinion, Arch Coal, Emigrant Creek, Livingston Enterprise, Otter Creek, Tongue River Railroad, Yellowstone National Park

Miles City wagon train is a Sprague family tradition

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Nap

Rancher Roger Sprague’s annual Miles City wagon train started on a warm and calm Wednesday evening on the Coffee Ranch just north of Miles City. Wagon train enthusiasts and their outriders gathered that evening to set up camp and prepare for a 14-mile wagon train on Thursday and a 12-mile trail into Miles City on Friday to officially open the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Diversions, Montana, Bucking Horse Sale, Miles City, Roger Sprague, Wagon Train

A lesson for landowners: How to deal with an oil spill

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Alexis

Ah, memories. In July of 2011, my farm was flooded in oil from an Exxon pipeline that burst under the Yellowstone River. Landowners along the river grouped up pretty quickly since many of our families lived there for decades and together we went through months of dealing with cleanup workers, water and soil testing, chronic coughs and stress. Now we sit back and watch you go through an oil spill. Although the circumstances are different, I can tell you these things shake out the same way, all over the country. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Montana, Alexis Bonogofsky, EPA, Exxon, Glendive, Gov. Steve Bullock, Yellowstone River