Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/tag/u-s-forest-service/)
The old warhorses of Neptune Aviation’s aerial firefighting fleet will emerge from retirement this year for display at museums and airports nationwide. The Missoula-based firm retired its World War II-era P2V airtankers last fall — after 24 fire seasons — when the U.S. Forest Service said the vintage planes would no longer be contracted for firefighting missions. (more…) Continue Reading →
The U.S. Forest Service has faced significant budget cuts and the increased demand for resources from the recent wildfire season has compounded the issue that is now affecting the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center. Last week, Cascade County Commissioners sent a letter to Bill Avey, forest supervisor for the Lewis and Clark and Helena National Forests, formally requesting information. (more…) Continue Reading →
“For every complex problem there is a simple solution … which is wrong.”
I learned long ago that there are as many expert opinions about an issue as there are people thinking about it. Every year, or every bad fire year, there are numerous opinions regarding what should be done to minimize the economic costs of fire, from loss of timber to loss of homes. (more…) Continue Reading →
Bill Fleiner, a former Lewis and Clark County undersheriff, is accused of embezzling more than $34,000 from three federal agency programs during his tenure as Broadwater County’s Disaster and Emergency Services coordinator in 2012. According to documents filed in U.S. District Court, a grand jury has charged Fleiner with three counts of theft from a local government receiving federal funding. If convicted, Fleiner could be sent to prison for up to 10 years and fined up to $250,000. (more…) Continue Reading →
On the Friday before the Fourth of July, as the camper trailers started rolling by on the Boulder River Road where it turns to gravel about 30 miles south of Big Timber, Carl Ronneberg performed a decade-old ritual. At the Main Boulder Ranger Station, a log structure that’s one of the oldest Forest Service facilities in the country, he’d spent the morning sweeping the floor and tidying up. Then he went out, raised the American flag on a wooden pole and opened the station’s doors for another summer season. (more…) Continue Reading →
A variety of back-roads history tours and talks on historic preservation are on tap this week in Red Lodge, which is hosting the third Montana Preservation Road Show. Organized by the Montana Preservation Alliance and numerous other partners, the road show debuted in Dillon in 2012 and continued in Lewistown in 2014. This year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the Red Lodge road show is expanding from three days to four to accommodate more speakers and day tours. (more…) Continue Reading →
