Public Lands

A longtime environmental advocate and Democratic aide has been nominated by President Joe Biden to oversee roughly a quarter-billion acres of federally owned land in Western states.

A private landowner has donated 3,450 acres of land near Bearmouth to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

As the Montana Legislature prepares to return to Helena after the mid-session break, there is an effort underway to unlock public lands that have been land locked for many years

Montana Senator Steve Daines introduced a bill in the Senate on Thursday that addresses the reopening of public lands that had been locked up for over 35 years as Wilderness Study Areas.

Following a blistering criticism of America's public lands in Forbes magazine, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation renewed it's firm support to keep 'public lands in public hands.'

Superintendent of Public Instruction and U.S. House candidate Denise Juneau had a press conference last week on the importance of public lands. U.S. House Representative Ryan Zinke also discussed managing Montana's lands.

Many western states have investigated the potential of transferring federally managed lands to the states. For its part, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is taking a stand against such policies.

Federal officials will consider hiking royalty rates by 50 percent on coal extracted from massive strip mines on public lands under a pending overhaul of a U.S. Interior Department program.

Hunters and sportsman have an additional 631 acres at their disposal after the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation removed a 3,000-square-foot home from Madison Valley.

Federal officials say at least 30 applications from companies seeking to mine hundreds of millions of tons of coal face suspension as the government reviews sales of the fuel from public lands.