Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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In June, The Department of the Interior announced that more than 1,900 state and local governments around the country will receive a total of $578.8 million in Payments in Lieu of Taxes funding for 2023. Because local governments cannot tax federal lands, annual PILT payments help to defray the costs associated with maintaining important community services. Valley County received $1,335,998 in PILT funding in 2023. This compares to $1.186 million in 2022 and $1.153 million in 2021. Valley County was listed as having 1.122 million acres of feder...
Twenty groups representing agricultural, environmental, forestry, wildlife, nutrition and hunger advocates have launched the “Farm Bill for America’s Families: Sustaining Our Future” campaign to urge passage of the 2023 farm bill this year. Farm Bill for America’s Families brings together stakeholders who support the farm bill and recognize its profound impact on the well-being of all Americans. The campaign seeks to engage consumers, leaders and lawmakers alike on the importance of the farm bill and highlights five core objectives: food securi...
Governor Greg Gianforte on June 26 provided further opposition to a proposed rule by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which would alter the use of BLM lands to the detriment of recreation, livestock grazing, responsible resource development, and public access. The proposed rule seeks to define “conservation” as a use within the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), which requires BLM to manage its lands on the basis of multiple use and sustained yield. In a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and BLM Director Tracy Sto...
Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02) submitted public comments to the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Land Management on their proposed Conservation and Landscape Health rule that will lock up swaths of public land for “conservation leases.” “This rule is just another example of the Biden Administration weaponizing the government to appease radical environmentalists at the expense of the people of Montana,” said Rep. Rosendale. “This expansive rule will limit recreation, timber, grazing, and important energy development on public la...
Beaver Branch Road reopened to vehicle traffic June 30, after Bureau of Land Management (BLM) staff from the Glasgow Field Office replaced a culvert damaged by spring runoff. A small section of the road near Grub Dam and Reservoir in Valley County was temporarily closed on June 26 to facilitate the culvert replacement work. The repair site is located about 17 miles southwest of Glasgow. During the construction, Glasgow Field Office staff planned to close the section of road between Grub Dam and...
The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is proud to announce that Mike Borgreen, a dedicated biologist and current acting field manager from the Glasgow Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been awarded the 2023 RSA Gold Star Award for his exceptional contributions to conservation and land stewardship. The RSA Gold Star Award is presented annually to individuals who demonstrate outstanding commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible land management practices in the ranching...
Joining a group of western governors, Governor Greg Gianforte on June 15 opposed a proposed rule by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which would alter the use of BLM lands to the detriment of recreation, livestock grazing, responsible resource development, and public access. The proposed rule seeks to define “conservation” as a use within the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which requires BLM to manage its lands on the basis of multiple use and sustained yield. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland with five wes...
Dear Editor, With all the checks and balances ingrained in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, it is incomprehensible how one election is totally destroying the foundation of our very successful republic. Wayne Hage, in his book 'Storm over Rangelands', extensively documented how the eastern industrialists coveted the natural resources of the western states and since the 1880's had been using the federal government to keep these resources out of the hands of the western settlers (i.e....
Dear Editor, The liberal Biden administration is, apparently, dropping the other shoe for the Montana federal grazing district ranchers. The first shoe dropped in 2014 when the federal solicitors argued in front of the Montana Water Court's Water Master that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had built the reservoirs and pits on the federal allotments therefore they owned the water and our cows were their beneficial use. Why the Montana Water Master agreed with them when he had to know they wer...
On April 20, the Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) hosted a rollover auction at Glasgow Stockyards to raise funds for its appeal of Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) decision regarding American Prairie’s grazing allotments. The auction was supported by 34 donors and raised $20,100, the highest amount raised for the fund to date. Each rollover auction will raise funds for the MSGA Advocacy Fund, which allows for a collective voice for cattle ranchers advocating for change and accountability at the state and federal levels. This fund is...
At approximately 2:35 p.m., on March 29, an incident occurred at Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital (FMDH) involving a Valley County detention officer, sheriff deputies, a hospital employee and an inmate from the Valley County detention center, later identified as 47-year-old Jonathan Ryan Hamilton. Hamilton was originally arrested on a Blaine County arrest warrant in another state and was returned to Montana to face several criminal charges pertaining to child sexual assault. According to Valley...
Interested in volunteering your time to advise the Bureau of Land Management on public land management issues? BLM Resource Advisory Councils are citizen-based groups which assist in the development of recommendations that address public land management issues. Both the Western Montana and the Missouri Basin RACs are accepting applications until April 28, 2023. Resource Advisory Councils are chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and consists of 15 members who serve two to three-year terms. The BLM is looking to fill vacancies in...
To mark Montana Agriculture Day, Governor Greg Gianforte convened a roundtable discussion with ag leaders to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the industry on March 21. “Agriculture is Montana’s number one industry, and we’re committed to being a good partner to producers as they drive our economy, strengthen our communities, and feed the world,” Gov. Gianforte said. “With farmers and ranchers in mind, we delivered Montanans the largest tax cut in state history, and with farmers and ranchers in mind, we’re investing in value-added...
Update To The Incident From March 29 The Yellowstone County Coroner’s Office has identified 47-year-old, Jonathan Ryan Hamilton, as the deceased person from the March 29, 2023, officer involved shooting incident, that occurred in Glasgow, Montana. Hamilton was originally arrested, on a Blaine County Arrest Warrant, in another state and was returned to Montana to face several criminal charges pertaining to child sexual assault. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families involved in these incidents. During the afternoon o...
Landowners have until March 15 to submit applications to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks for enrollment in the Unlocking Public Lands (UPL) Program or the Public Access Land Agreement (PALA) Program. These programs are designed to provide recreational public access to state (Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation) or federal (Bureau of Land Management or United States Forest Service) land where no or limited legal public access currently exists. For enrollment in UPL, landowners will receive a tax credit in the amount of $750 p...
The Montana State University College of Agriculture has announced finalists for a new leadership program focused on sustainable agriculture and agritourism. The Montana Agritourism Fellows Program will center on the goal of developing leaders to advance sustainable agritourism. The fellowship is designed to engage agricultural producers and train them in methods of communicating and promoting sustainable agriculture for farmers, ranchers, professionals and communities. It was funded by a grant from the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research...
U.S. Senator Steve Daines and Representatives Matt Rosendale and Ryan Zinke sent a letter on Jan. 27 urging the Biden administration to hold its appeals hearing concerning the American Prairie Reserve Grazing Proposal in Malta, instead of Billings, which is over 200 miles away from Phillips County. This would allow Montanans most affected by the proposal to easily attend the hearing. “The American Prairie Reserve’s proposal, if implemented, will open nearly 70,000 acres in Phillips County to grazing by non-production livestock, eliminate int...
In their first meeting of the year and Commissioner Mary Armstrong’s first meeting as Chairman, the Valley County Commissioners met for their regular Discussion and Decision meeting on Jan. 4. In addition to their normal business of approving employment and termination/resignation notices, the Commissioners discussed the Valley County Healthy is Wellness Program Proposal, the Stop the Bleeding program, Resolution No. 7-2023, and provided information on the cooperative status on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Management Plan (...
Governor Greg Gianforte announced on Dec. 23 his administration has filed its briefing in the appeal of a judge’s decision denying the state’s petition for stay after the Biden Administration approved the American Prairie Reserve’s request to graze bison on Bureau of Land Management land in northeast Montana. In briefing, entitled a Statement of Reasons (statement) and submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Board of Land Appeals, the Gianforte administration again requested a stay of the decision pending appeal, highlig...
On Oct. 28, Congressman Matt Rosendale sent a letter demanding that the Montana Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) reverse their position on livestock grazing on land allotments in Montana. The decision ignores 90 years of best range management practices and current federal law. The letter was sent to Judge Veronica Larvie, Administrative Judge for the Department of Interior’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, and Tracy Stone Manning, Director of the Bureau of Land Management. At the helm at BLM, Ms. Manning...
The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) commends the state of Montana for their action in not providing authorization of bison grazing, construction, modifications, or electrification of fences on Flat Creek and Whiterock state allotments. “We would like to thank Governor Gianforte and his administration for their leadership and continued perseverance on this issue. We stand with the state and agree there are deficiencies within the BLM Environmental Assessment and final grazing decision. The decision to not approve grazing on the two a...
U.S. Senator Steve Daines sent a letter to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning on Oct. 27, demanding an explanation for the flagrant dismissal of Montana ag groups’ concerns in the decision making process for the America Prairie Reserve Grazing Proposal. “On July 28, 2022, the Bureau of Land Management issued a Final Decision for the America Prairie Reserve Grazing Proposal covering nearly 70,000 acres of land in Phillips County. As you know first-hand, given the unprecedented nature of this proposal—authorizing grazi...
Dear Editor, Stockwater is one of Montana's oldest water uses and is critical to the continued survival of a Montana livestock industry. Before the Montana Water Use Act of July 1, 1973, livestock water rights belonged to whomever owned and watered livestock on a customary range. The person did not need to own the land or file a claim. The right became private property as soon as the livestock drank water. The right was for exactly as much as the herd needed to drink and no more. Livestock...
Dear Editor, The Montana Cattlemen's Association is disappointed in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) decision to authorize the American Prairie Reserve to use 63,065 acres of public lands in Phillips County for bison. In reaching this decision, a number of important issues have been overlooked or completely ignored. This unprofessional failure on the part of BLM to consider all the implications of allowing bison to graze public lands is disturbing. Among the issues ignored are public...
In addition to Attorney General Knudsen and the Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) filing appeals, Governor Greg Gianforte has also appealed the Biden administration’s approval of the American Prairie Reserve’s (APR) bison grazing proposal for 63,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in northeast Montana. The federal decision comes despite significant opposition from impacted communities and elected officials in Montana. In an appeal to the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), the governor outlined reasons the BLM’s decis...
