Tristan Scott

A record number of local nonprofits are two weeks into the Great Fish Community Challenge, and Flathead Valley donors are giving at a faster clip than they were at this point a year ago. And yet, according to the Whitefish Community Foundation (WCF), the real surge in giving is still to come. As of Aug. […]

With wildfire smoke blanketing the Flathead Valley again this summer, three communities are opening their doors to show residents where — and how — they can find cleaner air. Climate Smart Glacier Country (CSG) will host a series of open houses, or “pop-up events,” Aug. 24-27 at three newly designated Clean Air Centers in Kalispell, […]

A widening coalition of environmental organizations, U.S. tribes and Canadian First Nations is escalating calls for an independent panel to review Glencore’s proposed expansion of the Fording River coal mine in British Columbia’s Elk Valley, arguing that federal and provincial officials have already tipped their hand in favor of approval. The Fording River Extension (FRX) […]

Eight years after wildland firefighters rescued the historic Wheeler Cabin from flames that swept through Glacier National Park, a volunteer team of preservation specialists has converged on the shores of Lake McDonald to put the finishing touches on a $1.5 million restoration project to preserve the property as a peace center for future generations. This […]

The Skillet Fire in northwest Montana remained uncontained Sunday after displacing residents in the Olney area, where nearly 180 firefighters converged over the weekend as a specialized interagency team assumed command of the blaze. The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 1 issued the evacuation orders to portions of Good Creek Road, and to all […]

A 72-year-old Glacier National Park visitor critically injured on July 11 when a rock struck the vehicle he was riding in along a steep and narrow alpine section of the Going-to-the-Sun Road died from his injuries on July 16, park officials and Flathead County authorities confirmed this week. Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino, serving as […]

Given the gamut of challenges energy utilities face as they navigate the complexities of the modern power grid — surging load growth, aging infrastructure, extreme weather events, the shift to renewable energy — it may not seem like an optimal moment for the longtime chief executive of the largest electric cooperative in Montana to pass […]

In landlocked Montana, where menus are better known for their turf than their surf, it’s a bit of a fish-out-of-water anomaly when visitors to the Flathead Valley encounter local restaurants serving striped sea bass, jumbo snow crab, New Zealand king salmon, scallops, and sashimi-grade sushi. Even more counterintuitive is when the seafood stands out for […]

For the second summer in a row, state biologists are intensifying their monitoring for brown trout in the Flathead River basin after reports of the nonnative fish surfaced in Church Slough, while a separate detection was confirmed in Ashley Lake. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) in a press release urged anglers to report any […]

A new report indicates there are fewer wolves on Montana’s landscape than previously estimated, prompting state wildlife managers to recommend a lower harvest quota in their upcoming wolf hunting regulation. Evidence of the population discrepancy comes amid Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ (FWP) adoption of a new wolf-estimation tool. Using the new approach to estimating […]