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2,000-year-old Bison Bone Bed Destroyed on Crow Reservation
Last summer, a 2,000-year-old national treasure was dug up with a backhoe. The Sarpy Creek Bison Kill site, as it is now known, is located on the Crow Reservation in southeastern Montana.Why was this site, a probable candidate for a… Read more >
Northern Cheyenne Tribe at a Crossroads: To Develop Coal or Not?
On Sunday, over 100 people assembled for a Way of Life Gathering (Hestana Vestotse) in Lame Deer, Montana. Yellow Bird, a Northern Cheyenne non-profit group and Sierra Club, organized the event with assistance from a number of conservation and community development organizations,… Read more >
Protecting Wildlife from Toxic Coal Ash in Montana and Beyond
For decades, the coal-ash sludge ponds at the Colstrip power plant in southeastern Montana have been leaking harmful chemicals into groundwater, a blatant and well-documented violation of state and federal laws. Four years ago, nearby ranchers and residents won a… Read more >
Two More Coal Train Wrecks — The Epidemic Continues
A slew of coal train derailments has put the industry on edge, but are they helping to cause the very problem that plagues them? Read more >
Coal Train Derailments Lead to Tragedy
At least one bystander was killed during a week of havoc: Three coal train derailments in four days, with more on the way if Big Coal’s export plans go through. Read more >
Mr. Peabody’s Coal Train Has Hauled It Away…
This week, Peabody Energy—the world’s biggest coal company—will be hauling away a massive taxpayer subsidy when they secure the rights to mine the North Porcupine Coal Tract in the Powder River Basin from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This… Read more >
Montana economic report pushes Big Coal’s agenda; ignores environmental, social and taxpayer costs
Yesterday, the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) released a study of the potential economic impacts of developing the Otter Creek coal mine in southeastern Montana entitled, “The Impact of Otter Creek Coal Development on the Montana Economy.”… Read more >
Protecting the cultural and historic values of the Powder River Basin
Yesterday, in the beautiful Rosebud valley in southeastern Montana, hundreds gathered to celebrate and honor an important and sacred place, Deer Medicine Rocks, as a National Historic Landmark. Northern Cheyenne, Oglala Lakota, ranchers, historians, and others came to this… Read more >
Coal Exports Through the Pacific Northwest—Get Ready for a Fight
A fight has begun over the future of the Pacific Northwest’s air, water and wildlife protections. On one side: the coal industry, which stands to make millions in profits. On the other: fish, wildlife, and communities from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast and beyond. Read more >
Coal Exports Compromise the Clean History of the Pacific Northwest
The wind whips around me as I gaze out at the Columbia River from high atop a bluff. The setting sun illuminates the red rock walls that soar up from the river in a soft red light. The air is… Read more >

