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Bison bone bed being back hoed

2,000-year-old Bison Bone Bed Destroyed on Crow Reservation

10/24/2012 // Alexis Bonogofsky

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 >

Sign on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation - Respect our homeland

Northern Cheyenne Tribe at a Crossroads: To Develop Coal or Not?

9/13/2012 // Alexis Bonogofsky

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 >

Coal Ash Sludge Ponds in Colstrip, Montana

Protecting Wildlife from Toxic Coal Ash in Montana and Beyond

9/7/2012 // Alexis Bonogofsky

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 >

Coal trains have been involved in at least 5 wrecks this summer, causing damage and heartbreak around the country. (Photo: Ray Steup)

Two More Coal Train Wrecks — The Epidemic Continues

7/17/2012 // Peter LaFontaine

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 spills out of a derailed train in Mesa, Washington. The crash sent 31 cars off the tracks and kicked off a bad week for the coal and railroad industries. (Photo courtesy of Tony Eveland)

Coal Train Derailments Lead to Tragedy

7/5/2012 // Peter LaFontaine

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 >

Coal Train

Mr. Peabody’s Coal Train Has Hauled It Away…

6/27/2012 // Alexis Bonogofsky

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 >

Otter Creek

Montana economic report pushes Big Coal’s agenda; ignores environmental, social and taxpayer costs

6/14/2012 // Alexis Bonogofsky

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 >

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Protecting the cultural and historic values of the Powder River Basin

6/12/2012 // Alexis Bonogofsky

  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 >

The coal industry's latest plans put iconic species like steelhead in harm's way (photo: Nils Rinaldi)

Coal Exports Through the Pacific Northwest—Get Ready for a Fight

6/11/2012 // Peter LaFontaine

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 >

Wanapum dam and reservoir on the Columbia near Vantage, WA (Photo by Bryn Fluharty)

Coal Exports Compromise the Clean History of the Pacific Northwest

6/11/2012 // Bryn Fluharty

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 >