Montana Drought Continues as 1st Frost Hits

As we move into the fall season in Montana, it might seem like we're coming out of a relatively mild summer that SHOULD have solved some of our water problems.

But the U.S. Drought Monitor continues to show Extreme Drought conditions for the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Basins, an example of the multi-year impacts that have also resulted in some level of drought or "abnormally dry" conditions across all of the western half of the state.

Southwest Montana, including the Upper Missoula Basin, is still under "Severe Drought", with Cascade County and the Rocky Mountain Front in "Moderate Drought."

     🌵 Except for the area around Valley County, Eastern Montana continues to show normal conditions.

Frosty times arrive in Montana

Although we've already had a few mornings in the higher valleys of Western Montana with a touch of frost, National Weather Service forecasters are warning that Tuesday morning will bring the first risk of "widespread frost" for the area.

Clearing skies Monday night will allow for temperatures to plunge well into the 30s for many locations, and likely dip below freezing in some areas like the Upper Blackfoot Valley.

Another fatal Flathead plane crash

Federal investigators are saying that the plane that crashed in the Flathead on Friday afternoon was a "Murphy Moose", which is an aluminum, Canadian kit-built aircraft. The NTSB is checking into the cause of the crash near the Ferndale airport, which took the life of the pilot. It's the third fatal plane crash in the Flathead this year.

Shelter remains closed after drug smoke incident

Operators of the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter say they'll no longer be able to take in animals in the aftermath of that incident, where methamphetamine smoke from a drug disposal operation spread through the building.

The shelter's staff and animals were forced to evacuate when the facility's incinerator malfunctioned while it was being used to burn illegal drugs.

Sunday, the shelter posted on Facebook it had told the City of Billings it would be able to take more animals "until further notice." Agency staff says they're "shattered" to know that leaves a "heartbreaking gap" in caring for lost pets. But they're sharing information in hopes of coping with the situation.

READ MORE: Montana puppies evacuated because of meth smoke

Park cuts continue to cause worries

With a potential government shutdown looming this week, the National Parks Conservation Association is renewing its call for Congress to avoid making further cuts that impact the Park Service.

Michelle Uberuaga says there's already been a 24% loss of permanent park employees this year, and that's hitting Montana's rural communities hard.

     The NPCA says that works out to $1-billion for economic impact in Montana, with a 15-times multiplier for communities for Yellowstone and Glacier.

Elk poachers sentenced

Those six men from Washington and Montana, implicated in a scheme to poach trophy elk in Musselshell County, are being fined a total of $22,000 and will lose their future hunting privileges for a combined 28 years.

The ring was busted in a cross-state investigation with Montana FWP and wardens in Washington, who seized 11 mounted bull elk, with game warden Jake Barzen leading the investigation that resulted in 34 charges and 13 warnings being filed.

     Mitch Miller and Devon Rea of Roundup where the Montana men pleading guilty in the case.

Sheehy backs offshore mining

Senator Tim Sheehy has already been pushing for measures to get the Stillwater Mine back online to compete against Russian imports. But he's taking that a step further, co-sponsoring a new bill which backs an effort to develop more offshore "critical minerals" development…

Sheehy says one of the first steps would be to develop a plan to map priority areas of the seabed and outer continental shelf with critical minerals.