"The glittering diamonds of the Milky Way over the Sawtooth National Recreation Area will be preserved for future stargazers, as the International Dark-Sky Association on Monday approved the nation’s first dark sky reserve."
"Missoula was the only city in Montana that had a privately owned water system. Now, after decades of effort, it has succeeded in taking back the utility. City leaders explain how it happened."
"Hoping for more unfettered production of coal, oil and gas even as it erects wind farms, a Wyoming county sees the president as a key to job security."
"The Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a special claims court be activated for people who have contracted asbestos-related disease or died from asbestos exposure from a now-shuttered W.R. Grace mine in northwestern Montana."
An EPA program that helps pay for municipal water infrastructure is facing Congressional appropriations scrutiny. But with the program looking like it may escape big cuts, it remains a reservoir of reportable local projects. Find out more in the latest TipSheet, plus get state-by-state resources.
"An agreement approved Monday between U.S. officials and environmentalists would ban the use of predator-killing cyanide traps on Colorado public lands, but a government agency said federal workers already had stopped using the devices except on the state’s private lands."
With ice and snow ahead, it's time to start thinking about road salt — its use may make driving safer, but can also cause real harm to the environment. This week's TipSheet clears the road for your reporting on this potential hazard, detailing its risks, outlining its alternatives and offering story ideas.
"An overflow crowd showed up Monday to plead with — and in some cases berate — state regulators over several oil and gas drilling operations slated for neighborhoods along the Front Range."
Hurricane Irma left millions of Floridians in the dark, while Maria stripped Puerto Ricans of power, potentially for months. Can the electric grid be made less vulnerable? Our Backgrounder has a dozen-plus angles to jump-start your power reporting, from stronger poles to microgrids. Plus, hurricane coverage resources.
