The MT Lowdown is a weekly digest that showcases a more personal side of Montana Free Press’ high-quality reporting while keeping you up to speed on the biggest news impacting Montanans. Want to see the MT Lowdown in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here.Thirty years ago this month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service brought gray wolves from the Canadian Rockies into Yellowstone National Park and a remote region of central Idaho. The reintroduction, perhaps the most controversial the agency has undertaken, was part of an effort to recover one of the first species added to the endangered species list.As you can imagine (or may remember), wolf reintroduction was tenuous, spurring vigorous debate and lawsuits by ranchers and environmentalists alike. According to one wolf advocate, armed government agents accompanied wildlife managers’ trek to Idaho in response to threats of violence.Many of the people WyoFile reporter Mike Koshmrl and I interviewed for our “The Year of the Wolves” oral history project said they anticipated social tolerance for the apex predators, nearly extirpated from the American West by the 1930s, would grow with time. Familiarity with their presence, the deployment of a livestock loss reimbursement program, a transition to state management post-delisting and a regulated hunting season would help the carnivores and their human neighbors find a measure of coexistence, the thinking went. But most of the 12 people Mike and I interviewed for this project were surprised at how wrong they were. Biologically, wolf reintroduction has been an unmitigated success: the Northern Rockies wolf population now numbers around 2,000, supporting the species’ expansion into Oregon, California and Colorado. Several interviewees told us social tolerance has gone the other direction, though. As evidence of the recent vitriol around wolf management, they point to a suite of aggressive wolf reduction laws on the books in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The state of the debate for wolf management is, to put it lightly, strained these days. Ed Bangs, who served as USFWS’ wolf recovery coordinator for more than 20 years, has had plenty of opportunities to study wolf behavior and consider what their presence on the landscape suggests about their human counterparts.Wolves, he told me, are “really honest about who they are.” They’re vicious protectors of their packmates, sometimes killing interloping wolves. Although they’re not an appreciable threat to human safety, they’re accomplished elk hunters that also kill cattle calves, sheep and the occasional domestic dog.On the other hand, wolves share a number of positive traits with people, Bangs said. They’re good parents, fiercely loyal and demonstrate a social, cooperative nature that facilitated their expansion across much of the earth. “They’re only angels or devils when we make them so,” Bangs told me. “We interpret [their actions] all of the time, and we try to use them for other purposes.”Wyoming livestock industry lobbyist Jim Magagna said his response to the reintroduction was an anxiousness that proved prescient: he personally lost 61 sheep to wolves four or five years after reintroduction. For others we interviewed, wolves’ return to Yellowstone represents a homecoming. Red Lodge-based artist John Potter described wolves’ role in his oral tradition as “our first teachers, our first mentors.” Potter said when wolves returned to Yellowstone, he felt “bigger … like I was growing inside.”It’s a lot to parse, particularly given the last few years’ tumult in carnivore management, which has involved a flurry of laws and (ultimately unsuccessful) relisting petitions. This piece was also a rewarding project in that it gave MTFP and WyoFile a tidy window into what’s changed since January 1995 — and what hasn’t. We hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as we’ve enjoyed reporting it.—Amanda EggertNews of the News 📰A big part of my (new) job is ensuring reporters get straight to the point, so I’ll do the same here: I just started as the state editor for Montana Free Press.It’s not just an exciting new role for me, but for the organization too. I’ll manage daily editorial operations with a focus on the statehouse and politics, direct news coverage, mentor MTFP’s team of talented reporters and more.Talking about myself is deeply uncomfortable (I hard-launched a pregnancy in 2023 by sharing photos of the birthed child), so what follows is the briefest bit of my professional biography.Since 2015 I’ve been drinking out of the firehose that is Montana state government and political coverage. Writing and later editing for five of the state’s largest newspapers, I at times thrived and at others survived four regular and one special legislative sessions; three U.S. Senate races, each classified as the most consequential in Montana history until the next one came along; and the ins and outs of state government operations.There’s no better time to start a job in Montana governmental and political reporting than days before the Legislature gavels in, and I’m thrilled to be doing it with Montana Free Press. Each reporter is a skilled journalist, well-sourced and versed in their beats in and out of the Capitol.Deputy Editor Eric Dietrich plans to focus on budgets and tax policy, especially any efforts lawmakers make toward lowering residential property taxes, plus he’ll keep an eye on business and economic issues. Political and investigative reporter Tom Lutey produces Capitolized, a weekly newsletter featuring expert reporting, analysis and insight from the reporters and editors of Montana Free Press. During the 2025 Legislature, his focus will be on legislative politics, the executive branch, and bills concerning the judiciary, corrections, criminal justice and Montana’s secretary of state. Health care reporter Mara Silvers will be reporting on the future of Medicaid expansion, mental health and addiction treatment policy, public health issues and other social service programs, including foster care and cash and food assistance. Education reporter Alex Sakariassen will be tracking a range of policy developments impacting students, parents and educators across Montana’s K-12 schools and college campuses, as well as proposed remedies to challenges within the state’s childcare system. He’ll also continue nerding out on efforts to tweak Montana’s public school funding formula to increase starting teacher pay. Environmental reporter Amanda Eggert will focus on legislation related to water, wildlife, energy and land use. This year, she’s planning to pay particularly close attention to water policy proposals that have arisen out of a Department of Natural Resources and Conservation-convened stakeholder group and lawmakers’ response to the Montana Supreme Court’s Held v. Montana climate ruling. Reporter Zeke Lloyd coordinates the Voter Priority Project, an initiative centered around public interest polls commissioned by MTFP aimed at equipping voters with the tools and resources they need to assess the Legislature’s receptivity to the priorities of the people who put them in office. His byline will also appear on stories related to criminal justice and organized labor. And finally, we’ll be joined this session by the latest addition to our newsroom, Indigenous Legislative Fellow Kaiden Forman-Webster. Kaiden, a student of tribal administration and government at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, will spend the spring in Helena reporting on the Legislature’s American Indian Caucus and legislation affecting tribal communities for MTFP and ICT. —Holly Michels5(ish) Questions For 5️⃣Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike McGrath is retiring this month after more than a decade at the helm of Montana’s court system and more than 40 years in various public service roles. His tenure was marked by cases touching almost every area of Montana law and, more recently, conflicts with the Republican-led Legislature. McGrath reflected on his time in office during a Thursday phone call with MTFP reporter Mara Silvers. Here are some excerpts of that conversation.What are some of the most impactful rulings from the era of the McGrath court, in your opinion?I don’t really think that way. We decide cases not because they’re impactful, we decide cases based on the law and the facts of each individual case. … I’m not trying to be evasive. I just don’t think that way. That’s for somebody else to decide. The Constitution that passed in the early 1970s is still a relatively new document, and so some of our rulings in various areas have sort of fleshed out the meaning of those constitutional provisions and the intent of the Constitutional Convention.Over the last three years, there’s been an increase in criticism mostly coming from Republican lawmakers and officials about the Montana judiciary and the Supreme Court. Do you think those feuds have changed or damaged the public’s perception of the court?I actually don’t think they have. I certainly hope they don’t. I think that it’s extremely important that we maintain an independent judiciary not based on politics, and that the decisions be based on the law and the facts of each particular case. I am concerned that there are challenges to the independence of the judiciary, and I’m concerned about that going forward. But I don’t think the public necessarily disagrees with how the courts are doing their business.Are there any particular reforms or changes to the judiciary that you see as potential threats? And, conversely, any potential reforms that you actually think are a good idea?I’m concerned about the idea that they would adopt a partisan election of judges. People don’t want their cases decided by a Democratic judge or a Republican judge. They want it decided by an independent judge who’s going to decide the case based on, as I said earlier, the facts of that particular case and the law. I don’t think partisanship has a place in the judicial election process. Chief Justice-elect Cory Swanson is going to be sworn in Jan. 6. I’m curious what advice you’ve shared with him about this role.Well, we’ve had a couple of long conversations. After I was elected 16 years ago, I called former Chief Justice Jean Turnage and asked him for advice. And basically, the only advice he gave me was, ‘You need to keep peace in the family,’ [laughs] which I did pass on to Cory Swanson. We have an exceptional court. It’s a court that a lot of times lawyers refer to as a ‘hot bench.’ Everybody is extremely well prepared. Our process is a deliberative process. We could well take a preliminary vote and, over the course of discussion and the next few weeks, people change their minds or change the emphasis or change the approach.Before you were in this role, you served as Montana’s attorney general as a Democrat. What’s next for you? Do you have any plans to return to politics or begin any other work related to the judiciary in the future?No, I don’t have any plans in that regard. I plan to be a caregiver for my wife going forward and spend a lot more time with my family. I’m 77 years old and it’s time to move on.—Mara SilversBy the Numbers 🔢Number of bill drafts requested for the 2025 legislative session as of Jan. 3. That puts this year’s session on pace to meet or exceed the number of bill drafts requested during the 2023 Legislature, 4,643, and while not all those drafts will be introduced as bills, could indicate lawmakers are on track to exceed the 1,698 bills they considered in 2023.—Eric DietrichThe Gist 📌As the dispute between the state and Lake County over compensation for law enforcement on the Flathead Indian Reservation continues into a new year and legislative session, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are taking over an increasing number of cases typically handled by counties. To direct more people to rehabilitation, the tribes ramped up their healing court and handled 150 drug-related felony cases last year, more than seven times the previous annual amount. “Right now, the counties are really obligated to enforce felonies,” said Jordan Thompson, CSKT deputy executive officer. “If the tribes take on more, it would mean less for counties. In addition, it will be CSKT taking care of its own people here on the reservation, which is the ultimate goal. It’s a big one, but we’re taking the steps we need to get there with time.”Under Public Law 280, the county sheriff’s office has handled law enforcement on the reservation instead of federal officials. Lake County said it no longer has the money to cover the cost, and in recent years the Legislature has tried to get the state to pay up. The related legislative and legal action has generated uncertainty for the tribes. Regardless of the outcome, the tribal council wants to take on as many cases as possible, Thompson said. While CSKT explores expanding its court system capacity to handle more felony cases, the ultimate goal is to get tribal members the treatment they need, said Shane Morigeau, tribal attorney, public affairs officer and state senator. Since it started in June 2023, three people have graduated from the tribal healing court with another scheduled this month, said Dana Comes at Night, the court director. The program often refers participants to the tribal health department, which can help many but not those needing inpatient or more intensive outpatient treatment, said Desiree Fox, behavioral health division director. CSKT is looking to expand treatment options and provide culturally informed care, she said. “Being incarcerated is not treatment. For some people, it helps with motivation but it’s not providing the skills or support that people need,” Fox said. “And we know anecdotally that people who are more involved with cultural activities and have more connections and social supports tend to be more successful on their recovery journey. … This is our community, our families. We want these individuals to be successful because they’re important to us, they’re part of us.”READ MORE: CSKT handling more felony cases, ramping up wellness court—Katie FairbanksHighlights ☀️In other news this week —A former nurse at St. Peter’s Health in Helena has been arrested amid allegations that he sexually assaulted a patient. Reporter JoVonne Wagner reports he is accused of sexually assaulting the patient in 2023 while she was under his care in the hospital’s intensive-care unit. Reporter Tom Lutey reached out to Montana lawmakers past and present to gather their recollections of former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29.On Our Radar Amanda — There are few versions of the Scottish end-of-year send-off song that I don’t like, but this folksy version of “Auld Lang Syne” by Chris Bathgate is perhaps my favorite. Alex — Curious what happens when doomsday arrives and the world doesn’t end? I’m riveted to a copy of “When Prophecy Fails,” social psychologist Leon Festinger’s famed 1956 study of a small occult group that predicted the exact date of the earth’s destruction and whose experiences helped establish a now-familiar phrase: cognitive dissonance.JoVonne — Earlier this week Malia Kipp, the state’s first Native to play on an NCAA Division I women’s basketball team with a full-ride scholarship, died. Kipp was a trailblazer, role model and inductee to the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007. Katie — Amanda Eggert’s and Mike Koshmrl’s recent story recounting the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park and Idaho reminded me of one of my favorite reads from last year, Charlotte McConaghy’s novel “Once There Were Wolves.” Following a biologist tasked with reintroducing wolves to the Scottish Highlands, the story includes similar human-wolf dynamics with added intensity and drama.Tom — Bowling is back! Maybe not, but there was a flower-adorned bowling float in the Rose Parade and a bowling-sponsored college football bowl, which prompted my rereading of political scientist Robert D. Putnam’s “Bowling Alone, the Collapse and Revival of American Community.”  Published in 2000, the book is still prescient.Zeke — A new tabletop game made the rounds among my extended family this holiday. Evolution, in which players use intuitive cards to develop herbivores and carnivores in a competition for limited food tokens, takes only 10 minutes to explain and one hour to play.Eric — It’s been a while since I’ve seen a good “is this the future of journalism??” hot take, so I’ll pitch one of my own here: Publishing a video that purports to expose a billion-dollar PayPal subsidiary as an affiliate marketing scam, YouTubing muckraker MegaLag has done something that feels a lot like old-school investigative journalism adapted to the world of digital influencers.*Some stories may require a subscription. Subscribe!The post 30 years since the reintroduction of wolves appeared first on Montana Free Press.