BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The return of gray wolves has dramatically altered the landscape in portions of Yellowstone National Park, as new trees take root in areas where the predators have curbed the size of foraging elk herds, according to scientists in a new study.

Stands of aspen, willow and...

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- Montana officials are holding up shipments of tens of thousands of trout eggs from a federal fish hatchery to other states, as Gov. Brian Schweitzer seeks to pressure the Interior Department into changing the way it manages another species — bison.

Federal and state officials said...

BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer blocked the impending slaughter of hundreds of Yellowstone National Park bison on Tuesday, in a surprise move intended to spark an overhaul of how the federal government deals with the iconic but disease-plagued animals.

Schweitzer signed an executive order to prohibit the importation...

BILLINGS, Mont. — A judge says he will not stop the slaughter of potentially hundreds of wild bison from Yellowstone National Park that had attempted to migrate into Montana.

U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell in Helena issued a 72-page ruling Monday in which he denied a request from wildlife advocates...

BILLINGS, Mont. — Five years after a cow dubbed the "Unsinkable Molly B" leapt a slaughterhouse gate and swam across the Missouri River in an escape that drew international attention, the heifer has again eluded fate, surviving the collapse of the animal sanctuary where she was meant to retire.

Molly...

BILLINGS, Mont. — An acclaimed elk herd in Yellowstone National Park took a major hit last year, with biologists saying almost one in four of the animals were lost, mainly to predators and hunters.

As recently as 1994, the northern Yellowstone elk herd was the largest in North America with...

BILLINGS, Mont. — Grizzly bear deaths neared record levels for the region around Yellowstone National Park in 2010, but government biologists said the population remains robust enough to withstand the heavy losses.

An estimated 75 of the protected animals were killed or removed from the wild, according to a government-sponsored...

BILLINGS, Mont. — Environmentalists said Tuesday they intend to sue the Obama administration to force it to restore gray wolves across the lower 48 states – even as Republicans in Congress sought unsuccessfully to strip the animals of protection.

The Center for Biological Diversity said in a formal notice to...

BILLINGS, Mont. — Philanthropist Hansjorg Wyss grew up in Switzerland and now spends the bulk of his time outside Philadelphia, but it is the wild landscapes of the Rocky Mountains where he could leave his most lasting mark.

In recent years the publicity-shy billionaire has quietly donated tens of millions...

BILLINGS, Mont. — Government agencies are seeking broad new authority to ramp up killings and removals of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies and Great Lakes, despite two recent court actions that restored the animal's endangered status in every state except Alaska and Minnesota.

Various proposals would gas pups in...

WYODAK, Wyo. — Utilities across the country are building dozens of old-style coal plants that will cement the industry's standing as the largest industrial source of climate-changing gases for years to come.

An Associated Press examination of U.S. Department of Energy records and information provided by utilities and trade groups...

Colorado's medical marijuana industry continues to be a lone bright spot in an otherwise bleak economic landscape. In less than a year, thousands of entrepreneurs across the state have stepped up to shape an entirely new healthcare model serving the previously unmet medical needs for tens of thousands of Coloradans....

2009 was undeniably the "Year of Medical Marijuana" in Colorado as tens of thousands of patients came out of hiding and opted to be added to the state's medical marijuana registry. Thousands of others who had either never tried marijuana, or whose experience with the plant ended decades ago, began...

Last Saturday I found myself atop Blue Sky Basin at Vail resort, enjoying my first "real" day of skiing this season. I made the mistake of taking a day off and simply relaxing after a hectic few months fighting for Colorado's Medical Marijuana industry.

The most current draft...