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Good morning, southwest Montana.
First up: The Montana Department of Transportation is seeking a $28 million federal grant to build a wildlife crossing at the mouth of Gallatin Canyon on U.S. Highway 191. Montana has the second-highest rate of wildlife-vehicle collisions per capita in the country, and this project aims to protect wildlife and increase driver safety.
“As our state grows and as more people are on the roads, the collisions are an increasing factor, and there’s a cost to that; human lives, animal’s lives, an economic factor,” said Jordan Reeves, Yellowstone to Yukon’s director of landscape connectivity.
This isn’t the first time MDT has applied for this grant, though. To find out why wildlife crossings are difficult to fund even though interest in them is growing — and how upcoming federal legislation may change that — check out our Leah Veress’ latest story.
Next, in Big Sky, Gallatin County commissioners continue to balk at the Big Sky Resort Area District’s attempts to implement a targeted economic development district. Because Big Sky lacks a traditional city government to finance its infrastructure, the TEDD model could enable the community to capture and reinvest future property tax growth locally.
“We appreciate Big Sky’s community engagement,” Commissioner and Chairman Zach Brown said during a meeting held on Wednesday. “At the same time, the challenges identified… are not unique to Big Sky.”
Jump into our Dan Astin’s coverage to find out what BSRAD hopes the TEDD model could fund if implemented and how state lobbying to implement the model without county approval is raising eyebrows.
Finally, star of “Cast Iron Cowboy” Kent Rollins made a stop in Harlowton at Nash Land and Livestock for an episode that will air on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. EST. The television series follows him and his wife across the nation as he cooks meals for hungry cowboys.
“I ain’t afraid to cook anything,” Rollins said.
Saunter into camp with our Ellie Owen to find out what Rollins thought of his stop in Montana as he visits ranches from Florida to Alaska, and where he’s hoping filming will take him in the future.
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