The Bozeman Daily Bee

Wolf Debate Reportedly Less Polarized Than Thanksgiving Dinner

A new report from Explore Big Sky suggests that Montana’s long-running debate over wolf management may not be as bitterly divided as previously assumed, with ranchers and conservationists reportedly finding more common ground than anyone expected — or, in some cases, wanted.

“I don’t hate wolves,” said area rancher Vern Tillis, who has lost calves to predation in three of the last five years. “I just want to be able to manage the situation without someone in Missoula writing a letter about it.”

Property Tax Lawsuit Unites Montanans Who Agree on Nothing Else

A lawsuit filed this week against Montana’s 2025 property tax overhaul has achieved something previously thought impossible in state politics: it has united a rancher from Roundup, a retired professor from Missoula, and a Big Sky homeowner in complete agreement.

They all think their property taxes are too high. Beyond that, they agree on absolutely nothing.

The suit, brought by a coalition of current and former state legislators, alleges that the complex property tax bill passed last session creates unequal burdens across property classes and fails to deliver the relief it promised. The plaintiffs describe the law as “confusing, inequitable, and approximately 240 pages longer than it needed to be.”