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MONTANA LOGGING SUIT Montana logging projects challenged over bears BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) An environmental group is seeking to stop three logging projects on several thousand acres in northwest Montana, arguing that the timber sales would harm the area's fledgling grizzly bear population.

The Alliance for the Wild Rockies filed a federal lawsuit Monday to block the projects in the Kootenai National Forest, which are designed in part to reduce fire danger and provide commercial logging opportunities.

The suit alleges that 14 miles of proposed new logging roads could ultimately wipe out the 30 to 40 grizzlies in the forest's Cabinet-Yaak area.

The lawsuit was assigned to U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula. It is expected to be heard sometime next year.

Kootenai Forest spokesman Willie Sykes said he could not comment on the matter. But documents submitted by the agency show that while some new roads would be built, others would be removed to improve grizzly habitat.

TESTER-health care Tester: still evaluating health care bill HELENA, Mont. (AP) U.S. Sen. Jon Tester says he is still evaluating the health care bill headed to the Senate floor within the week.

Tester spoke favorably about the mammoth legislation released Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid but Tester did not yet commit to voting for it.

Tester spoke to constituents on telephone town hall meeting after the bill was made public.

The Senate pla appraisals angered many owners who saw their property taxes skyrocket, while the market value of their property dropped.

Reichner says he heard that an 82-year-old widow saw her property tax assessment increase from $450,000 in 2002 to $2.7 million.

Information from: KCFW-TV, http://www.kcfw.com MISSING PLANE NTSB: Plane in fatal crash was flying too low BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) Federal investigators say an airplane that crashed near Townsend in March, killing the pilot, was flying too low.

The National Transportation Safety Board report says pilot Sparky Imeson used poor judgment in failing to maintain enough altitude before his plane crashed on March 17 at the base of a mountain range near Canyon Ferry Lake.

In a report released Tuesday, the NTSB said it found no mechanical issues with the aircraft and said the plane collided with trees before hitting the ground.

Friends said Imeson was trying to photograph the site where he had survived a plane crash two years earlier. He had taken off from Bozeman and was scheduled to fly to Helena.

Imeson, who was 64, was an experienced pilot, author and instructor known for his expertise in flying over mountainous terrain.

Information from: KTVM-TV, http://www.ktvm.com METH WASTE DUMPED Stevi man pleads guilty to dumping meth waste MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) A 46-year-old Stevensville man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of dumping methamphetamine-cooking waste into an outhouse at a campground in the Bitterroot National Forest west of Stevensville.

Brian K. Klobuchar pleaded guilty Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Jeremiah Lynch in Missoula. A second charge of dumping hazardous materials without a permit was dropped. Sentencing was scheduled for Feb. 19.

Klobuchar was arrested in September 2008 after a campground host l trout restoration projects. The utility is involved in restoration efforts as part of a settlement with state and federal agencies and conservation groups.

The 45-year restoration program calls on the utility to pay for making fish and wildlife habitat improvements to offset the impacts its Cabinet Gorge and Noxon Rapids dams.

Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com HOUSING ORDINANCE-DISCRIMINATION Bozeman housing ordinance might be discriminatory BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) The state's Human Rights Bureau says it has found "reasonable cause" to believe that a Bozeman housing ordinance is discriminatory.

The ordinance prohibits more than four unrelated people from living together unless they meet certain criteria.

Bozeman's assistant planning director Chris Saunders says the rule has been in effect for more than 30 years and is meant to limit the "intensity of use" at a property. He says that too many occupants can cause conflicts with neighbors.

The Butte-based advocacy group Montana Fair Housing complained to the state about the ordinance in June, saying it prevents people from living together to offset costs. Deputy City Attorney Tim Cooper counters that more than four unrelated people can live together if they qualify for a conditional-use permit or as a "cooperative household." The city and MFH now have the option of taking the Oct. 8 finding to court or to a state Department of Labor hearings board.

Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com LITTLE SHELL-AUDIT $867,000 for Montana tribe on hold after state audit BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) State agencies have withheld $867,000 in grants and stimulus money from a Montana Indian tribe since auditors revealed lax accounting practices had opened the door to potential financial abuse.

The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians first ran into trouble with the state in September, when auditors raised questions about how the tribe was spending a tobacco use prevention grant worth $180,000 annually.

The audit found "little relationship" between the program's budget and how the money was spent.

Separately, in a visit to the tribe's offices in Great Falls, state officials found lax accounting for economic development grants.

With no way to verify how the money was spent, this year's grant for $70,000 was put on hold. Also suspended was a $617,000 federal stimulus grant that the state Legislature directed toward the tribe.

The tribe has been given until Nov. 23 to show it has fixed its accounting procedures.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-19-09 0232CST | save this article / add to your favorites list