BILLINGS, Montana — A pair of lawsuits filed Monday target the Trump administration’s sale of oil and gas leases on huge swaths of Western public lands that contain crucial habitat for an imperiled bird.

Wildlife advocates asked courts to reverse lease sales on more than 1,300 square miles of land in Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada, according to attorneys involved.

The legal actions also sought to block several upcoming sales unless the U.S. Interior Department conducts further environmental reviews. Those leases would total more than 1,800 square miles in the four states plus Idaho.

Many of the parcels in dispute are home to greater sage grouse, a chicken-sized, ground-dwelling bird that ranges across portions of 11 Western states.

Greater sage grouse populations drastically declined in recent decades, because of energy development that broke up the bird’s habitat, along with disease, livestock grazing and other causes. Its population once numbered in the millions but had fallen to fewer than 500,000 by 2015, according to wildlife officials.

Under former President Barack Obama, the Interior Department delayed lease sales on millions of acres of public lands largely because of sage grouse worries. In 2015, it adopted a set of wide-ranging plans meant to protect the best grouse habitat and keep the bird off the endangered species list.

Trump’s Interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, has placed a greater priority on energy development, including directives from the agency that modified restrictions imposed by the Obama administration.

Attorneys behind Monday’s lawsuits argued those modifications were improper and that Zinke’s agency unlawfully limited environmental reviews of lease sales.

“They are indiscriminately leasing everything that’s nominated in sage grouse habitat, without any determination beforehand that maybe these areas are particularly important” to the bird, said Michael Saul, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity

Justice Department spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle declined comment on the matter.

Energy industry representatives have been strongly supportive of Zinke’s pro-energy agenda. They point out that even when land is leased for drilling, companies must abide by limitations on when they can drill to avoid disrupting grouse during breeding season.

“We realize there are some hoops we’re going to have to jump through if we’re going to develop the resource,” said Alan Olson, executive director of the Montana Petroleum Association.

Monday’s lawsuits included one in Idaho filed by Center for Biological Diversity and Western Watersheds Project, and another in Montana by the Montana Wildlife Federation, The Wilderness Society, National Audubon Society and National Wildlife Federation.

Also Monday, environmentalists agreed to a truce in a third lawsuit over protections for the Gunnison sage grouse, a smaller cousin of the greater sage grouse.

The Gunnison grouse, found only in Colorado and Utah, was designated a threatened species in 2014. Center for Biological Diversity and Western Watersheds Project sued the federal government the next year, saying the Gunnison grouse should be classified endangered, meaning it is in greater danger and warrants stronger protections than a threatened species.

The two groups said they would put the lawsuit on hold after federal officials agreed to come up with a recovery plan for the bird within 2 1/2 years.

The deadline guarantees the recovery plan won’t drag out for years, the groups said. They could resume their lawsuit if the government misses the deadline, or if they are unhappy with the recovery plan.

Only about 5,000 Gunnison sage grouse were left in 2014.

Associated Press writer Dan Elliott contributed to this story from Denver.

The top official at Yellowstone National Park is among seven high-ranking National Park Service officials who could be assigned to new jobs in a potential management shakeup.

The proposal, which was first reported by the Washington Post, would send Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk to Washington, D.C., to oversee the National Capital Region of the Park Service. The director of the Park Service’s Midwest Region would replace Wenk.

The transfers are not official and have not been confirmed publicly by the Park Service or the Interior Department. Heather Swift, an Interior spokeswoman, said in an email Monday that they have “no announcements on new personnel at this time.”

News of the potential moves came as a surprise to conservationists and others in the region around Yellowstone, where Wenk has worked since 2011.

“It did come as a shock,” said Scott Christensen, conservation director for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. “It kind of follows this pattern that we’ve been seeing at the Department of Interior of these very arbitrary and not very well thought out reassignments.”

The department was criticized last year for the reassignment of 35 senior employees to new jobs, a move critics claimed was politically motivated. The department’s Office of Inspector General released a report earlier this month that said agency leaders had failed to document the reasoning behind the changes.

This latest proposal also involves senior employees, members of what’s formally known as the Senior Executive Service. Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), said the previous round of reassignments hadn’t involved officials within the National Park Service.

He said it’s “now the Park Service’s turn in the barrel.”

Ruch said PEER believes acting National Park Service Director Danny Smith called the six people involved and informed them of the impending transfers. Ruch added that the employees must either accept such transfers or be removed from federal service.

“There doesn’t appear to be any efficiency of service,” Ruch said. “Second, we would expect most of these people would retire rather than accept new positions.”

Before taking over at Yellowstone, Wenk was the National Park Service’s deputy director of operations in Washington, D.C. His career started in Yellowstone in the 1970s, when he was working as a landscape architect. He was also the superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Monument.

Christensen said Wenk has been “a strong leader” on a variety of issues during his seven years in Yellowstone, including the management of bison and grizzly bears and the restoration of native trout.

“If the rumors prove true, those of us who worked on protecting the park will certainly have lost an important leader,” Christensen said. “Not just for conservation in Yellowstone, but in the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.”

The other employees rumored to be on the move are Alaska Region Director Herbert Frost; Lake Mead National Recreation Area Superintendent Lizette Richardson; Biscayne National Park Superintendent Margaret Goodro; National Capital Region Director Robert Vogel; Intermountain Region Director Sue Masica; and Midwest Region Director Cameron Sholly.

Should the realignment happen, Sholly would be the one expected to take the helm at Yellowstone. Alexandra Picavet, a Midwest Region spokeswoman, said Sholly has been the Midwest Region director since 2015. He was previously the chief ranger at Yosemite National Park and superintendent of Natchez Trace Parkway, headquartered in Mississippi.

Sholly’s first job with the Park Service was as a seasonal maintenance worker in Yellowstone.

What’s not to love about a Spartan obstacle course race with competitors scrambling across monkey bars, slogging through mud pits, slithering under barbed wire and leaping over fire as a finale.

For John Dixon, 47, a financial adviser in Pocatello, the challenges and camaraderie of Spartan races have compelled him to compete since 2016.

“Friends at Gold’s Gym suggested I try one,” said Dixon, who had run marathons. “It was different from anything else I’d ever done. You’re not doing just one thing. You’re running, climbing, jumping, crawling, lifting, or swimming. The courses are usually in the mountains, too, so you’re surrounded by the beauty of nature.”

Since Spartan Racing Inc. began organizing the competitions nationwide in 2010, they have become increasingly popular because of the mental and physical sense of accomplishment racers feel when they finish.

Founder Joe De Sena, an adventure racer, launched the courses to develop people’s physical strength and mental fortitude and to ultimately “rip you from your comfort zone,” according to Spartan.com. “If you think you can’t do it, you’re wrong. Get to the starting line and show yourself what you are capable of.”

The physical strain is eased by the camaraderie among competitors.

“Races have such a positive energy,” Dixon said. “You start with the pledge and saluting the flag. One of the mottos is ‘No Spartan left behind,’ so people help each other at obstacles. They’re all ages and come from all walks of life.”

They strive to follow the Spartan creed, which has little to do with muscle and more with a mindset. True Spartans give generously, push their minds and bodies to their limits, master their emotions and learn continuously, according to Spartan.com. They know their flaws as well as strengths, prove themselves through actions not words and live every day as if it were their last.

Dixon is not alone in his Spartan enthusiasm, estimating dozens of people in the area race regularly.

Racers pick from three main divisions: a Sprint with about 20 to 23 obstacles in 3 to 5 miles, the Super with 24 to 29 obstacles in 8 to 10 miles, and the Beast with more than 30 obstacles in 12 to 14 miles.

People of all fitness levels are welcome, either as an elite racer who is competitive or an open entrant who simply wants to finish. A course is offered for children, too.

Many Spartans set a goal of earning a trifecta, completing a race in each division in a year. After notching a trifecta in 2016, Dixon set a higher goal and earned a double trifecta in 2017.

“The highlight of last year’s season was competing in the Spartan World Championship in September in Lake Tahoe, California, at the Squaw Valley Ski Resort,” he said.

Dixon said Spartan obstacle courses are becoming popular “because there’s more to it than a race. A lot of people are there to overcome something in their lives, whether loss of a loved one, surviving cancer or dealing with divorce.”

At the end of a race, competitors sign a message board to share the reasons they race.

“I compete as an uplifting example to my family to become physically fit and have fun doing it,” said Dixon.

Having completed a double trifecta and the world championships last year, Dixon has set a new goal, competing in the Ultra Beast at the world championship at Lake Tahoe this fall.

“The Ultra Beast is 33 miles and 50-plus obstacles,” he said. “This is the one of the biggest challenges and longest races you can do. So if you’ve done your double trifecta and are looking for more of a challenge, the Ultra Beast is definitely the next level.”

Dixon said races are offered year-round.

“You can get on the website and find a race almost every weekend,” he said.

Like most Spartans, Dixon said he knows he will feel exhausted yet elated after crossing the finish line and will be eager for his next race.

Grizzly bear encounters are up in the Island Park area of Idaho along the Snake River. Area residents, recreational hikers and hunters have been reporting grizzlies and their tracks in the mountains and on the trails around the Henrys Fork area.

Most wildlife researchers believe the population growth of grizzlies in Yellowstone National Park from 139 in 1975 to a little over 700 at the present time may be responsible for younger bears being chased by older, more dominant bears out of the park system and into adjoining areas in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

There is some evidence that grizzlies are spreading south from the Selkirk and Bitterroot mountains and the Cabinet Mountains into Idaho. There also may be some grizzlies coming into Idaho from Grand Teton National Park.

Although we have a good idea of the number of grizzlies in Yellowstone National Park, it is hard to get specific numbers of grizzly bears in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, but Idaho has the fewest of the three states.

We also know that there are about 1,000 grizzlies in the North Continental Divide, which runs from Kalispell, Montana, all the way up into Canada. This includes Glacier National Park in the United States and Waterton National Park in Canada. Most of those bears live in the Canadian area of the North Continental Divide. The Cabinet-Yaak mountains of Northwest Montana reportedly have about 50 grizzlies

It is estimated that about 524 grizzlies live outside but around Yellowstone National Park.

Scientists in Idaho predict that grizzlies will eventually move back into the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.

Currently, there are 40 to 60 grizzlies that inhabit the Selway-Bitteroot Mountain recovery area, but those bears roam through Washington, Idaho, Canada and Montana, making it hard to tell how many of them are in Idaho at any one time. However, we do know grizzlies are being seen with more frequency in Island Park and a grizzly was recently photographed along the Snake River 15 miles north of Idaho Falls.

Because Yellowstone National Park has more than 700 grizzly bears in and around the park, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing federal protections in favor of an oversight plan that would be enforced by state governments and would allow hunting grizzlies that roam outside of Yellowstone.

The formula for determining the number of grizzlies that can be hunted in each state involves a region surrounding Yellowstone National Park, called the Demographic Monitoring Area. The number of bears that can be hunted in total is based on mortality studies of bears. The end result is that one male bear in Idaho, six male bears in Montana and 10 male and two female bears in Wyoming could be hunted in the fall of 2018.

Currently, Idaho and Wyoming have plans for a grizzly bear hunt in 2018. Montana has decided not to allow hunting of grizzlies in 2018, but has not ruled out allowing hunts in the future.

Several environmental groups and Native Americans are in the process of suing to get protections of grizzlies restored. One particular issue these groups are concerned about is Wyoming’s decision to allow two female grizzlies to be hunted.

Hunting is a legitimate tool in managing wildlife and generating funds for habitat restoration, but many question whether the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and the states surrounding Yellowstone National Park have done all they should to assure that hunting grizzlies won’t put the bears in a period of decline and require another 43 years for recovery.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service insists that all criteria were met to remove protections from grizzlies outside of the Demographic Monitoring Area surrounding Yellowstone National Park and that each state where hunting the bears is allowed is following a formula that will prevent the future decline of grizzly numbers.

Although the decision to allow grizzly hunting is not without controversy, I think the research by scientists working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is sound and turning management of the number of grizzlies that can be hunted over to the states based on mortality studies each year is also sound, and will provide the funds to support future studies and habitat restoration.

Smokey Merkley was raised in Idaho and has been hunting since he was 10 years old. He was a member of the faculty of Texas A&M University for 25 years. There he taught orienteering, marksmanship, self-defense, fencing, scuba diving and boxing. He was among the first DPS-certified Texas Concealed Handgun Instructors. He can be contacted at mokeydo41245@hotmail.com.

PRESTON — Franklin County’s Idaho Fish and Game Officer Nathan Stohosky was recently surprised with the Shikar Safari Club International Award for Idaho.

The award is presented to a wildlife officer in each state for efforts in conservation and conservation enforcement, community service and educating the public. The Shikar Safari is an exotic hunt company, which promotes conservation of wildlife species throughout the world.

“It’s a very prestigious award,” Stohosky said. “I definitely feel very honored.”

His co-workers arranged for him to be at the event thinking that he was attending a rifle committee meeting on which he represents Fish and Game. But when he looked over his shoulder and saw that his family was at the meeting, he realized there was some other reason for the gathering.

Stohosky was nominated for the award by fellow Fish and Game Officer Korey Owen.

“Nathan is a top-rate officer that has a lot of irons in the fire,” Owen said.

Stohosky is the lead firearms instructor in the region, the lead honor guard for Idaho Fish and Game and a field-training officer. He also helps cities and counties with training their officers because he is POST-certified in firearms training, ground control training and arrest training.

“He volunteers to do extra — he goes above and beyond what is expected” Owen said. “Whatever he does, he does an excellent job.”

Stohosky began working in Grace in 2005, then in Malad in 2012. He began working in the Franklin County area in 2014.

“He’s a high-performing officer that always is giving 100 percent in everything he does,” Owen said.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park geologists have reported the third eruption from the world’s largest active geyser in the past six weeks.

The National Park Service says a park visitor reported seeing a rare eruption of Steamboat Geyser on Friday.

Park geologists compared the report with seismic activity and the discharge of water and concluded the eruption probably started at 6:30 a.m.

The geyser also erupted on March 15 and April 19.

All three eruptions were smaller than the last major eruption that occurred on Sept. 3, 2014.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials say they will not restore federal protections for Yellowstone-area grizzly bears despite a court ruling that called into question the government’s rationale for placing the animals under state management.

Friday’s announcement follows a months-long review of a decision last year to lift the protections for about 700 bears in and around Yellowstone National Park.

The review was launched after a federal appeals court said that wildlife officials needed to give more consideration to how a species’ loss of historical habitat affects its recovery.

Grizzly bears have recovered from widespread extermination in some areas but remain absent from most of their historical range.

Wyoming and Idaho plan to allow hunts for a small number of grizzly bears this fall.

Montana officials decided against a hunt this year.

In an effort to protect the native cutthroat trout population in the Snake River, Idaho Fish and Game has partnered with nearly a dozen sponsors to host South Fork Rainbow Day from 8 a.m. Friday to 4 p.m. Saturday on the Snake River.

Fish check-in will be held starting at 4 p.m. both days at the Huskies Boat Ramp.

All proceeds from the event will go to Shepherd’s Inn, a pregnancy resource center in Idaho Falls.

The rainbow trout and hybrid rainbow population in the Snake River have been a concern for several years, said Robert Knox, a member of the Snake River Cutthroats fly fishing club board of directors. He believes this event is a great way to get the message out regarding the rainbow trout initiative in the South Fork while giving back to the community.

“Rainbow and cutthroat trout spawn at the same time of the year in the same area,” Knox said. “What that does is that it dilutes the pure strain of the cutthroat. And this Rainbow Day can help Fish and Game remove rainbows from the South Fork and help protect our native trout.”

Cutthroat trout are a native species to western waters, and the South Fork of the Snake River remains one of the few strongholds for the cutthroat population.

Paul Patterson, former president of Snake River Cutthroats, said it’s important for the species to remain thriving in the area, in part to avoid government intervention in the regulation of the river.

“If the cutthroat is included as a threatened and endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be coming in to run the show, and nobody wants to see that,” he said. “We want to keep this local.”

Patterson highlighted the efforts of Fish and Game to help control the rainbow trout population, including scaling back regulations on fishing and allowing an unlimited number of rainbow trout to be taken from the river.

“We’re just trying to encourage people to not catch and release,” he said. “It’s kind of the objective of this rainbow harvest we’re involved with.”

Cash prizes will be awarded for the most fish caught, the largest rainbow trout, largest hybrid trout, largest overall fish, and the smallest rainbow or hybrid trout caught.

Fish caught at the event can either be kept by the angler or donated to a local homeless shelter or Fish and Game.

Registration for the event is $25 per person or $65 for a three-person boat. Interested parties can register at Sportsman’s Warehouse, Idaho Fishing Outfitters, or Jimmy’s All Seasons Angler by the end of today.

A February dry spell almost brought a short end to the 2017-18 regional ski season. But after a strong March, many local ski areas were still able to salvage a good year after almost no snowfall came in the early and mid-months, causing many local ski areas to race against the clock to open up before the Christmas holiday.

Most local areas opened in late December. Pebble Creek Ski Area in Inkom opened the day after Christmas, while Pomerelle Mountain Resort in Albion opened Dec. 22. Kelly Canyon in Ririe opened Dec. 21, but the only local resort that opened before Christmas week was Grand Targhee in Alta, Wyoming.

Targhee, a resort that sometimes sees snowfall in late September, didn’t open until Dec. 1 last year. But this year, the Wyoming resort was able to open before Thanksgiving with 100 percent of its terrain available to the public. It was the only local ski area that was open during both major winter holidays.

“Usually when we have a delayed opening, it takes us quite a while to regain that,” said Gretta Frohlich, director of guest services and sales at Grand Targhee. “It is all dependent on Mother Nature.”

Targhee, which has a base elevation of just under 8,000 feet, had its last day of full skiing on April 15. The resort stayed open an extra weekend for its Crazy Horse Hill Climb.

“You do want to be open for Thanksgiving if you can because people are chomping at the bit to get on the mountain,” said Gretchen Anderson, spokesperson for Pomerelle. “But that time between Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday is a really busy time for everybody, so when you don’t open at Thanksgiving, you lose money.”

Pomerelle’s last day was earlier this month, but the resort that resides with a base elevation of about 8,700 feet was on the fence about remaining open for an extra weekend. When storms brought mostly rain to the resort instead of snow, it signified an end to Pomerelle’s season, which sometimes begins as early as Halloween.

Other local ski areas that reside at lower elevations, such as Kelly Canyon and Pebble Creek, closed in late March and early April.

“We were just squeaking by to open this year with a lot of manmade snow,” said Mike Dixon, general manager of Pebble Creek.

The higher elevation and unique snow patterns of Pomerelle allows the farmer-friendly resort to remain open longer than most other smaller ski areas.

But one downfall of Pomerelle is if there is too much snow, the roads up to the resort close, meaning nobody can get there. This allowed Pomerelle to have a better season this year because the roads only closed once this year as opposed to last year’s eight road closures.

Pebble Creek was having trouble braking the 40-inch mark well into the month of February. But a wet March bumped that total up to 75 inches by the end of the month, allowing Pebble Creek to stay open for an extra couple weeks, which made up for a weak February, a month that is typically strong.

“When there’s no snow in town, it makes people think there’s no snow up here,” Dixon said. “That’s just how people think.”

David Stoddard, owner of Kelly Canyon, says his resort was in a similar boat until late February when Kelly Canyon received an additional 5 feet of snow. Kelly Canyon has a lot of north-facing slopes, meaning that it doesn’t get the burn-off from the sun like a lot of south-facing runs do.

In addition, Stoddard says Kelly Canyon doesn’t have a lot of rocks, which allows him to mow the grass on the mountain in the fall. This allows him to create a solid base where he can then pack the first couple feet of snow into the ground. This freezes the snow and creates a base which helps hold the snow throughout the season.

“Last year was a stellar year just because we had a lot of snow early and a lot of snow late,” Stoddard said. “The best marketing for a ski resort is snow. Period.”