BLM Chief: No monument plans

BLM Chief: No monument plans

Tim Leeds

The director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management told a crowd at a meeting in the Malta High School gymnasium Thursday that rumors are false:

"Folks, there are no plans for a national monument in Montana," Director Bob Abbey told the crowd to a round of applause — although not all in the audience were convinced.

Abbey came to Malta at the invitation of the Phillips and Valley county commissioners to address concerns raised by a 21-page internal memo, leaked in February, that describes ways the bureau could improve conservation efforts over the next...