For the first time in U.S. history, a federal court heard live testimony in a constitutional climate lawsuit—called Lighthiser v. Trump—brought by 22 youth plaintiffs from Montana, Oregon, Hawai'i, California and Florida at the Russell Smith Courthouse in Missoula, Montana on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. One of the kids core arguments was that the Trump administration's executive orders would worsen climate change, threatening their rights to life, liberty, and health under the Fifth Amendment.
A rainbow over Boyd's Station in Berry, Kentucky, on Sunday, June 2, 2024. Boyd's Station Project 306.36 is a historical photography archive on rural America started in 2018 by USA Today staff photographer Jack Gruber.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) spoke at the University of Montana during a “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour in Missoula, Montana on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. About 9,000 people attended the rally, according to event organizers.
Jojo Becker, 5, explores a coulee with grizzly bear dens in the background outside of Valier, Montana, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. The Becker family have at least five grizzly bear dens on their property. They adopted two livestock guardian dogs for deterring the bears after a near miss with one of their kids in 2022.
Steven Ahrens, 63, and Julie Ahrens, 62, with their 180-pound livestock guardian dog named Billy outside of Shelby, Montana, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. As grizzly bears move onto the prairie, farmers in Montana are repurposing an ancient solution for deterring bears from their homes: livestock guardian dogs.
A grizzly bear during fall in Glacier National Park, Montana on Tuesday, September 30, 2025. Glacier is a part of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE), which contains the highest concentrations and largest grizzly bears in the lower 48 states.
Grizzly bear specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Chad White, pulls DNA samples from the frozen remains of a grizzly bear near Choteau, Montana on Friday, October 4, 2024. This grizzly was killed by hunters after it was mistaken for a black bear in an area grizzlies are recolonizing.
Stella Kinesis lingers in the doorway before her championship fight against Margaret Murder at the Zootown Arts Community Center in Missoula on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Montana Drag Wrestling, or MDW, started back in 2023 after a series of bills were introduced targeting drag.
A large structure fire, energized by high winds off Lake Superior, burned for nearly four hours and leveled three local businesses in downtown Grand Marais, Minnesota on Monday, April 13, 2020.
As part of a nationwide protest, about 200 people gathered to support public lands and oppose the recent layoffs of federal employees by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Montana, on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
Erik Montejano, 26, tops tobacco in 90ºF on the Dunaway’s farm near Berry, Kentucky on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Over the last 20 years, tobacco production has declined 61.9% in Kentucky, according to the USDA Agriculture Census. Boyd’s Station Project 306.36
Air Force Academy cadets undergo a series of trainings designed to push their minds and bodies, including an assault course with explosions, during basic training in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Friday, July 15, 2022.
Jamie Thompson, 22, and Amariana Kenda, 16 months, giggle at the bounce house during the Rotary Club's Fourth of July celebration at Flat Run Veteran's Park in Cynthiana, Kentucky, on Saturday, June 29, 2024. Boyd’s Station Project 306.36
Night falls on the headquarters of Glacier National Park on Saturday, February 22, 2025. Although recent federal layoffs have impacted National Park Service personnel across the country, Glacier National Park remains largely unscathed.
A recently terminated U.S. Forest Service Forestry Technician poses for a portrait on public land outside of Missoula, Montana, on Friday, February 21, 2025. Many people in the U.S. Forest Service are worried about the future of their jobs and fear speaking out.
The Aurora Borealis ripples across the night sky above the Arctic Circle near Bettles, Alaska on Monday, February 17, 2018. In this part of the Arctic, the sun disappears around November and doesn’t return until January with temperatures reaching -50ºF.
A bronc rider sets his teeth and prepares for the horse’s release during the saddle bronc competition at the Ride for the Brand Ranch Rodeo in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Saturday, August 6, 2022.
Henry Haag and his girlfriend bounce on a trampoline as the sun sets on the Haag family farm in Mount Olivet, Kentucky on Sunday, June 16, 2024.
Willard High School student, Mirsayes Jim, 16, holds the heart of a buffalo shortly after a 900 lb. bull was harvested through the Native American Student Services Department at the Missoula County Public School Agricultural Center in Missoula, Montana on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Judy Theodorson checks for a heartbeat on a calf during spring calving season at the Charlois Ranch near Augusta, Montana, on March 20, 2024. Ranching, which is an important part of the lifestyle in the American West, fosters an intimate relationship between death, life, and the land.
Eight students from Ovando’s two-room schoolhouse kicked off the 2024 academic year with a horse packing trip into the Bob Marshall Wilderness near Seeley Lake, Montana on Thursday, August 29, 2024.
A student holds a recently caught Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog in the Bob Marshall Wilderness on Thursday, August 29, 2024.
The Knowles Wildfire burned actively along Highway 200 with temperatures in the 90ºs near Paradise, Montana, on Tuesday, August 19, 2025. The fire’s behavior included short crown runs and spotting.
Marco Salvo retrieves a recently shot whitetail doe from a creek while bowhunting near Dupuyer, Montana on Saturday, September 23, 2023. Hunting is a time honored tradition in Montana, where one third of the state is made up of public land, for both urban and rural communities.
Grand Canyon National Park during the federal government shutdown on Friday, October 17, 2025.
Sarah Straughan giggles in a field of alpine wildflowers deep in the backcountry of Glacier National Park on Monday, July 28, 2025. Straughan was a part of a weeklong off-trail traverse to visit four glaciers on foot.
Charles Fish, 7, Linus Fish, 7, and Kenzo ArrowTop, 7, play around on a inflatable waterslide in a Rent-To-Own neighborhood on the Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana, on Tuesday, August 26, 2025.
Diana Burd, who lost her son Wyatt to suicide in 2024, inside her home in Browning, Montana, on Monday, May 19, 2025. Despite repeated attempts to get her son assistance with addiction and mental health resources, Wyatt passed away at age 27.