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 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.
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 estimate there are eight grizzly dens nearby. They adopted two livestock guardian dogs for deterring the bears after a near miss with one of their kids in 2022.
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.
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.
Jamie Thompson, 22, and Amariana Kenda, 1, 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
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
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.
Grace Gibson-Snyder, 21, a senior at Yale studying global affairs and energy, poses for a portrait in Missoula on Thursday, September 18, 2025. Grace is one of the youth plaintiffs in Lighthiser v. Trump and was previously in Held v. Montana. She grew up in Missoula and is a raft guide in the summer for Montana River Guides.
Sarah Straughan giggles in a field of alpine wildflowers deep in the backcountry of Glacier National Park on July 28, 2025. Many of the namesake glaciers in the national park are disappearing due to climate change.
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.
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.
Angie Main, cofounder and executive director of NACDC Financial Services, at her home outside of Valier, Montana, on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. NACDC is a non-profit that helps remove barriers that exist in Indian County to capital and credit, including loans for home ownership.
Charles Fish, 7, and Linus Fish, 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.
Blackfeet Tribal Chairman, Rodney “Minnow” Gervais, poses for a portrait on the Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana, on Monday, May 19, 2025. Gervais would like to see more youth mental health resources, like the heavy metal music class, on the Blackfeet Nation.
Horses during blue hour on the Blackfeet Nation on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.
Portraits of Montana Poet Laureate, Sheryl Noethe, who recently released a book called the "Science of Coincidence" on Wednesday, September 10, 2025.
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. Due to the recent federal layoffs, many employees of the U.S. Forest Service are worried for the future of their jobs and fear speaking out.
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.
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.
Christina Flammond, her father Chris, and agricultural center staff remove the head of a bull Buffalo using a sawzall during an educational experience for Indigenous students in Missoula on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.
Young women wait in line during Initiation-Day at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on Thursday, June 23, 2022.
A cadet climbs out of the mud during basic training, which is designed to push bodies and minds, at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on Friday, July 15, 2022.
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.
Jennifer Mayo, M.D., OB/GYN of Western Montana Clinic poses for a portrait at Community Medical Center on Friday, November 14, 2025. Dr. Mayo was one of three physicians St. Pats recruited to start their obstetric unit in 2015. She found out abruptly that the center would be closing in October 2025. “The staff were floored by the announcement,” said Mayo.
A student holds a recently caught Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog in the Bob Marshall Wilderness on Thursday, August 29, 2024.
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.
A car driven down a driveway on the Navajo Nation on Saturday, October 19, 2025. To get to school, Navajo students typically must travel rural dirt roads like this one. The Secure Rural Schools program provides critical funding for rural infrastructure in Coconino County. Commercial work for Resource Rural
Lena Fowler, supervisor for Coconino County, poses for a portrait outside her childhood home on the Navajo Nation on Saturday, October 19, 2025. Fowler is an advocate for the Secure Rural Schools program, which provides critical funding for rural infrastructure in Coconino County. Commercial work for Resource Rural
A woman, who arrived as a refugee to the U.S. in the last 5 years and is going to lose SNAP benefits, poses for an anonymous portrait on Thursday, November 20, 2025. “Coming to America was a dream," she explained. "I am not safe here now."
An anonymous U.S. citizen, who arrived as a refugee, holds her daughter's hand and on Thursday, November 20, 2025. Even with U.S. citizenship, she feels fear as a refugee and a member of the resettlement community.