Montana Department of Justice

The Montana Department of Justice operates as Montana's primary law enforcement and legal agency, encompassing various divisions such as Highway Patrol, State Crime Lab, and Office of Consumer Protection. Its strategic objectives for 2025 include increasing mental health resources for staff, improving operational efficiencies, and enhancing recruitment and retention efforts. These goals aim to support the workforce's well-being, optimize service delivery to Montanans, and ensure the continued strength and resilience of public safety personnel.

The Montana Public Safety Officers Standards and Training Council's 2025 Business Plan outlines its strategic direction to ensure competency and promote quality performance among public safety officers through establishing, maintaining, and promoting excellence in standards and training. The plan aims to achieve a vision where the public is safe, secure, and confident in Montana Public Safety Officers. Key strategic areas include optimizing staffing (FTE), modernizing software for case management and training, transitioning to paperless operations, developing a Council Commendation Program, and updating policies to align with new functionalities and regulations.

This document outlines the 2025 Business Plan for the Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training Council (POST). The plan's mission is to ensure competency and promote quality performance by public safety officers through excellence in standards and training, aiming for a public that is safe, secure, and confident in Montana Public Safety Officers. Key areas include establishing and maintaining qualification and training standards, approving training, and managing certification processes. Strategic initiatives involve addressing staffing needs (FTE), upgrading to a comprehensive paperless software system by July 1, 2025, establishing a Council Commendation Program, and updating policies to align with ARM changes and new software functionality.

The meeting agenda covered several topics, including an update from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy (MLEA) Director Joel Wendland, who announced his retirement. The Council approved amendments to the Administrative Rules (ARM) regarding college basic training and addressed concerns about background check processes for public safety officers, noting the Law and Justice Interim Committee is studying mandatory information sharing between previous and hiring agencies. Basic audits for the Law Enforcement Officer Basic and Probation/Parole Basic courses were presented, showing compliance. The Council reviewed and approved curriculum updates for the Probation and Parole Basic Academy 2026, which involved shifting several certifications to prerequisites and reducing total hours, and for the Misdemeanor Probation and Pretrial Services Officers Basic, which involved minor adjustments. An update was provided on Gallatin County College's preparation for presenting its Basic program. Furthermore, the Council filled committee vacancies, assigning new members to the Curriculum Review and Business Plan and Policy committees, and reached a consensus to hold three council meetings in 2026 (two in-person, one via Teams).

This document evaluates restoration priorities and actions for the mainstem Clark Fork River within the Upper Clark Fork River Basin. It outlines 16 restoration actions, categorized into three priority tiers, to assist in the development of the State of Montana's 2019 Revised Restoration Plan for Aquatic and Riparian Resources. The analysis provides a framework for ranking these actions based on criteria such as technical feasibility, ecological benefits (aquatic and terrestrial), environmental impacts, recovery period, cost-effectiveness, and compliance with policies. The ultimate objective is to guide efforts to restore the river's aquatic and riparian resources to baseline conditions.