Montana tribes combine traditional knowledge and Western science in climate plan

Mike Durglo Jr. has devoted his life to preparing his home and his people for climate change. As the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes climate change coordinator he wrote one of the first tribal climate action plans in the country over 15 years ago. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption toggle caption Ryan Kellman/NPR NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about how communities are moving forward on climate solutions despite significant political headwinds. As the federal government halts plans to address climate change, states, cities, regions, and even neighborhoods are trying to fill the gap by cutting climate pollution and adapting to extreme weather. RONAN, Montana — On a crisp April morning, Mike Durglo Jr. stood on a hillside overlooking a stretch of the 1.2-million-acre Flathead Indian Reservation — the home of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. He pointed out the mountains where his father taught him how to track deer, and then to a peak in the distance where a lone whitebark pine stands against the snow. He calls the tree Ilawya: "It means my great, great, great, grandparent," he said, explaining how the massive, ancient tree represents resilience in the face of change. Montana, like much of the west, had a record-breaking warm spring this year, with snowpack well below average across much of the state. …