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MISSOULA — Two Butte men who admitted to charges stemming from the illegal importation of two pill presses from China were sentenced this week, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
David Jesus Tapia-Padron, 34, was sentenced today to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Tapia-Padron pleaded guilty in November 2023 to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Co-defendant Austin Perry King-Terrell, 30, was sentenced on April 9 to three years of probation and fined $4,000. King-Terrell pleaded guilty in November 2023 to illegal importation of pill press.
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By Mark Moran - Producer-Editor, Contact - News
Big Sky Connection - Montana researchers recommend letting smaller fires burn to head off the damage and danger of larger ones later on. In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, they say the current policy of extinguishing every fire as soon as possible, no matter how small, is leading to what's known as "suppression bias." Comments from Mark Kreider (CRY-der), Ph.D candidate in forest and conservation science, University of Montana.
Click on the image above for the audio. New research at the University of Montana recommends letting smaller wildfires burn where possible, heading off potentially more dangerous blazes later. (Adobe Stock)
Mark Moran
April 10, 2024 - A new study in the journal Nature Communications by Montana researchers said suppressing small wildfires is leading to larger, more intense and damaging blazes.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, about 98% of wildfires are fully suppressed before they grow to 100 acres; most of them within 72 hours. In Montana, the latest data show crews kept 95% of wildfires in Montana to no more than 10 acres in 2022.
Mark Kreider, a doctoral candidate in forest and conservation science at the University of Montana and co-author of the report, said the strategy leads to what is known as fire "suppression bias."
"Removing more of one type of fire than the other, what we're left with is bias towards the higher intensity fires, these more extreme fires," Kreider explained.
Montana state policy calls for crews to extinguish fires as quickly as possible, even small ones. Kreider pointed out researchers recommend letting low-intensity fires burn where possible to reduce the risk and damage potential for larger, hotter-burning and more catastrophic blazes.
Kreider acknowledged as the population grows along the urban-wildland interface, letting fires burn is not always possible, but argued it might be the best strategy for heading off catastrophic fires later.
"Especially in the western U.S. where people live close to forests, fire suppression is very important and we still must do it," Kreider noted. "But this research helps to show when possible in places where it's safe to do so, we really may benefit from allowing more low and moderate intensity fire to burn."
The National Interagency Fire Center said the number of acres scorched by wildfire has doubled since the 1980s, and the cost to battle the fires has risen to nearly $3 billion a year.
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PNS - Wednesday, April 10, 2024 - Arizona upholds a near-total, civil-era abortion ban. Hundreds inside the Capitol pray for a Gaza Ceasefire and an RFK Jr aide says she wants to take blue, northeastern states from Biden.
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PNS - Wednesday, April 10, 2024 - VA Senator calls for updates to ACA health coverage; Parents of school shooters sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison; WI utilities make union jobs a priority for green projects; Idaho could boost local election turnout with timing change.
