HELENA – Governor Steve Bullock today announced fifteen Montana counties have been designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as primary natural disaster areas due to drought conditions, and nine additional ones have been named contiguous disaster counties. Secretary Tom Vilsack notified Bullock through a letter this morning. This declaration allows farm operators in these designated counties to be considered for assistance from the Farm Services Agency (FSA) to recover from losses as a result of a natural disaster.
Counties designated as primary disaster areas include Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Flathead, Glacier, Granite, Lake, Lewis & Clark, Lincoln, Mineral, Missoula, Pondera, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders and Silver Bow.