Celebrating our 2020 Volunteers of the Year.
Without our dedicated team of volunteers, the Gallatin River Task Force simply wouldn’t be able to get our work done. Every year, we celebrate our most dedicated individuals. These are the folks devoting time weekly to our cause—a clean river and a healthy community.
2020 was a little different than most years, but with the help of our volunteers, we still got a lot done. Thank you to everyone who chipped in, and thank you especially to these selfless folks listed below.
Jack Crowther Volunteer(s) of the Year
The Task Force is proud to recognize Jackson Lang and Nathan Browne with the 2020 Jack Crowther Volunteer of the Year Award! They have worked hard for the Task Force for the past two years as devoted and ready-for-anything volunteers. Getting the word out at the Farmers’ Market and helping with the work we are doing to protect our water and river is why we are beyond thankful for all of their hard work.
Rookie of the Year
Ashlie Gilbert was the unanimous choice for our Rookie of the Year award after she showed up on a sub-zero day in October to help with watershed monitoring. She was also sporting a Friend of the Gallatin license plate on her rig, earning her extra points! “I love that the license plate says “Friend of the Gallatin.” I hope that fellow Bozeman residents see it while I am out and about driving around and it inspires them to consider water quality and the future of our local waterbodies.” Ashlie is a master’s student at MSU specializing in geography, and she is interested in stakeholder engagement and decision-making in watershed management and planning.
Outstanding Steward
Mark McCurley and his team pulled double duty at this year’s Gallatin River Cleanup. Mark led two teams on stretches of the Gallatin from the Park boundary to 320 Guest Ranch, heading out not once but twice in one weekend to collect riverside trash, protecting the scenic beauty of our favorite blue-ribbon waterway. Thank you to Mark for his leadership and thank you to all his River Cleanup teammates!
Algae-Scraping All-Star
Hands down, our algae-scraping all-star in 2020 was Maks Kolomayets. Maks joined us for the summer assisting on miultple occasions along the Taylor Fork, West Fork tributaries, and main stem Gallatin. His contribution was vital to gathering good data for future watershed management decisions. Thank you Maks!
Philanthropic River Leaders
Cathy Drook loves our Gallatin River, and she was a bright light of leadership and creativity for the success of our Hooked on the Gallatin event in August. Cathy has joined our annual Gallatin cleanup for years and was a key leader for making this year’s “online banquet” a roaring success. We are continuously grateful for her friendship and dedication to supporting the cause of a clear, clean Gallatin River. We were honored to have her join our Task Force crew on the Middle Fork of the Salmon in Idaho this summer, where she enjoyed the thrill of kayaking a wild and scenic river! We love you Cathy, thank you for being a 2020 Philanthropic River Leader!
Nancy Hagen is active in so many causes in Big Sky, so we were VERY lucky to have her as a leader for philanthropy on the Gallatin in 2020.Through the pandemic, Nance worked her heart out to help our Hooked on the Gallatin event be a huge success in August. We are so grateful for her love of the Gallatin and conservation. Thank you Nance for your friendship, stewardship, and support as a 2020 Philanthropic River Leader!
Interested in becoming Gallatin River volunteers in 2021? Sign up today!