Now that some time has passed since the New Year holiday, we’ve had a chance to take stock of the last few months—and we’re thrilled with what we see. After several major victories and important organizational developments, it’s clear the Gallatin River is in good...
How to conserve more water in 2021. It is, once again, that time of year. It is time to make—and hopefully keep—our New Year’s Resolutions. For those of us who spend time in the Gallatin River Watershed, keeping the river clean and cold is as good a resolution as any,...
A Letter from the Executive Director. Twenty years ago, a small group of concerned citizens formed the Blue Water Task Force. They were worried about water quality in the Upper Gallatin River Watershed, and they wanted to learn more about the challenges before them....
The eagle is exactly where an eagle ought to be, perched high in a dying streamside pine along the Gallatin River. It’s likely perusing the breakfast menu—brown trout, whitefish, rainbow. The scene is simultaneously iconic and common place, inspiring enough for me to...
In the late afternoon on November 30, 2020, Senator Jon Tester officially introduced the Montana Headwaters Legacy Act, a Wild and Scenic Rivers bill that would protect 336 river miles in the Treasure State. For us here at the Task Force, it was an exciting moment to...
On Oct. 20, the Gallatin River Task Force hosted a workshop focused on using water rights as a legal tool to ensure there is enough water to support a healthy ecosystem and fishery. Kerri Strasheim from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation provided the...
Walking, biking, or driving around Big Sky this time of year, one thing always stands out: bright green Kentucky bluegrass lawns. While meadows and hillsides go from brown to browner, residential and commercial lots in the Meadow and Mountain villages and the Town...
When I set out to write this article about landscaping, native wildflowers, and summer irrigation, it was dumping snow and below freezing. Now, it's 65 and sunny. Ahhhhhh, spring in Montana. The calendar might say one thing, but Mother Nature always has her own plans....
Recently, I stopped along the Gallatin to enjoy a peaceful moment at the river’s edge. Pulling into the access site adjacent to the Hwy. 191 stoplight, I expected an idyllic scene of slow-moving, crystal clear water. What I got was the opposite. Originating from...
Big Sky has a poop problem. Rapid growth and decentralized infrastructure have led to three streams flowing through our community below state standards for water quality. Higher-than-ideal levels of certain nutrients qualify the streams as impaired, and these...