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....
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....
Though Big Sky’s full-time population is rapidly growing, this is still a tourist town. As such, there are a variety of inns, lodges, hotels and motels, all catering to visitors itching to enjoy southwest Montana’s natural beauty. While AirBnB-style rentals are...
So far, this season has been a mild one. While the Natural Resources Conservation Service is reporting a Gallatin watershed snowpack that’s 121 percent of normal, it didn't feel much like winter until the last week of storms. Even with snowfall, temps have remained...
In a salt-based system, healthy calcium and magnesium are replaced by equal parts of sodium, and the significant volume of water used in this process is flushed down the drain.
Technology is ubiquitous in our 21st-century lives. It permeates our socializing, our shopping, our banking and even our driving. Why not use it to maximize our water conservation? That’s exactly what the Big Sky Water and Sewer District is doing with the...
Each lawn and landscape in Big Sky is part of the Gallatin Watershed. Every drop of water not used by vegetation on these yards and landscapes will eventually make its way to nearby creeks and into the Gallatin River. As our community continues to see growth in both tourism and development, our waters are faced with more potential sources of pollution and less water for fish. Conservation landscaping practices help reduce negative impacts on the Gallatin River and its healthy trout populations.
Here are a few guidelines for a Trout Friendly lawn and landscape.
The roughly 84 million doggie denizens living in the US produce an estimated 11.6 million tons of poop every year. That’s enough doo to fill nearly 300,000 eighteen-wheelers parked bumper-to-bumper from New York City to Los Angeles, according to DoodyCalls, a franchise that specializes in pet waste removal. All that crap poses a threat when dog owners don’t pick up after their pets, leaving poop to be carried by runoff to rivers and streams.
It’s no secret that Big Sky’s native landscapes are beautiful. However, our community’s current landscaping practices don’t tend to match what we see on trails and open spaces. Plants and lawns with high water requirements move us further from the drought-tolerant, cold-hardy, and fire-wise native species that thrive in our area.
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