If you have spent time along the Gallatin, you have undoubtedly seen for yourself or heard the chatter about long, stringy green algae growing on rocks throughout the river. This is an algae called Cladophora glomerata (Cladophora). Cladophora is naturally occurring...
If you’ve spent time along the Gallatin in the past few summers, you’ve likely noticed bright-green algae covering rocks from shoreline to shoreline late in the summer as you’re wading to your favorite fishing hole. Like us, you probably have questions. To answer these questions and more, the Task Force has partnered with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality on a multi-year study to determine the primary drivers of the algae blooms and what we must do to stop them.
As you’ve likely noticed, a wide-spread, bright green algae bloom yet again took over our backyard waterway. From the upper reaches of the Taylor Fork to downstream of Portal Creek, filamentous vegetation covered the river-bottom rocks. At first glance, the algae is...
It’s no secret that Big Sky’s water resources are fragile. Water quantity and quality are heavily dependent on a deep winter snowpack and large rain events in the spring, summer, and fall. This precipitation recharges our groundwater resources. As summer wears on and...
Since 2000, the Gallatin River Task Force has monitored water quality in the upper Gallatin watershed. Staffers and volunteers have routinely sampled several locations throughout the watershed to determine how land-use practices impact our streams, creeks, and rivers....
Recently, winter stormed back onto the southwest Montana landscape. A March 24 storm left almost a foot of snow on the slopes high above Big Sky, with a few inches dusting the meadows and canyons closer to the Gallatin River. On the morning of March 25, our...
Groundwater study to impact water management. BY Kristin Gardner, Executive Director Groundwater quality and quantity is threatened by the proliferation of septic systems and individual wells in the Upper Gallatin Canyon. This could lead to the degradation of...
This fall has turned out snowier than average, but it also came with several days of temperature highs over 70 degrees Fahrenheit in Mountain Village. Overall, October had a mean temperature of 34 degrees, 10 degrees cooler than the 44-degree average.
Meet Didymosphenia geminata (didymo). Didymo has been spotted growing in the Gallatin River and its tributaries. Didymo, or rock snot, is a single-celled alga that is native to Montana but has recently made headlines for causing river-choking mats.
Nitrogen levels measured in the West Fork of the Gallatin River during summer 2018 were some of the highest ever recorded, which may have contributed to increased algae in the Gallatin River, according to the Gallatin River Task Force.