Yes, Montana salts its roads It’s a common misconception that Montana does not use salt on its roadways. In actuality, salt compound deicers have been used statewide since 1996, with an increase in tonnage applied each year. Before a winter…
Category: Issues
Glampground on the Gallatin: New development in the floodplain is bad for the river
A Gallatin Gateway landowner is asking Gallatin County permission to build a glamorous campground (“Glampground”) retreat facility on the bank of the Gallatin River with 63 sites that will include running water, sewage, power and gas utilities, as well as…
Limited Time Upcycled Patagonia Waders to Benefit Clean Water
Patagonia wants to crush fly fishing’s barriers to entry, empower our community and keep fishable waders out of landfills. For a limited time, Fins & Feathers of Bozeman is selling upcycled Patagonia waders (valued at $500) for only $200….
Federal Court Reverses Rollback of MT Nutrient Pollution Standard
On October 30, 2020 the Federal District Court of Montana Issued An Order In Our (Second) Nutrient Pollution Exemption Lawsuit Holding EPA & MT Accountable to Improve Wastewater Pollution Controls For Most of MT’s Largest Polluters In response to our…
Update: “Waters of the United States” Rule in Montana
For the past 5 years Upper Missouri Waterkeeper has defended the scope of legal protections for headwater streams in Montana, arguing science – not politics – is the lawful baseline. The federal Clean Water Act is a crucial piece of…
Looking Ahead: River Protection in Montana 2021 & Beyond
The Upcoming Biden Presidency Offers An Opportunity to Increase Protections for Montana’s Rivers and the Businesses & Communities They Support, But, There Is No Guarantee At the same time, Montana just elected an unprecedented number of state public officials –…
Madison River Recreational Management Proposed Rules and EA
After decade-long conversations, numerous surveys, and plentiful public meetings and scoping, the time has finally come for the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission to take formal public comment on a recreational management plan for the Madison River, Montana’s most heavily…
Trump Administration relaxes rules for oil and gas drilling in National Forests
The Trump administration has released its plan to make it easier for companies to drill for oil and gas on U.S. Forest Service lands. Public comments concerning the proposed rule are being accepted through November 2, 2020. The proposed rule would cut the…
Summer 2020 Neon-Green Algal Bloom on the Gallatin River
Once again Montana’s World-Famous Gallatin River is Experiencing a Miles-Long, Green Algal Bloom. This “New Normal” is not, in fact, Normal. The Gallatin River is a jewel of our state and the treasured community backyard of Big Sky and Bozeman….
Big Trout Numbers Down in Upper Madison
The number of large brown and rainbow trout in the upper Madison River has declined below 20-year averages, and fisheries biologists are unsure why. “It’s been good to excellent recruitment for quite a while, but the adults aren’t there,” said…