Another Blow to the Big Hole River; Widespread Neon-Green Algal Bloom Emerges

This week, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper documented and notified the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) of a miles-long neon-green noxious algal bloom emerging on the Big Hole River downstream of Divide. The new algal bloom adds to the suite of…

What’s Happening with Wild Trout in Southwest Montana?

You’ve likely seen the troubling news that trout populations in the Jefferson Basin including the Big Hole, Beaverhead, and Ruby Rivers, have crashed to 50-year lows. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ (FWP) own data show that brown and rainbow trout…

SW Montana’s Jefferson Basin Trout at Historic Lows; Recruitment Class Absent 

Governor Has Ignored Calls for Cold Water Fisheries Task Force Recent reporting from the Montana Standard exposed an emergency situation on the Big Hole, Beaverhead, Ruby, and Jefferson rivers.  Wild trout populations in these rivers have plummeted to 50-year+ historic…

Success – BLM Again Defers Beaverhead/Big Hole Oil & Gas Leasing!

Oil and gas leasing on 12,889 acres of public land in Beaverhead and Madison counties has been deferred indefinitely, once again, by the BLM. While this decision is certainly a small victory for the Beaverhead and Big Hole, and make…

Take Action (AGAIN): Tell BLM Southwest Montana Is No Place For Oil & Gas Development!

The BLM is trying to sell off your public lands near the Big Hole & Beaverhead Rivers, AGAIN! The Environmental Assessment (EA) for proposed March 2019 lease sales of public land in Southwest Montana for oil & gas development is now…

Take Action: Tell BLM Southwest Montana Is No Place For Oil & Gas Development

The Environmental Assessment (EA) for proposed December 2018 lease sales of public land in Southwest Montana for oil & gas development is now available for public comment. The public lands proposed for sale this December are exclusively intended for oil…

Public Land Sell-Out Threatens Big Hole & Beaverhead

This July the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) posted an obscure notice on its website that, for the first time in recent memory, it will lease more than 12,000 acres of public land in Beaverhead and Madison Counties for oil…