Gallatin County District Court Rules in Favor of Environmental Groups

Subdivision Water Pollution Permit Declared Unlawful After DEQ Failed to Consider Cumulative Impacts On November 16, the Montana Eighteenth Judicial District Court in Gallatin County released a ruling in favor of Upper Missouri Waterkeeper and the Montana Environmental Information Center…

Coalition Calls on Governor Gianforte to Form Cold Water Fisheries Task Force

Today, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper submitted a formal letter signed by a broad coalition of Montana fly fishing, outfitters, and lodges, international fly fishing businesses Orvis and Patagonia, and conservation groups requesting Governor Gianforte immediately create a Cold Water Fisheries Task…

Missouri River Headwaters Sub-Basin Report – Summer 2021

Executive Summary: Waterways across Southwest Montana are facing troubling conditions and unprecedented challenges. From an early June heat wave and drought conditions, to historically low fish counts, to our State repealing numeric nutrient standards and allowing reckless pollution into our…

UMW Waterway Watch Bulletin: June 2021

A Word From Your Waterway Watchdogs Watch Bulletin: June 2021 Welcome to the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper’s Waterway Watch Bulletin! This summer we’ll be patrolling the waterways of the Upper Missouri River Basin – from the Missouri, to Ten Mile Creek,…

Upper Missouri Waterkeeper Petitions EPA to Disapprove Montana’s Changes to Water Quality Standards

Today, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper filed a legal petition to Michael Regan, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The petition requests the agency exercise its oversight authority under the federal Clean Water Act to determine that changes to Montana’s…

Another Blow to Montana’s Rivers, Clean Water, and Fish – Gianforte’s FWP Drifts Away From Science

Governor Gianforte’s Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) Director Hank Worsech has announced a shift in the direction the agency will take in the coming years, including moving away from long-term scientific research and inexplicably putting important fish restoration projects…

Governor Gianforte Sold Montana Down the River, Signing SB 358 Into Law

On April 30, 2021 Governor Gianforte signed the most egregious dirty water bill from this year’s Legislative Session, Senate Bill 358, into law, selling Montana and clean water down the river. SB 358 revises Montana’s water quality standards in two…

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…

Public Talking Points – EPA Regulatory Roll-Back Comments

This year, President Trump issued Executive Order 13777 (‘Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda) demanding that for every new regulation proposed, the government must eliminate two existing rules. On top of trying to remove the regulatory safeguards that industry finds too costly, the…