Clean Smurfit Now

Written by Abby Volkmann* Montana has some of the nation’s richest backcountry wildlands, with habitat for grizzly bears and mountain lions, exceptionally clear skies, and solitude. These pristine areas, however, are under threat by climate change, urbanization, and over-allocation of water supplies. Missoula and its surrounding communities are working hard…

Spring Spawn

Spring is in the air, and for rivers this means an impending spring runoff. Every year spring runoff, along with stream temperatures, signals the seasonal spawning migration of both native westslope and non-native rainbow trout. These environmental triggers tell adult fish it's time to return to their natal streams, near…

Good Medicine at Milltown

Like most of you, we’re following a shelter-in-place order, closely tracking the news, and working from home. It’s a surreal, unsettling time. Yet it’s clear from all the acts of kindness going on around us – from volunteers delivering donated food to people in need, to colleges making courses freely available…

2020 Board of Directors Ballot

The Clark Fork Coalition board of directors is pleased to nominate three outstanding candidates, Tim Flynn, Wendy Morris, and Brent Taylor for election to the board by our members. Five board members, Justin Angle, Nick Babson, Monte Mills, Lexie Moran, and Andy Puckett, are up for re-election. The CFC board has open…

Laws Processes Policies

The exciting stuff behind the scenes Changing irrigation practices so that more water can stay instream is a powerful win-win solution to de-watering. But there’s a bit more to it. To keep water instream, it must be legally protected. In Montana that means applying to the Montana Dept. of Natural…

2019 Legislative Wrap-Up

Montana’s 66th legislative session is officially over! As with any legislative session, 2019 was not without its challenges, unforeseen obstacles, and last-minute dealings, but all things considered, the session was a success in terms of the Clark Fork Coalition’s priority issues. Here’s how things shook out on key pieces of…

Young citizen scientists make their mark

In the summer of 2018 Clark Fork Coalition (CFC) partnered with the Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) and National Wildlife Federation (NWF) on a pilot program to train middle school kids to be citizen scientists in the Lolo National Forest. "A citizen science project is any activity where volunteers (a person…

Life in the EnergyCorps

By Heather Leach I spent my summer in Lolo National Forest camping out most nights and exploring the streams and waterways nearby, all as part of an AmeriCorps service term with Montana Conservation Corps. I was a Middle School Crew Leader and our project for the summer was surveying for…

Trash Talk – Are River Cleanups the Solution?

By Erika Berglund Let’s talk about trash. It may be a less than desirable topic, but what is far more undesirable is the trash itself. It’s piling up in our landfill, it’s littering our river, and it’s threatening our future prosperity. The time is now to reconsider our wasteful ways…

What is River Rec Monitoring?

Ask anyone at the Clark Fork Coalition what the best thing about living in the Missoula is, and the answer is unanimous: the rivers. Missoulians are rich in river recreation opportunities, and you don’t have to work at a river conservation organization to see the values that a river flowing…