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Cleaning up the Smurfit-Stone Mill Site near Frenchtown, MT

The Smurfit-Stone pulp mill operated on the banks of the Clark Fork River near Frenchtown from 1957 to 2010, discharging enormous amounts of wastewater into the river. More than a decade after the mill closed, the 3,200-acre industrial site is still leaching harmful chemicals into the river and our aquifer.
Exempt Wells Loophole

In 1973, the Montana Legislature passed the Water Use Act, which created a process for permitting new water rights. To reduce permitting burdens on small, individual users, it exempted groundwater use for “domestic, agricultural, or livestock purposes.” This meant applicants did not have to prove that the water was physically…
Cabinet Mountain Mines

The Cabinet Mountains Wilderness provides refuge for native fish and wildlife and its streams flow with some of the purest waters in the lower 48. The Cabinet Mountains also potentially contain significant deposits of copper and silver. For decades, CFC has worked with partner groups and Tribal governments to ensure that two…
In-stream Sediment Sampling 2022

In partnership with Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Natural Resources Damage Program, and the University of Montana – Western, we measured the amount of sediment in streams along several reaches of the Upper Clark Fork River. Students collected over 70 in-stream sediment samples to see if sediment levels affect trout…
Thermal Mapping of the Upper Clark

Professor Raja Nagisetty and environmental engineering graduate student Meggie Olsen at Montana Tech, along with several other collaborators, completed a series of drone flights on the upper Clark Fork River to study thermal refugia habitat. Professor Raja and his team documented an unremediated…
Assessments of Geomorphology and Macroinvertebrate Diversity

The CFC has coordinated data collection efforts with Professor Rob Thomas at UM Western annually since 2019. Over that period, Rob’s students have focused on a variety of studies in the UCF OU from assessments of geomorphology and macroinvertebrate diversity on both remediated and unremedied phases, to a study examining…
Slickens Assessments in the Upper Clark Fork

The CFC coordinated with Fish, Wildlife & Parks to complete a hazard assessment of the remaining slickens in Reach A of the Upper Clark Fork Superfund Operable Unit. In the summer of 2019, over 170 individual slickens were assessed and mapped for hazards related to surface runoff and channel avulsion…
Stonewall Creek

We permanently acquired 5 cfs of water rights that reconnect Stonewall Creek to the Blackfoot River year round. The creek supports native westslope cutthroat and brown trout.
Keep Cool Creek

We permanently acquired 5 cfs of water rights that reconnect Keep Cool Creek to the Blackfoot River year round.
Poorman Creek

We permanently acquired 18 cfs of water rights that reconnect Poorman Creek to the Blackfoot River year round.
West Fork Lee Creek Road Decommissioning and Fish Passage
Granite Creek Restoration

To improve fish passage and reduce chronic stream sedimentation, we upgraded eight undersized culverts along Granite…