About Our Watershed

A Long and Storied History on the Clark Fork

The Clark Fork watershed covers an immense area in Western Montana and northern Idaho, and it boasts an illustrious history to boot. Since 1985, the Clark Fork Coalition has worked to ensure that Montana’s largest watershed by volume contains cold, clean, abundant water for generations to come.

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Watershed Facts

The Clark Fork and its tributaries drain over 28,000 miles of streams — by volume, it’s the largest drainage in Montana. And it’s a river on the rebound — cleanups and restoration projects are bringing the system back to full health for the benefit of the fish, wildlife and people who call the Clark Fork watershed home.

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Drought & Streamflows

There’s an old saying in the West — whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting. In years of drought and low flows, it’s easy to see how this old adage may have come about. Fortunately, groups like the Clark Fork Coalition have tools to help fix the problem and improve streamflows for fish and people.

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Mine Waste Cleanups

It’s hard to find a river that’s worked harder over the past many decades than the Clark Fork. Mining in the headwaters of the system powered the United States — and the world — for nearly a century. The river paid a price — but fortunately, large-scale cleanups are underway, slowly bringing the system back to full ecological health.

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