Funded Groups

Established in 1995, the Big Hole Watershed Committee is a watershed group dedicated to the conservation of the Big Hole River and surrounding watershed. One of their monitoring efforts includes water quality sampling for the Elkhorn Mine & Mill Restoration Project. MMW is supporting BHWC in 2021 by providing gear funding. Click to visit the BHWC website.

The Bitterroot Water Forum is a non profit organization dedicated to protecting, enhancing, and restoring the Bitterroot Watershed. In 2022 the organization is supplementing previous monitoring efforts on Skalkaho Creek. MMW is providing gear funding for the group to collect temperature and flow measurements throughout the creek.

Clarks Fork Yellowstone Partnership is a community directed organization for the Clarks Fork River and Rock Creek. Their mission is to preserve and promote stream function and ecology to ensure optimal water use for agricultural, domestic and recreational needs. MMW is providing gear funding for the group.

MMW is supporting the efforts of the Flathead Lakers who are continuing sampling efforts for the yearly swim guide. This work ensures that recreation opportunities are safe for everyone. Funding will support laboratory analyses of water quality samples collected at swimming beaches around Flathead Lake.

Kootenai Watershed Allies formed in 2022 and is continuing monitoring efforts in 2026. This group is focused on monitoring Selenium and nutrients on tributaries of the Kootenai River and Koocanusa Reservoir. MMW is supporting the group by providing laboratory funding for the parameters being measured.

The Montana Audubon Center is a nonprofit environmental education center located on 54 acres of a restored gravel mine with three groundwater-fed waterways. This group has data from 2025 in the Department of Environmental Quality database and is focused on further monitoring these waterways to implement better management practices. The group has received gear funding for 2026 to support their monitoring efforts.

The Mission Bay Preserve HOA is concerned about the water quality in the Casting Pond and will be monitoring nutrient levels again in 2025. The 3-acre pond is fed by the Flathead Irrigation System. The pond is about 300 yards from Flathead Lake, and any overflow is discharged through a natural riparian area.

The Gallatin River Task Force has been monitoring algae biomass from 2019 to 2026 with support from Montana Department of Environmental Quality. This group with continue monitoring 20 sites for nutrient concentrations to identify long-term trends and inform restoration planning. Funding assistance from MMW will support the laboratory analysis of the water samples.

MMW is Supporting Rock Creek Watershed Group and the Carbon County Resource Council in their efforts to monitor the Rock Creek watershed. The group is collecting baseline data to understand the effects of increased development and agriculture use on the water quality of the stream. Funding in 2026 is supporting the costs of laboratory analyses.

Students in Action is a group of volunteers from the Seeley-Swan high school who plan to monitor water quality in Morrell Creek. The group will collect data to understand how population growth and increased septic tank density impacts the water quality at the site.11 years of water quality data has been recorded at Morrell Creek. Laboratory funding from MMW in 2022 will support the efforts of the SIA to continue monitoring efforts at this location.

Residents living near Whitefish River are working to establish a long-term water quality monitoring program with support from MMW. The team will continue to evaluate current nutrient and other water quality conditions in a section of the Whitefish River to establish a baseline for future comparisons and trend analysis.