The River Weed Rodeo and Wild & Scenic River Tour Events Supported by Flathead Rivers Alliance

MMW staff helped hand-pull noxious weeds as part of the River Weed Rodeo on June 26th that was coordinated by Flathead Rivers Alliance. Volunteers rafted down the Middle Fork of the Flathead River corridor, focused on pulling many noxious weeds, including Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), Western Salsify (Tragopogon dubius), and St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum). Volunteers gained hands-on practice identifying these three noxious weeds and improved their knowledge about how noxious weeds can displace native plants. Flathead Rivers Alliance also hosted the Wild & Scenic River Tour on June 25th with Wild Montana. This family-friendly event brought people together to celebrate 50 years of wild rivers on a 4-mile journey along the Boundary Trail in Glacier National Park. If you are interested in attending future events hosted by Flathead Rivers Alliance, visit their website Events — Flathead Rivers Alliance to learn more! 

A white flower with a yellow center called Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare).
A yellow flower called Western Salsify (Tragopogon dubius).
A flower with many small yellow clustered flowers called St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum).

If you are interested in getting involved with your local watershed group partnered with MMW, reach out to callie.nelson@flbs.umt.edu. Our watershed groups are passionate about engaging communities and improving the health of their watersheds!

A person is standing on a raft parked on a rocky beach along a river and a crowd of people are around her to learn about pulling noxious weeds for the Weed Rodeo.
A flyer for a River Festival called the Flathead River 50 Years of Wild and Scenic Rivers hosted by the Flathead Rivers Alliance.
Big Sky Watershed Corp members in a raft for the Weed Rodeo.

About the author

Callie Nelson

Callie Nelson is the 2026 BSWC member leading the Monitoring Montana Waters (MMW) program which supports citizen-led watershed groups in Montana. If you are interested in reaching out, her email is callie.nelson@flbs.umt.edu.