Monitoring Montana Waters (MMW) funds a number of water quality monitoring groups dedicated to improving the health of streams and lakes in Montana. Each organization MMW funds has specific goals and objectives for water quality monitoring and conservation. MMW has been supporting Rock Creek Watershed Group (RCWG) and the Carbon County Resource Council in their efforts to monitor the Rock Creek Watershed since 2022. The Rock Creek Watershed is a 55-mile tributary of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River. RCWG is a citizen-led watershed group that was formed in 2022. The Carbon County Resource Council (CCRC) was formed in 1997 and has been advocating for sustainable resource use and growth ever since its founding. CCRC has focused on oil and gas reforms, expanding clean energy, and increasing access to local foods.  

 
Water quality monitoring has expanded the resource conservation this group performs. Both groups are concerned with how municipal growth and agriculture impact the water quality at Rock Creek. The groups are getting baseline physical, chemical, and biological data to assess water quality conditions in the watershed. The groups monitor nutrients, temperature, and total suspended solids over eleven sampling sites. The Rock Creek groups are dedicated to collecting three years of consecutive data to educate people and local governments about water quality and land use. MMW is proud of the groups’ work over these past two years and looks forward to the future.