The Lower Clark Fork Watershed Group fills a niche in the tributary watersheds of the lower Clark Fork River, connecting diverse partners, landowners, funders and natural resource managers, in order to accomplish on-the-ground projects that benefit our waterways and the surrounding lands that drain into them.
While every organization is unique, the Lower Clark Fork Watershed Group is joined by many other partners and watershed groups across the state of Montana who utilize a common approach to conservation.
In recent years, the Montana Watershed Coordination Council has assisted these diverse, community-based watershed groups in defining what it means to utilize a watershed approach.
The Watershed Approach:
- Is tied to a distinct land area or hydrologic boundary
- Ensures broad stakeholder involvement and inclusivity
- Is community-based and community-driven
- Relies on local leadership
- Encourages collaboration with partners in the watershed
- Strives for consensus, and avoids litigation as a conservation strategy
Contact Brita Olson, our Watershed Coordinator, to learn more about how the Lower Clark Fork Watershed Group is utilizing this watershed approach in Sanders County.
The above film, made by Jon Catton, highlights the work of the Montana Watershed Cooordination Council in support of watershed groups and the watershed approach around the state. In addition to providing professional development and networking opportunities, in 2021 MWCC has also funded some of the Lower Clark Fork Watershed Goup’s work connecting with new landowners as well as planting native trees and shrubs along the the East Fork and mainstem Bull Rivers.