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Flathead Basin Commission
County: Flathead, Lake
Sub-Major Basin: Flathead
Affected Watershed: Flathead Lake
Watershed Description: The Flathead Basin encompasses 8,587 square miles (approximately six milliion acres) in Northwest Montana and Southeast British Columbia. It is the most pristine and ecologically diverse of any watershed shared by the U.S. and Canada. The basin is the largest tributary to the Clark Fork River and part of the extensive headwaters of the Columbia River. Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. west of the Mississippi, is the basin's catchment. Into it flow waters from the three forks of the Flathead River (North, Middle and South), and the Swan, Whitefish and Stillwater rivers. The watershed contains a diverse community of plants and animals,
including over 300 species of aquatic insects, 22 native and introduced species of fish, the grizzly bear, bald eagle, bull trout, lynx, peregrine falcon, grey wolf and others. The basin includes the western portion of Glacier National Park, virtually all of Flathead and Lake counties, a small portion of Missoula County, and most of the Flatehad Indian Reservation. The human population of the basin is approximately 80,000, including the municipalities of Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Polson, Ronan and
St. Ignatius.
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Why was a watershed effort begun? The FBC was established in 1983 by the Montana Legislature to monitor and protect the water quality of the basin. The possibility of large scale mining activity in the headwaters of the North Fork of the Flathead River in British Columbia, a potential source of large scale pollution, was one of the driving factors in the creation of the watershed effort. In recent years, working to offset the environmental consequences of population growth and development and carrying out projects to achieve pollution reduction for the Flathead Lake Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), an EPA-mandated effort, have become FBC priorities.
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Group Accomplishments: The coordination of basin-wide monitoring activities through emphasizing agency cooperation and avoiding the duplication of efforts and maximization of human and financial monitoring resources has been accomplished. Education projects have been designed and carried out to provide essential information
on basin water quality issues and Best Management Practices for students, landowners, realtors, educators, contractors and other professionals. Dozens
of area citizens have been trained to conduct volunteer water quality monitoring activities, and their data is collected, analyzed and published.
Local citizen watershed groups have been sponsored and have become active in basin-wide efforts to restore impaired watershed and improve water quality.
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Group Plans: Maintenance and expansion of existing programs, with an emphasis on meeting interim TMDL water quality targets for Flathead Lake throught the FBC's Voluntary Nutrient Reduction Strategy.
Biggest Challenge: Primarly challenges have include obtaining sufficient funding to maintain operation of the FBC and provide for education and pollution reduction/watershed restoration projects.
Additional Comments:
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| This information was last updated on: 1/13/2005 |
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DID YOU KNOW:
Montana is one of four headwater states in the Rocky Mountain region that provides drinking water for over 60 million US Citizens in 11 states.
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MWCC
PO Box 17106
Missoula, MT 59808
info@mtwatersheds.org |
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