Year 1999 Watershed Stewardship Award recipients

The Montana Watershed Coordination Council is pleased to announce the recipients of the first Montana Watershed Stewardship Award. It is with great pleasure that we recognize two outstanding watershed initiatives: Sun River Watershed Project and Big Hole Watershed Committee. These organizations will receive the 1999 Montana Watershed Stewardship Award from Governor Racicot during a July ceremony. The purpose of the award is to recognize innovative, locally-led approaches to restoring and enhancing Montana’s watersheds. The recipients of the 1999 award demonstrated: measurable results; diverse, local involvement and effective collaboration; community outreach and education; and a comprehensive approach to watershed health.

05/24/99 BOZEMAN - Two innovative, local approaches to restoring and enhancing Montana's watersheds will receive the first annual Montana Watershed Stewardship Award. The Sun River Watershed Project and Big Hole Watershed Committee were chosen this year's outstanding watershed stewards. The winning groups, and others nominated, will be recognized at a ceremony in Helena July 6.

The project's measurable goals included: reduction in sediment from 200,000 tons annually to 50,000 tons per year; stabilizing 20 miles of river; grazing management and weed control programs; irrigation project use of Agri-Met to improve crop-water efficiency; and a strong mix of community outreach and publications to inform and educate the public and watershed group participants. The Sun River Watershed Project's goals address diverse resource concerns including: agricultural viability, weeds, water quality and supply, wildlife habitat in riparian and upland areas, rangeland health, recreation and community growth.

The Sun River watershed has also been featured on NPR and was the 1999 recipient of the CF Industries National Watershed Award. Click here for details.

The Big Hole Watershed Committee has minimized conflicts over water resource issues by many local participants, including ranchers, wildlife enthusiasts, recreationists, and land management agencies. Today, these and other diverse interest groups are successfully represented in the Big Hole Watershed Committee, where they have resolved some of these conflicts through collaboration.

The Big Hole group has worked to develop innovative solutions to deal with the various concerns of the committee's participants: drought management, a declining fluvial Arctic grayling population, a state dewatering statute, water quality and quantity concerns, and aesthetics and recreational uses. Voluntary conservation practices and the groups' willingness to work together led to Senate Bill 445, which addresses fishing pressure on watercourses in the Big Hole valley.

Four criteria used to evaluate the nominations were: diverse local involvement and effective collaboration; demonstration of measurable results; community outreach and education; comprehensive approach to watershed health.

The first Montana Watershed Stewardship Award is sponsored by the Montana Watershed Coordination Council, a statewide information and support network that advances voluntary local watershed work and helps build the capacity to get it done. Announcement of the Stewardship Awards was made by Montana Watercourse, a water education program located at Montana State University-Bozeman and member of the Coordination Council.

The Coordination Council serves as a forum to establish links with local watershed groups needing assistance and to encourage local people to take a proactive, collaborative approach to address natural resource issues and concerns. Please check the World Wide Web to obtain more information about the Coordination Council and local watershed efforts around the state: http://water.montana.edu/