The Clearwater Resource council is scheduling a community meeting on Jan. 9 at the Barn in Seeley Lake to present the finding of multiple years of aquatic monitoring of streams and lakes in the Clearwater Valley.
Ongoing human activities in the Clearwater watershed are resulting in impacts to our lakes, streams, wildlife habitat, forest, and rural lifestyle. It is estimated that over two thousand landowners and thirty thousand plus people come to the valley to recreate and enjoy the rural splendor of the valley annually. Consequently, citizens are increasingly expressing concern for the negative impacts occurring to our natural resources-based community. This situation has not escaped the attention of county, state, and federal management agencies. They hold authority and responsibility for conserving, protecting, and enhancing resources, and services for the health, safety, and resiliency in the Clearwater Valley. If citizens do not step up and take an active part in forging innovative ways to mitigate unhealthy impacts in the watershed, the results will likely not be as accommodating as landowners and recreation visitors desire.
The unveiling of a multiyear strategic Watershed Restoration Plan will identify, prioritize, and provide strategies for ensuring watershed resilience in the Clearwater region (from the Clearwater Junction on Highway 200 to the Highway 83 Clearwater/Swan Valley summit). This action plan will aid in funding capacity building and generating on-the-ground restoration activities.
The plan will outline baseline conditions of lakes and streams in the watershed and develop a prioritized matrix of improvements that can be undertaken to improve the quality and resilience of our water resources.
The community is encouraged to attend this meeting to learn about the results of years of water quality monitoring. The growing concerns of potential septic tank leakage into surface water, spreading of aquatic invasive plants and animals, impacts from recreation, and various other issues negatively impacting the vitality of the Clearwater valley will be addressed in this strategic action-plan. To learn more about the history and accomplishments of the CRC you may visit our website at http://www.crcmt.org to become a community empowerment volunteer and stay abreast of the many activities and programs provided to the community.
The Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) was formed by citizens in the valley as a non-profit organization in 2004. The mission of the CRC is to engage the community, organizations, agencies and affected interests to monitor, educate, and create innovative solutions to negative conditions to our culture, economy, and watershed health of the Clearwater Chain-of-Lakes Valley. The work of the CRC is funded through grants, donations, and cooperative agreements. Current funding partners include the Bureau of Reclamation, Montana Department of Natural Resources, Flathead Lake Biological Station, the Seeley Lake Community Foundation, Montana Forest Collaboration Network, caring donors, and an array of landowners and volunteers.
Mark your calendar and invite your neighbors to come to the meeting which is scheduled for Jan. 9 at the Barn located at 2920 MT-83, Seeley Lake.
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