Resources
This section provides links to information about topics related to water resources information the Big Sky area. Videos of informational presentations are also available.
Big Sky Sustainable Watershed Stewardship Plan (January 26, 2018)
The final stewardship plan provides information about the recommendations, goals, priorities, and actions that the Big Sky Sustainable Water Solutions Forum stakeholders identified to address community water resources issues. It also provides information about water resources and the alternatives discussed and analyzed.
- Executive Summary – Big Sky Area Sustainable Watershed Stewardship Plan
- Entire Plan – Main Report and Appendices – Big Sky Area Sustainable Watershed Stewardship Plan
- Main Report – Big Sky Area Sustainable Watershed Stewardship Plan
- Appendices – Big Sky Area Sustainable Watershed Stewardship Plan
Informational overview of the three focus areas: (February 2017)
Examples of Models for Implementation
Good Neighbor Agreement
- Stillwater Good Neighbor Agreement
- Evaluating the Use of Good Neighbor Agreement for Environmental and Community Protection: Final Report. Kenney, Douglas S. et al. 2004, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment.
Watershed Models For Stewardship
- Blackfoot Conservation Conservancy Area
- Flathead Basin Commission Enabling Legislation
- Flathead Basin Commission Annual Reports & Organizational Information
Clean Water Services
Montana Water Conservancy Districts
- Title 85. Chapter 9. Montana Code Annotated for Montana Water Conservancy Districts
- An Analysis of the Feasibility of Promoting Water Conservancy Districts as a Means of Preparing and Implementing Basinwide Water Resource Management Plans. Lisa Anderson; June 20, 1980.
MS4 Permits for Stormwater Management. Currently, there are eight MS4 permits in Montana, all for municipal areas greater than 10,000 residents. It is possible to petition the MS4 for a permit for other municipalities.
- Municipal Stormwater Discharges: EPA site with information about stormwater, best practices, and the MS4 program.
- Fact Sheet for Montana Pollution Discharge Elimination System: Montana DEQ. More information is also available on the web site.
Ecological Health of the River Systems
Water Quality
- Upper Gallatin Watershed Restoration Plan
- West Fork Nitrogen Reduction Plan
- The West Fork Gallatin River Watershed Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and Framework Watershed Water Quality Improvement Plan – Executive Summary
- The West Fork Gallatin River Watershed Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and Framework Watershed Water Quality Improvement Plan
- Additional Water Quality Studies (macro invertebrate reports, annual water quality reports etc.)
- Real-time Streamflow Station and Community Water Quality Monitoring Data
- Quantifying Watershed Sensitivity to Spatially Variable N Loading and the Relative Importance of Watershed N Retention Mechanisms
- Seasonality in Spatial Variability and Influence of Land Use/Land Cover and Watershed Characteristics on Stream Water Nitrate Concentrations in a Developing Watershed in the Rocky Mountain West
- Aquatic Life Nutrient Levels, Department of Environmental Quality
Wetlands
- Introduction to Wetlands Video
- Wetland Information, Montana Extension Service
- Volunteer Wetland Monitororing Program
Fisheries
- Gravel-bed river floodplain are the ecological nexus of glaciated mountain landscapes. F. Richard Hauer et al.
Gallatin Local Water Quality District Reports
- Gallatin State of the Waters Report (2015)
- Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products in Waters of the Gallatin Valley, Montana
- Gallatin Groundwater Project: Assessing Cumulative Impacts to Groundwater in High Density Septic System Areas (2014)
- Assessment of Current Wastewater Treatment and Disposal in Gallatin County (2010)
- Occurrence and Distribution of Organic Wastewater Contaminants in Waters of the Gallatin Valley, Gallatin County, Montana (2016)
Forests & Fire
- High Elevation Whitebark Pine Forests. MSU Extension Service
- Custer Gallatin Forest Plan. Has documents about the effort underway in the Custer Gallatin Forest.
- Custer Gallatin Forest Fire Management Plan (2016) Custer Gallatin Forest.
- Gallatin County Montana Community Wildfire Protection Plan (2006)
Weeds & Invasive Species
- Why Should I Care about Noxious Weeds?: Greater Gallatin Coordinating Committee
- Gallatin-Big Sky Weed Committee
Recreation
- Gallatin Forest Visitor Use Plan. Custer Gallatin Forest
Conservation
Community Models
Ecological Health of Rivers and Watersheds
- Telluride Valley Floor Preserve
- Santa Fe Watershed Investment
- City of Santa Fe Watershed Investment Plan
- Overview of the Santa Fe Water Fund Video – The Nature Conservancy
- Vail: Restore the Gore
- Story Mill Community Park Stream and Wetlands Restoration
- Watershed Restoration as Art: Carson and Truckee Rivers
Water Supply and Availability
- Denver Xeriscaping and Water Supply Program
- City of Bozeman Water
- Stormwater Capture
- Recycling Water
- Los Angeles Urban Water Management Plan, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
- Grass Valley French Ditch Water Bank
- Grass Valley French Ditch Water Bank
- Grass Valley irrigation company creates Montana’s first private water bank, Missoulian, April 4, 2015
- Grass Valley French Ditch Mitigation Project: Capturing the value of senior agricultural water rights and conveyance systems in a growing county, Presentation at the Association of Gallatin Agricultural Irrigators, December 7, 2016
Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Models
- Cloudcroft, New Mexico: Using Treated Wastewater for Drinking Water (Water & W
- Arizona, Snowbowl: Treated Wastewater for Snowmaking
- City of Flagstaff approves Snowbowl snowmaking contract for 20 more years, Arizona Daily Sun (2014)
- Hopi snowmaking lawsuit dismissed, Arizona Daily Sun (2016)
- Resort’s Snow Won’t be Pure This Year; It’ll Be Sewage, New York Times (2012)
- Hopi snowmaking lawsuit dismissed, Arizona Daily Sun (2016)
- Bridger Bowl, Montana: High Elevation Constructed Wetland
-
MSU student testing wetlands for wastewater treatment, Bozeman Daily Chronicle (2015)
- Center for Biofilm Engineering, Professor Otto Stein, Overview of Constructed Wetland Research at MSU
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- Green Infrastructure
- Thirsty Pavement, Yellowstone National Park is using ‘thirsty’ concrete that absorbs 3,000 gallons of water per hour, Business Insider (2016)
- Happy Valley Bioswale: Ventura County, California
- Green Infrastructure Resources, US Environmental Protection Agency
- Green Infrastructure Toolkit, Georgetown Climate Center, Georgetown Law
Collaborative and Community Stakeholder Efforts
- Lake Tahoe, CA/NV
- Take Care Tahoe – collaborative group
- Tahoe Regional Planning Authority – regulatory role
- League to Save Lake Tahoe – environmental protection and preservation
- Yampa River, Steamboat, CO
- Friends of the Yampa – collaborative group
- Routt County Conservation District – represents agricultural and soil & water conservation
- Yampa White Green Basin Roundtable – regulatory role
- Yampa Valley Community Foundation – community funding role
- Yampa Valley Data Partners – date and analytical support
- Henry’s Fork Watershed, ID – collaborative project to address sharing surface and ground water supply
Development, Growth and Build-out Information
- Capital Improvement Plan for Gallatin Canyon/Big Sky Planning and Zoning District, 2011, Tischler-Bise
- Community Building Forum, Big Sky Chamber of Commerce, October 11, 2016
- Using Smart Growth Techniques as Stormwater Best Practices, EPA, 2014
Examples
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A Hard Fact Of Development: More Sprawl Means More Pavement, WAMU 88.5, (2016)
Water Supply and Availability
Water Rights
- Statute: Definitions
- Administrative Rule (New Appropriations): Definitions
- Adjudication Definitions (in Manual – from all applicable sources): Definitions
- DNRC Water Resources Division Homepage: Connect with many DNRC resources
- DNRC Water Right Query System: Find water rights
- MT State Library Water Information System: Maps
- Montana Water Law, Prepared by the Land Use & Natural Resources Clinic, University of Montana Law School, Spring 2014
- A Buyer’s Guide to Water Rights, Stan Bradshaw, Trout Unlimited
- Changing Changes: A Road Map for Montana’s Water Management, Laura Ziemer, Stan Bradshaw, and Meg Casey, Montana Water Law, Issue I, Volume 14
- Conflict to Compact: Federal Reserved Water Rights, Instream Flows, and Native Fish Conservation on National Forests in Montana, Patrick A. Byorth, 30 Pub. Land & Resources L. Rev. 35 (2009)
- Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribal Claims in the Gallatin Watershed
Physical Water Supply
- Ground Water Information Center – Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. Information about wells and ground water. Search to find information about Big Sky.
Climate Change, Variability and Drought
- The Unusual Nature of Recent Snowpack Declines in the North American Cordillera, Gregory Pederson et al, Science 333, 332 (2011)
- Climatic Controls on the Snowmelt Hydrology of the Northern Rocky Mountains, Gregory Pederson et al, Jounal of Climate Volume 24, March 15, 2011
- Regional patterns and proximal causes of the recent snowpack decline in the Rocky Mountains, U.S., Gregory T. Pederson, Julio L. Betancourt, and Gregory J. McCabe., GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 40, 1811–1816 (2013)
- Variability Common to First Leaf Dates and Snowpack in the Western Conterminous United States, Gregory J. McCabe et al, Earth Interactions, Volume 17 (2013), Paper No. 26
- Climate Change, Forests, Fire, Water, and Fish: Building resilient landscapes, streams, and managers, Charles Luce et al, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-290, September 2012
- Effects of Climatic Variability and Change on Forest Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis for the U.S. Forest
Sector, ed. James M. Vose, USDA, Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, General Technical Report, PNW-GTR-870, December 2012 - Potential mitigation of and adaptation to climate-driven changes in California’s highlands through increased beaver populations, Jeff Baldwin, California Fish and Game 101(4):218-240; 2015
- MSU Extension Climate Science. Contains multiple links to further information.
- Climate 101 for Montana. MSU Extension
Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
Big Sky Water & Sewer District Reports
- Big Sky Sustainable Water Solutions Resource List, Big Sky Water & Sewer District, Reports Relevant to BSSWS
- Five-Year Water System Capital Improvement Plan, Woodward & Curran in association with WGM Group (2016)
- Resort Area Wastewater Analysis, WGM Group (2015)
- Wastewater System Master Plan Update, DOWL (2015)
Gallatin City-County Health Department (Healthy Gallatin)
Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MPDES), Department of Environmental Quality
Stormwater Best Practices Handbook, US Environmental Protection Agency
Media Coverage
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
- August 30, 2016 – Forum set to discuss health of Gallatin River
- January 31, 2018 – Big Sky group produces plan
Explore Big Sky
- August 20, 2016 – Big Sky watershed group hosts stakeholder meetings
- November 28, 2016 – Forum takes on Big Sky water issues
- December 9, 2016 – Water primer
- June 23, 2017 – Forum zeroes in on plan for Big Sky’s water resources
- September 29, 2017 – Feasibility of Using Wastewater for Snowmaking Explored at Water Forum
- October 30, 2017 – Wastewater Disposal and Reuse – What are the Options?
- November 21, 2017 – Water Solutions Forum Finalizes Plan for Public Review
- February 2, 2018 – Watershed Plan Addresses Need for Wastewater Discharge Alternatives
Lone Peak Lookout
- February 8, 2018 – What Matters More than Water
Weather.com
- February 6, 2018 – Posh Montana Ski Town Considers Using Treated Wastewater to Make Snow
News Deeply
- February 5, 2018 – Why a Posh Montana Ski Town May Use Treated Wastewater for Snowmaking