By Jessie Walthers, Conservation Program Manager Groundhog Day. Who doesn’t love this most random of…
Helping Keep Our Favorite Places Clean
We want to give a HUGE thank you to all the volunteers who participated in the first annual Flathead Waters Cleanup! 201 volunteers removed 1.32 tons, or 2,640 pounds of trash and improved 114 miles of riverbank and lakeshore. Events like this one are important for so many different reasons, and we were thrilled with how many Flathead residents stepped up to help us keep our favorite places clean. We had volunteers floating down rivers, walking along lake shores, and even scuba diving to find garbage!
We are lucky to live in a community that loves, respects, and promotes responsible stewardship of our water resources. Many participants in this year’s event were happily surprised to have difficulty finding garbage to clean up at their chosen site! We all know that is not always the case, especially with the recent influx of people to the Flathead. It’s important that we continue to advocate and spread the message of “Leave No Trace” water recreation. Here are the 7 principles and you can check out this website to learn more about each one.
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
- Dispose of Waste Properly (Pack It In, Pack It Out)
- Leave What You Find
- Minimize Campfire Impacts
- Respect Wildlife
- Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Picking up garbage is a great way to help keep our waters clean, but with increasing development in the Flathead, nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is a growing issue that we must work together to prevent. NPS pollution comes from a variety of sources found across a watershed, and includes things like stormwater runoff, failing septic systems, and chemicals or oils that are transported by water across landscapes to eventually end up in streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands. Check out these past blog posts that can help you understand the importance of minimizing NPS pollution:
- https://flatheadcd.org/living-by-water/
- https://flatheadcd.org/conservation-tip-of-the-week-preventing-nonpoint-source-pollution/
Flathead Conservation District and the Montana Association of Conservation Districts are co-hosting a free Solutions to Pollution Workshop on October 2nd at 9:30 in Lawrence Park! Sign up here if you are interested in learning more about how you can help minimize NPS pollution in the Flathead watershed.
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