Stories About Our Work

Back to Our Roots: Reimagining Streams with Community Power
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Back to Our Roots: Reimagining Streams with Community Power

GWC and our volunteers have been busy planting at our restoration sites this spring. Much of this work has been possible because of our new volunteer program, the River R.A.T.s (Restoration Action Team). This year, 45 community members committed to showing up throughout the season and were trained to plant trees, cut willow stakes, and build beaver mimicry structures. Their familiarity with these restoration techniques has helped us get more done, improve the quality of our work, and bring added leadership to planting and maintenance events. They were joined by seven businesses and organizations and many individual volunteers. Together, this dedicated group contributed over 1,000 hours of work along our streams and city parks, planting over 450 trees and shrubs and harvesting and staking 10,000 willow cuttings. 

So why are we spending so much time on revegetation?

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Watershed Profile: Jessie Thompson
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Watershed Profile: Jessie Thompson

May’s Watershed Profile features volunteer and River R.A.T. Jessie Thompson! Find out what inspires Jessie to volunteer and what she loves about the Lower Gallatin Watershed.

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The Secret Life of Urban Stormwater
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The Secret Life of Urban Stormwater

Stormwater is one of those things that we don’t often think about, but the pollution it carries has significant impacts on our local streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. Most of this pollution is coming from our everyday actions, so let’s do our part to care for our watershed.

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Starry Night Lodging: A Commitment to Sustainable Tourism and Watershed Stewardship
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Starry Night Lodging: A Commitment to Sustainable Tourism and Watershed Stewardship

Starry Night Lodging is redefining travel with a commitment to sustainability and regenerative tourism. This small, family-owned business offers unique stays at campgrounds, hotels, and homes across the country while ensuring that their guests not only experience the beauty of nature but also leave their destination better than they found it. 

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CATS Program Partnership: Researching the Impact of Vegetation on Stormwater Quality
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CATS Program Partnership: Researching the Impact of Vegetation on Stormwater Quality

GWC tagged along with MSU’s Environmental Science Capstone class while Russel Smith from the City of Bozeman’s Stormwater Division explored the function of these post-construction stormwater facilities. In collaboration with the Western Transportation Institute’s Community-engaged And Transformational Scholarship initiative, GWC and the City of Bozeman want to learn from students how and if native plants may be effectively incorporated into stormwater facilities to further the Stormwater Division’s three goals: protect public safety, improve waterway health, and comply with state and federal regulations.

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A Day in the Life of the Gallatin Stream Teams: Citizen Science in Action
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A Day in the Life of the Gallatin Stream Teams: Citizen Science in Action

It's 9:00 a.m. on a chilly October morning, with snow threatening to fall, and Gallatin Stream Teams volunteers are gearing up for a day of stream monitoring. Journey into Gallatin Valley’s rivers and streams with a “day in the life” account of the volunteer program. The Gallatin Stream Teams is a partnership between the Gallatin Watershed Council and Gallatin Local Water Quality District.

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Guest column: Water should guide development
Holly Hill Holly Hill

Guest column: Water should guide development

Rivers, streams, wetlands, floodplains, riparian areas, and irrigation ditches work as a system to hold and move water through Bozeman — across all zoning districts — and provide critical services like treating pollution, mitigating floodwaters, slowing and storing water for times of scarcity, providing habitat for fish and wildlife, and places for people to recreate.

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Mandeville Creek Gets a Little More Bushy
Holly Hill Holly Hill

Mandeville Creek Gets a Little More Bushy

Community members, high school and middle school students worked together to increase the amount of riparian vegetation along a section of Mandeville Creek near Bozeman High School.

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