Watershed Impacts from the Bridger Foothills Fire
Dear Watershed Stewards,
As you know, the Bridger Foothills Fire had a significant impact on our community. The immediate and amazing responses from first responders, firefighters, smokejumpers and volunteers highlight the resilience of this community that we’re proud to be a part of. Generous donations to the Bridger Foothills Fire Relief Fund helped to provide immediate assistance such as food, shelter and emotional support for those that lost their homes as a result of the fire.
Longer term impacts from the fire remain to be seen, but the risk to our watershed is great. It is expected that there will be significant natural regeneration next spring, however there is a patchwork of large areas of high severity burn, where water is no longer able to be absorbed into the landscape. These areas are susceptible to increased erosion, flooding, and debris mobilization. Left unmanaged, there will likely be significant sediment loading to the spring fed creeks that cross the burn area, then downstream to the Gallatin Watershed. Excess sediment in our streams and rivers degrades fish habitat and alters the flow and depth of our waterways.
GWC was recently granted $30,000 from the Bridger Foothills Fire Relief Fund to assist landowners in implementing postfire resource conservation best management practices. These funds will go a long way in rehabilitating areas that are most susceptible to erosion, sediment loading and weed infestation, however, requests for post-fire rehabilitation from landowners are more than three times the funding that is available.
Can you help us fill this gap? Your donations to GWC will bolster our ability to adequately meet all of the needs of these landowners and the watershed as a whole.
Please consider a year-end donation to GWC today.
With gratitude,
GWC Staff & Board
P.S. Thanks to the generosity of the Four Corners Foundation and the GWC Board of Directors, donations received by the end of December will be matched up to $4,500.