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September 26, 2009
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Welcome
to the newsletter about all things water in Montana!
MONTANA
WATER NEWS will come your way via email every month
with fresh news about meetings and water topics that we hope
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| Watershed Coordinator Brings People Skills and Project Skills to the Madison |
Sunni Heikes-Knapton |
Born in Norway and raised in South Dakota, Sunni Heikes-Knapton found her way to Montana State University in 1993 and earned an undergraduate degree in biology. After working in the private sector for a few years on fisheries and other aquatic projects, she returned to MSU for a master’s in Land Rehabilitation. Sunni was recently hired as the Madison Watershed Coordinator. She now lives in Ennis with her husband, daughter and son.
Q: Sunni, your work as the Madison Watershed Coordinator involves an interesting partnership among the Madison Conversation District, the Madison River Foundation and the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group. What is your experience with these three groups?
A: I became involved in watershed issues in the Madison by serving on the board of directors of the Madison River Foundation, an advocacy group for resource issues in the valley. At the same time, I got acquainted with the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group, which works to protect the livelihood and habitat affiliated with agriculture. This led to my understanding the role of the Madison Conservation District in administering the 310 law (aka Montana’s Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act) and providing resources to local agricultural producers.
The combined activity of these three groups reflected what other prominent watershed groups were doing throughout Montana. With the successes of their programs, the groups noted a need for a communication conduit among the groups, as well as for state and federal agencies that have a role in the Valley. Primarily through financial support from the Madison Conservation District, my position is now linked to the activities of these three groups. A representative from each group serves on the Madison Watershed Partnership, which is my sounding board and support for launching new projects.
The fact that my position was created to work with three existing groups is unique and fortunate for me. Because these groups are so active and well supported by broad memberships, I’m able to assist with well-established events, projects, and outreach programs aimed at a diverse audience. The role of the Madison Watershed Partnership is to use this broad approach to address significant issues common to the groups.
Q: What are the boundaries of the Madison Watershed and what makes it unique?
A: Like the Yellowstone and the Gallatin Watersheds, the Madison starts in Yellowstone National Park. It’s defined by several mountain ranges as it flows north to the headwaters of the Missouri River. It’s similar to nearby watersheds in its general form, but it’s unique in the combination of valley features, including three dams (one earthquake caused), major wildlife migration zones linking Yellowstone Park to western Montana, Audubon-designated important birding areas, and one of the most heavily fished rivers in the state.
Its most significant character is the watershed’s highly biodiverse regions combined with the vast stretches of privately held open land in the intermontane basin. Additionally, many watershed residents are vested in maintaining the rural character and improving the quality of the landscape. Together, these are our most valuable resources.
Q: What are the top two conservation projects for the watershed group?
A: Number one is resource and agricultural education. Number two is pre-TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) planning that will build a public education program about the total amount of a pollutant a water body may receive from all sources without exceeding water quality standards.
Q: What are some of the tasks for each?
A: With the first, we work to increase the learning and teaching opportunities for local school systems on the subjects of natural resources and agriculture through the promotion of existing projects and support of new programs. For instance, the Madison Watershed Partnership is in the process of assuming the responsibilities of a long standing educational water monitoring program on Jack Creek with the MSU Extension Water Quality Program. We’re working with existing partners to continue this project and giving more teachers opportunities to include water resource curriculum in their lesson plans. We’re also working to boost enrollment with Montana Outdoor Science School programs recently launched in the region.
The second effort involves the Montana Water Quality Act. This requires the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to develop TMDLs for streams and lakes that do not meet Montana Water Quality Standards. Pre-TMDL planning includes launching community outreach programs to inform the public of the scope of the upper, middle and lower Madison TMDLs. Planning also includes involving community members in the process by becoming certified water quality monitoring volunteers. So far, the pre-TMDL planning project has included communications with DEQ staff and an introduction to the concept of TMDLs during a local conservation panel. The process of gathering contact information from community members interested in becoming certified in water quality monitoring is ongoing, with training tentatively planned for June 2010.
Q: Residents of the Madison Watershed share concerns and problems with people throughout the state who see how changes in land use, water use and population impact streams and livelihoods. What is your greatest concern about the health of the watershed and why?
A: It is crucial that our agricultural landscape is maintained and producers are given the support they need to implement conservation-based improvements. Not only will this contribute to the overall health of the watershed through well-managed open space, but it will help the watershed as a whole reconnect with one of our most important resources: our fellow residents.
Projects such as the O’Dell Creek and Moore’s Creek restorations are good examples of what can be done on large scale operations. On these sites, habitat improvements and grazing operations are balanced through management plans. At a smaller scale, support can be contributed by members of a community who invest in locally-produced food and become attached to the beauty and science of the Madison.
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MT AWRA/River Center Conference Update
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As of September 24, more than 220 people are signed up to attend this year’s conference!
Please note the Proceedings book will only be available electronically. No hard copies will be available at the conference. To download the Proceedings – or to register – go to http://water.montana.edu/awra/ and print the information you want.
Bring your printed or downloaded copy of the Proceedings with you. When you check in at the conference, you will receive a hard copy of the conference agenda, a conference evaluation form, a ballot to elect the next MT AWRA Secretary-Treasurer, and a list of our conference sponsors.
The conference registration and check-in table at the Holiday Inn Parkside – Missoula will be open from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 30. The registration/check in table will also be open from 7:30 a.m. until approximately 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 1. There will also be a computer there for you to use, if you want to download more conference info onto your computer, cell phone, iPod, etc. Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel. Ask the hotel front desk for login information. | |
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Water Policy Interim Committee Meeting Highlights
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Ginette Abdo and John Wheaton of the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology demonstrate the effects of well pumping on groundwater flow for the WPIC and others.
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The Legislative Water Policy Interim Committee met on September 21, wrestling an agenda packed with a myriad of topics. Highlights included: a panel discussion on the beneficial use permit process, a succinct history of Montana water law and projections into the future, ‘How Water Works’ outdoor demonstrations of water and pollutant movement in surface and subsurface environments, regular updates on water adjudication and changes to the water right transfer process, and identification of the seven sites that will undergo exhaustive hydrogeologic investigation in 2009-2011, through the new Ground Water Investigation Program conducted by the Montana Bureau of Mines & Geology. The seven sites chosen by the steering committee from 39 candidate sites were the Flathead Valley (Flathead County), Florence and Hamilton (Ravalli County), North Hills and the Scratchgravel Hills (Lewis & Clark County), and Belgrade and Four Corners (Gallatin County). The WPIC will next convene in mid-January, 2010. Background documents, presentation files and meeting minutes can be downloaded from the WPIC website:
http://www.leg.mt.gov/css/Committees/interim/
2009_2010/Water_Policy/Meeting_Documents/meetings.asp#meeting2. |
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| Water Forum Launches Series of Talks on Bitterroot’s Groundwater Resources |
Bitterroot River |
On Wednesday, September 16, 2009, the Bitter Root Water Forum (BRWF) kicked off “Understanding Our Water Resources,” the first in a four-part series intended to provide an overview of the valley’s groundwater resources. The BRWF plans to host three more presentations in their “Our Valley, Our Water” series between October and March. For more information, visit http://brwaterforum.org/default.aspx.
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Water Operations Award
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| If you know someone attending the Fall Water School in Bozeman October 5-9, 2009 and consider them deserving of the City of Bozeman/DEQ/Mike Certalic Award for excellence in water/wastewater operations, professionalism, and community involvement, please contact Barb Coffman at barbara.coffman@msun.edu for a nomination form. Fax the completed form to Barb at (406) 753-2378 by Friday, October 2, 2009, or drop it in the nomination box at the registration desk at Fall Water School no later than 2 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7, 2009. The award will be given Thursday morning, October 8 during the final General Session of the Fall Water School. |
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Water Rights Training
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Montana Watercourse and DNRC will host a repeat training for those who were unable to attend the water rights training in Helena in mid-September. This training is for those who want to better understand recent legislative changes in water rights and Montana’s application process. So if you find the water rights permit and change application process confusing, join us in Kalispell on Thursday, October 29, 2009. Those who attend will:
- Gain insight on new and existing legislation: SB 396, HB 40 and HB 831.
- Become more knowledgeable and efficient in completing applications.
- Receive answers from the DNRC applications review staff.
- Understand the benefits of appropriately completed applications that move more quickly and smoothly through the permitting process.
Seating for this training is limited to the first 50 people who sign up. CLE credits and CEC credits are available for this training. For more information, go to http://www.mtwatercourse.org/Calendar/calendar.htm or contact Janet Bender-Keigley at jkeigley@montana.edu. |
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Montana Water Center’s 2010 Calendar
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Here’s an opportunity to see your photos in print – the 2010 Montana Water Calendar. Although the calendar will feature Montana projects, photos from throughout the Pacific Northwest will be considered. If “before and after” shots work best for your photo’s subject matter, please send them to us.
The calendar requires high-resolution photos in .jpg, .tif, or .psd formats. They should be a minimum of 7” x 5”, 2100 pixels wide by 1500 pixels high at 300 ppi. Please send photos along with captions to stephen.guettermann@montana.edu. Photo submission deadline is Friday, October 30, 2009! Consider all things water – aquatic habitat, restoration projects, scenic shots, irrigation and other uses, all types of bodies of water, recreation, too much/too little water. Please include captions.
The calendar is printed in black and white. You can submit color photos, but try to imagine how well they will reproduce in B & W or check them out in a graphics program. Many color photos cannot be used because they don’t make the change well. Check out past calendars at http://watercenter.montana.edu/publications/other.htm. |
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National Fish Passage Program
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is providing technical and financial assistance to partners interested in implementing habitat restoration projects that address high-priority aquatic habitats, and directly remove and/or bypass barriers to fish movement. Projects must provide direct benefits to threatened and endangered species and inter-jurisdictional fish. For additional information, contact the Regional Fish Passage Project Coordinator, Donnie Ratcliff at Donald_Ratcliff@fws.gov. The application deadline is October 1, 2009. |
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Contaminant Chemistry Series
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| The Northwest Environmental Training Center will host “Contaminant Chemistry, Transport, Fate and Remediation in Soil and Groundwater” in Seattle, Washington, October 19-23, 2009. For more information on the three day series, visit http://nwetc.org/chem-403a_10-09_seattle.htm. |
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St. Andrews Prize Environmental Awards
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SolSource: 2009 St. Andrews Prize winners. |
The 2010 St Andrews Prize for the Environment is open to entrants from all over the world and invites individuals, multi-disciplinary teams or community groups to submit entries for monetary awards. To enter, submit a project summary of 500 words or less by October 31, 2009 to prize@st-andrews.ac.uk. For more details go to http://www.thestandrewsprize.com. |
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2010 National Science Board Public Service Award
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The National Science Board (NSB) Public Service Award is given to one individual and one group recipient in May of each year. The award honors individuals and groups who have made substantial contributions to increasing public understanding of science and engineering in the United States. The next nomination deadline is November 4, 2009. For nomination instructions, visit http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/awards/public.jsp. |
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| A Guide to Water Quality in Montana |
| The Water Policy Interim Committee staff recently updated A Guide to Water Quality in Montana, an easy to understand reference booklet on the complex area of water quality. If you are interested in receiving a copy, please contact the Environmental Policy Office at (406) 444-3742, or email mtheisen@mt.gov. |
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| Montana’s Restoration Economy Program |
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The 2006 Governors Restoration Forum was meant to encourage the emergence of a new Montana economy, one that provides new business opportunities based on work to restore landscapes and ecosystems. The mission of Montanas ongoing Restoration Program is "to work cooperatively to restore the natural environment, provide restoration education and employment opportunities, and create economic growth without environmental degradation." With more Montana communities considering their restoration and reclamation needs, they should see the promise of new, high-paying jobs created by this emerging industry. Additional information about the program can be found at Additional information about the program can be found at http://www.restoration.mt.gov/default.mcpx. |
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| The New VegDri Map |
In presenting to the Water Policy Interim Committee this past Monday, Jesse Aber of the Governors Drought Advisory Committee stated that overall, Montana had a very good water year and an above average crop production year. Seasonal drying is negatively impacting some range and cropland, however. For a map showing current vegetation drying, visit visit http://drought.unl.edu/
vegdri/VegDRI_State.htm?MT,EV. |
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| El Niño Update from NOAA |
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El Niño typically begins to develop in early summer as equatorial waters warm off South America. It continues to strengthen into January, and then begins to weaken in February when mountain snows can come again. However, its impacts are felt all through the following water-use season when precipitation can be below average, especially if temperatures are above normal in summer and early fall.
Current conditions, trends, and model forecasts favor the continued development of a weak-to-moderate strength El Niño into the Northern Hemisphere during fall 2009, with the likelihood of at least a moderate strength El Niño during the winter 2009-10. To learn more, download the report at http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory. |
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| Unquenchable, America’s Water Crisis and What to Do About It |
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Dr. Robert Glennon has written another well-researched book on water: Unquenchable, America’s Water Crisis and What to Do About It. The book follows his earlier book, Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Freshwaters. Glennon’s answers spin off from the severity of problems due to imminent water shortages. Glennon is the Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy in the Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. More information about Glennon can be found at http://www.law.arizona.edu/faculty/getprofile.cfm?facultyid=36. |
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| Using the Water Footprint |
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Recently an unusual partnership formed to calculate “water footprints” and assess their utility for business. At its most basic, the water footprint of an item or service is the amount of water required to create or provide it. SABMiller, a European brewer, teamed with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to ascertain water footprints for its product and evaluate how they could be useful in making business decisions. The water footprint for a liter of beer brewed in the Czech Republic turned out to be 55 liters; a liter brewed in South Africa had a footprint of 155 liters. The partnership concluded that these simple metrics must be augmented with much more information: “a water footprint must...consider where that water is used, what proportion that water use represents of the total resource in that area, and whether this proportion of water use presents risks to the environment, to communities, or to business, now or in the future.” The full report is available at the WWF website at http://www.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/uk/?171861/Water-Footprinting. |
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| New York Times Examines Compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act |
| Upon researching recent infractions of the Clean Water Act by public and private entities nationwide, the New York Times decided to request information from each state’s enforcement agency about permits, violations and enforcement actions. The Times has provided a searchable database. State-by-state responses and additional data can be found by visiting http://projects.nytimes.com/toxic-waters/polluters/state-data. |
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| River Basins of the American West and Water in the 21st-Century West |
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Available for release October 1, 2009, River Basins of the American West by Char Miller “examines water issues through the lens of major Western U.S. watersheds” and “explores why water has been, and remains, the West’s most essential and controversial subject.” Also by Char Miller, is Water in the 21st-Century West: A High Country News Reader. The book “offers a timely look at the central issue facing the American West—the region’s diminishing water supply.” Both books can be ordered locally or online. |
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Do
you have more news?
The Montana Water Center News welcomes your stories about water and water issues that face Montana. If you have a short story you would like to see published in this newsletter, please send your information to water@montana.edu. |
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Take
special note of upcoming national and local water meetings
on the Events
Calendar at MONTANA WATER. |
 METC Fall Water School, Bozeman, October 5-9, 2009 [INFO] |
| Wild Trout Symposium, West Yellowstone, September 27-30, 2009 [INFO] |
| 2009 ASDSO Annual Conference, Hollywood, FL, September 27 - October 1, 2009 [INFO] |
| MT AWRA Conference Milltown Dam Field Trip, Missoula, September 30, 2009 [INFO] |
| 2009 Montana AWRA/UM River Center Conference: Waters that Cross Divides, Missoula, October 1-2, 2009 [INFO] |
| Clark Fork Superfund Tour, Missoula/Butte, October 3, 2009 [INFO] |
| METC Fall Water School, Bozeman, October 5-9, 2009 [INFO] |
| National Summit of Mining Communities, Butte, October 12-15, 2009 [INFO] |
| Contaminant Chemistry Series, Seattle, WA, October 19-23, 2009 [INFO] |
| Wetland Water Rights Meeting, Helena, October 20, 2009 [INFO] |
| Water Rights Training, Kallispell, October 29, 2009 [INFO] |
| Assessing the Ecological Functions of Streams & Wetlands, Seattle, WA, October 29-30, 2009 [INFO] |
| AWRA Annual Water Resources Conference, Seattle, WA, November 9-12, 2009 [INFO] |
| 68th Annual Convention of the Montana Association of Conservation Districts, Lewistown, November 17-19, 2009 [INFO] |
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