Lower Clark Fork Watershed Group (LCFWG) has been working to increase awareness and community knowledge of work they do to implement on-the-ground projects that benefit local streams and rivers as well as the many fish and wildlife species that depend on them.

“Wherever you are, you are in a watershed,” Brita Olson, LCFWG Coordinator, said in a press release.

LCFWG has teamed up with local conservation partners on several projects to achieve this goal, including the Sanders County Pollinator Initiative, a joint effort with landowners in the county to attract more beneficial pollinators to the area by giving out free seed mixes to create their very own pollinator garden.

“The pollinator spring mix has a diverse number of species that ideally have different shaped flowers and different colored flowers that bloom throughout the growing season,” said Olson. “Once you get them established, they will provide consistent forage for native pollinator species.”

Olson said the initiative has been an ongoing project for the last several years and last year was the first time local conservation districts were able to give out seeds to the community. “I’ve just been helping connect landowners with that resource and I’ve helped build demonstration plots that showcased different planting techniques,” she said.

Almost all the available seeds have been distributed for the season and feedback from the community has been positive, which in return has encouraged conservation districts to continue the project. “We're hoping to get another round of seed next year and just continue to promote the importance of providing pollinator habitat throughout Sanders County,” Olson stated.

“We work with a number of different organizations in the county interested in conserving natural resources such as Green Mountain Conservation District, Natural Resources Conservation Service and many others,” Olson said in the press release. “Some of these organizations offer programs for private landowners. Luckily for landowners, the LCFWG can keep track of all the different organizations, programs and their respective acronyms so that landowners don’t have to. Together, we coordinate efforts and provide resources such as technical advice and funding for landowners to complement conservation projects. All of our work is collaborative and totally voluntary.”

A project LCFWG has been a participating partner in involves pruning of western white pine to prevent the spread of blister rust. Olson says the project is an outgrowth of work the Natural Resource Conservation has been doing. “Blister rust is one of the biggest threats to white pine. It has been responsible for its historical decline as it is an ongoing disease since 1910 when it first came to the United States,” she said. One of the ways the spread of blister rust can be reduced is pruning branches by up to eight feet. Olson says pruning is necessary because of the way the disease spreads. “It’s a spore that has to make contact with the needs of the tree. It then spreads onto the branches and trunk, eventually killing the entire tree,” Olson said. “By pruning the branches up to eight feet, it just makes it harder for those spores to reach the needles and branches and that can help inhibit the spread.” There are pockets of blister rust throughout Sanders County, but Olson says it varies in intensity.

The press release states while much of LCFWG’s work does focus on streamside areas, there are ways you can steward the landscape and the many species with which we share it with, even if you don’t live immediately on a stream.

Watershed restoration can be quite technical, Olson says. The process will often involve multiple stakeholders who need to weigh cost versus benefit of implementing projects. However, maintaining a buffer of native vegetation along stream banks and flood plain areas can easily be done. “Individual landowners can accomplish this by simply reducing disturbance, such as mowing or grazing in streamside areas and encouraging vegetation growth through planting or fencing efforts,” Olson said. “A lot of the work that I do has to do with riparian vegetation. There are so many benefits with having a diverse number of species and a diverse border of vegetation along a stream.”

The coordinator says the vast majority of all native species in Montana rely on riparian corridors in some way for part of their life history. “By maintaining good vegetation, we promote river and water health, but there are also these cascading benefits for all species throughout Montana,” Olson stated. “We work with landowners who have lost native vegetation or lack native species that are represented along the riverbank. We work to plant trees and shrubs to try to increase diversity.”

For those who have other natural resource concerns or conservation goals for your property, Olson says she would be happy to meet with you and provide technical input. Contact Olson at (208) 304-3852 or [email protected].