The Battle for the Gallatin River: A Brief Overview

Business is booming out West. There’s no mistaking the monumental shift in infrastructure and traffic to previously ignored states like Montana and Wyoming. These western states have now become a playground for the wealthy, teeming with newly constructed resorts, golf courses, communities, and developments. Everyone wants a slice of the American West, and there’s no misunderstanding as to why.

But these rural communities cannot support all of this change, and in one particular area, there has been a decades-long fight raging between locals and big-money land developers over the protection of a river – the Gallatin River.

The Gallatin River snakes through the Southwest corner of Montana, forming the Gallatin Canyon and supporting thousands of native wildlife to the West. Due to its shallow waters, wide banks, low traffic, and picturesque views, the Gallatin river makes an excellent spot for fly fishing.

The river has a heavy trout population, and population densities create a very high catch rate. Some common fish species include westslope cutthroat trout, mountain whitefish, rainbow and brown trout, and Rocky Mountain sculpin, among many more. For a more detailed report on the Gallatin River ecological profile, download this report from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Battling Illegal Pollution

Multiple water samples have suggested that the Big Sky resort has illegally drained treated wastewater directly into the Gallatin River’s West Fork, alongside fertilizer, pesticide, and chemical runoff. These invasive chemicals have caused harmful algal blooms and disrupted the balance of water nutrients, threatening the fragile ecological state of the river.

To combat this ongoing issue, local organizations and nonprofit groups have worked tirelessly to introduce protective legislation and regulation to the Big Sky resort. Local law group Cottonwood Law Center has filed a Clean Water Act lawsuit against the resort, and the organization Gallatin River Task Force has proposed a number of collaborative solutions for water treatment that can sustain Big Sky’s exponential growth.

The battle on behalf of the Gallatin River is far from over, but much progress has been made towards ensuring the conservation of the water source. And this river is not the only one to experience such drastic change since the boom of the West. Boasting over 150,000 miles of river, Montana harbors some of the finest rivers on Earth to fly fish in, which is why so many seek to protect them from human harm.

The Montana Headwaters Legacy Act was proposed to do just that: keep Montana’s largest rivers protected from pollution and preserve their natural ecological state. Learn more about the legislation and help support the cause here.