Former Basin Commission members form own watchdog group

After a public falling out with the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, some former members of the Flathead Basin Commission have formed their own watershed watchdog group.

Watershed Protection Advocates of Northwest Montana announced last week it would be working with other entities in the region on water quality issues and aquatic invasive species protections.

In 1983, the legislature established the Flathead Basin Commission as an autonomous body, as a host of interests were fighting proposed coal mines in the Canadian Flathead. It included the supervisor of the Flathead National Forest, Glacier National Park representatives and a host of other government and non-government officials, including the tribes.

The commission was initially critical of the state’s response to aquatic invasive mussels being found in Tiber and Canyon Ferry reservoirs. The DNRC did not take kindly to the criticism, and FBC was eventually stripped of most of its budget, noted former FBC director Caryn Miske.

So Miske, along with several others have formed a new group, that will look to work with the tribes and the City of Whitefish, to name a few agencies, on aquatic invasive species control in the state.

The DNRC did not respond for a request to comment by the Hungry Horse News.

However, state is claiming it has been aggressively fighting invasive species through a network of check stations. In a release on Monday, it said it had stopped 12 boats with invasive mussels in Montana. Most recently three boats with mussels were found at the Anaconda inspection station July 18.

It also says more than 500 samples have been taken across the state for aquatic invasive mussels, and analysis is ongoing. So far, no positive samples for invasive mussels have been detected this year.

But the WPA group says it plans to vigorously advocate for the mission originally assigned to the Flathead Basin Commission and far more AIS testing is needed.

Jan Metzmaker, immediate former chair of the FBC, was removed in 2018 by Governor Bullock’s administration, and is now serving as the chair of the newly formed group.

“While the situation with the Flathead Basin Commission is unfortunate, the newly formed WPA provides a unique opportunity to serve as an advocate for threatened natural resources in the Flathead and offers a true voice for western Montana residents,” she said.

Metzmaker emphasized that the goal of the WPA is to fill the gaps left by the unfunded FBC.

“We are not seeking to duplicate what other organizations are doing, but we are looking to work in partnership with existing organizations to better protect natural resources in Northwest Montana,” Metzmaker stated.

The group is working under the Flathead Community Foundation’s non-profit umbrella, Miske said.

Existing funding held by WPA will be used to fund an assessment of Montana’s AIS prevention programs.

“The goal of the assessment is to provide agencies, decision-makers and the public with the information necessary to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the state’s AIS program and would be based solely on data obtained by the Watershed Protection Advocates, rather than on subjective, anecdotal information,” Metzmaker said.

Miske claimed that in order to effectively test for aquatic invasive species, the state needs to ramp up the number of tests it does. She noted that Tiber Reservoir alone has 182 miles of shoreline, but claimed the state has no field protocol for testing.

The new group includes Metzmaker, Thompson Smith, a former Chair of the Flathead Basin Commission; Corky Clairmont, the founder and former Director of the Art Department at Salish Kootenai College; Jim Rogers, former geologist and a retired educator that taught science and geography at Polson High School; Julie DalSoglio, former Director of the EPA, Region 8 and past board member of the Flathead Basin Commission; and Onno Wieringa, former co-owner of Glacier Raft Company and former general manager of Alta Ski Resort.

Miske, an attorney, will contract her services with the group.